《Valterion: The Space/Arch? Mage》 Prologue Prologue Location: Magicon Empire; Valterion Duchy; Valterion System; Nua; Alburgh; Valterion Mansion It¡¯s a rainy night in the city of Alburgh. Marcus Chandler walks through the quiet hallway of his employers¡® mansion. It¡¯s rather small compared to the status those two enjoy within The Empire, but everything feels comfy and homey. Thunder sounds outside, and Marcus flinches. How did it come to this? I have to stop! I just can¡¯t, she''s so young¡­ But my parents. Marcus¡¯s thoughts race. He can¡¯t believe what he¡¯s about to do, but he doesn¡¯t stop either. The fear for his parents drives him further. Finally, he reaches his destination: The room of the one person he is responsible for. It¡¯s also the person he¡¯s about to betray the most. Not that she will know, as she¡¯s barely two years old. Opening the door, he lets out a silent sigh of relief. At least she is asleep. The young Utility Mage stops right at the threshold, his thoughts race again. I have to stop. Call the Valterions, they know what to do! Then his eyes unwantedly slip back to the minimized video message at the top right corner of his vision. A constant reminder on his holographic interface. The message from the pirates! The message where they tell him that they¡¯ve kidnapped his parents, and what he has to do to save them. The timing of everything¡­ Just when the Duke and Duchess are out to deal with problems at the border. Thinking of the Duchess, Jasmine Valterion, he suddenly remembers something. She¡¯s got a magical connection to young Miss Sara! That¡¯s it. I¡¯ll save my parents, then Lady Valterion can swoop in and deal with the pirates. With a silent nod, and his fears a bit lessened, Marcus walks into the room and lifts the little girl out of her crib. Turning around he notices a glint of silver around her neck and carefully tucks the necklace under her clothes. Maybe they won¡¯t notice it and let her keep it. Two-year-old Sara Valterion turns around and snuggles into Marcus¡¯s broad chest. He slowly leaves the room and makes his way back toward the entrance of the Valterion mansion. Cautiously walking along the hallway, he looks left and right. There is no one in sight, as expected. The Valterions are always light on servants, relying fully on Clara, the mansion¡¯s AI. An AI, whose chip he conveniently pulled out of her slot in the house and put into a shielded container before he came even close to Sara¡¯s room. Marcus reaches the entrance and steps outside. He lifts his hood to protect his face from the pouring rain. Then he glances at the little girl in his arms. She¡¯s not at all clothed for this weather. The twenty-seven-year-old Senior Mage stops and casts two spells in quick succession: A telekinetic field above their heads to keep out the rain and another spell to keep young Sara Valterion warm. Then he steps into the rain. Looking back, a shiver runs down his spine. I¡¯m ruining my future¡­ Still, he turns back and continues walking. They¡¯ll get her back. Who else if not them? Jasmine and Aidan Valterion are the most powerful Mages I know. Just a few hundred meters away from the mansion, a new message notification appears on his interface. He taps it and the message opens. Keep walking, we will guide you to your destination. They are watching me! Or at least a spell is. Following the constant messages, he arrives at a landing pad at the edge of the high-class district of Alburgh. A small shuttle is already waiting and a new message tells him to get in. Sighing, Marcus does so, and the shuttle lifts off. It heads off to the west, right past the giant towers that form the center of the city. Further and further, until it arrives at an older hotel complex at the edge of the city, that has probably been out of service for the last fifty years. Looks like I reached my destination. Maybe I can take them down? His musings end up in the negative when he exits the shuttle and feels the magical power blasting out of the hotel. Shit, Master! And A&D as well. Marcus slowly starts making his way inside and carefully steps over debris while hoping not to wake up the little girl. His senses tell him where to go and so he makes his way up to the third floor. Steeling his nerves he opens the door which connects the stairway to the attached hallway, he absentmindedly notes that it¡¯s only held in place by the top hinge. ¡°Welcome Marcus, come in, come in.¡± A deep voice calls out from further down the hallway. Marcus continues walking and finally enters the room. Just to be greeted by half a dozen people. The almost two-meter-tall man in the center is obviously the leader he felt from outside the building. He has an impressive beard, which contrasts with his baldness. Powerful. But nowhere near the Valterions. Still way out of my league. Next to the leader is a smaller man with greasy dark hair. He looks like he is deep in concentration. Next to him stands a blonde woman with just a little bit of tan, also not focused on the surroundings. They feel like Mages as well, but not as strong as the leader. A Master and two Seniors like me. Hmm looks like another A&D and Space? That¡¯s rare. Are they casting? The other three people carry laser rifles, but they are directed onto the ground rather than on Marcus. He shrugs inwardly. Besides their leader, they are pretty much useless anyway. They all wear slightly older, ill-fitting shipsuits, screaming pirates, but something about their posture feels unsettling in the back of Marcus¡¯s mind. They stand a bit too disciplined. ¡°Thank you for coming Marcus.¡± The leader says while gesturing to hand over little Sara to the Space Mage woman. Marcus complies and starts walking over. ¡°What happens now? Where are my parents and what do you want with her?¡± He asks in quick succession, indicating young Miss Sara. ¡°Now, we are going to leave. Thank you for your cooperation. As for your parents, you will find them in the basement, unharmed.¡± The leader turns to the other A&D Mage and gives a go-ahead sign. Marcus feels a spell originating from him which quickly settles around Marcus¡¯s head, clamping down on something in his mind. Shit, what is this spell? Feels a lot like Lady Valterion¡¯s secrecy spell. ¡°What have you done to me?¡± He asks. ¡°That spell prevents you from telling what has happened, so that you don¡¯t go running away, calling for the Valterions. It will wear off over time. Once it has, tell them to await our ransom note. Goodbye.¡± An accented voice answers him, coming from the Mage who had just cast a spell. He nods to the leader, who in turn nods to the Space Mage and they all vanish in a purple flash with a slight pop of displaced air. Marcus, now alone in the room immediately starts casting a Communication spell to inform Lady Valterion, only to realize that the other Mage spoke the truth as his spell breaks apart before he can activate it. Internally Marcus is screaming bloody murder, but there is nothing he can do besides waiting. Sighing he turns around and rushes back towards the stairway. With a flick of his wrist, his telekinesis moves the now broken-down door out of the way. He races down the stairs, two at a time until he arrives in the basement below. A thought creates a floating light, which he sends ahead, following close behind. ¡°Mom? Dad? Can you hear me?¡± He shouts down the hallway, just to hear an answer a little bit later. ¡°Marcus? We are here!¡± The Utility Mage starts running after the voice till he finds his parents bound onto old wooden chairs right in the center of an old storage room. Another burst of his power has their restraints falling to the ground and Marcus rushes in to envelop his parents in a tight hug. ¡°What happened, why did they take us? Are we safe now?¡± His mother is asking, but again the words won¡¯t leave his mouth. ¡°I can¡¯t talk about it, I¡¯m sorry, but yes, the kidnappers are gone.¡± ¡°Nonsense, you don¡¯t have to hide anything from us. We know who you work for and we¡¯re incredibly proud of you,¡± his father starts to talk but before he can go further, Marcus interrupts him. ¡°No, that¡¯s not it,¡± he says, ¡°I¡¯m physically unable to speak about it. A fucking spell.¡± ¡°Oh,¡± his father answers. ¡°What now?¡± ¡°I must return to the mansion, something happened, I can¡¯t tell you more. I¡¯m sorry, I need to leave. I¡¯m glad you are safe now!¡± Without further words, Marcus turns around and sprints out of the basement. He rushes back toward the center of the city and calls another shuttle along the way. Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. I have to go back, maybe I can somehow reach Lady Valterion!
Location: Magicon Empire; Valterion Duchy; Valterion System; Black Tigress Commander Frank Stilberg of the Black Tiger Mercenary Company lets out a sigh of relief after arriving back on his ship. ¡°Mary, do you think he bought it?¡± He asks the woman who just transported himself and the others back to their ship the Black Tigress after the successful kidnapping of Sara Valterion. Mission accomplished. I¡¯ll never do that again. And we¡¯re not even close to being safe. ¡°I¡¯m not sure,¡± Lieutenant Mary Baker answers. ¡°He was dumb enough to kidnap the child, but well, we don¡¯t make believable pirates¡­¡± Frank shrugs. ¡°Not that it should matter too much. We have to get out of here. Let¡¯s meet the Doc to finish this. Tigress, please open a shipwide channel.¡± The ship¡¯s AI is quick to answer. ¡°Acknowledged Commander, the channel is open.¡± Frank takes a deep breath. Frank takes a deep breath. ¡°Attention all crew, the mission was a success, prepare for emergency jumping, I repeat prepare for emergency jumping!¡± Frank and Mary continue walking toward the medbay of their mid-sized starship. Tigress automatically opens the door when they arrive and they step in to see a frowning man in his forties. He has dark hair and a slightly hooked nose. Mary lies the girl down on the operating table while Frank speaks to the doctor. ¡°Hey Doc, you up for this?¡± The doctor frowns even deeper. ¡°Is this really necessary? This goes against my oath¡­¡± Frank nods slowly. ¡°Unfortunately, yes. We have to inhibit her power, or the Duchess will find us within seconds. Also, our mysterious contractor promised to remove it once we handed her over.¡± The doctor sighs. ¡°Fine, give me the Artifact, I¡¯ll do it¡­¡± Frank opens one of the pockets of his shipsuit and takes out a small square piece made out of an unknown material. It looks like metal, but it isn¡¯t. It¡¯s so much more. He shakes his head. Just who contracted us? This is a Real Artifact. Those things are rare and expensive as hell! I would have been tempted to sell it instead of doing this mission, but that¡¯s probably something one of a kind and he would have known immediately. And I don¡¯t want to cross him. That one meeting was enough. He¡¯s scary as fuck! The doctor takes the Artifact and looks it over for a moment. ¡°We¡¯re taking her chance at being a Mage¡­¡± He shakes his head as well, then steps over to the operation table and injects a mild anesthetic into the sleeping two-year-old. After a short moment, he makes a small cut with his laser cutter on her lower abdomen, right where the human magic core is located. Grabbing some metal tweezers, he carefully takes the Artifact and inserts it into the cut he just made. The Artifact liquefies and surrounds the tiny core with an almost invisible coating. It fully inhibits any power leaking out from it and she suddenly feels mundane to Frank¡¯s senses. Seeing the Artifact successfully implanted, Frank sprints to the bridge of the 200-meter ship, while the doctor finishes his work. Just as he arrives, he shouts to the other Space Mage on duty to jump the hell out of the system. He doesn¡¯t hesitate and with a little shudder, the ship moved 35 light years in an instant. The Space Mage lets out a groan and staggers back toward a nearby seat. Mary arrives on the bridge and gets into position. She concentrates, then her power flares up and they move another 80 lightyears and arrive at the edge of a populated system. Frank wipes away a drop of sweat and gives the order to move to the nearest wormhole connection as fast as possible. We have to keep moving. I hope the double non-wormhole jump drives them off our tail. With the Artifact, the connection should be gone, and we jumped along busy routes. That should make Tracking spells impossible.
Location: Magicon Empire; Valterion Duchy; Valterion System; Nua; Alburgh; Valterion Mansion ¡°Come on you stupid spell wear off!¡± Marcus has sweat running down his face, partially from the running, but also from the fear for the girl he just gave away. I need to find a way around the spell! Maybe I can write it down? Let¡¯s try it. Where is the pap¡­ There is a massive flash of magic power inside the mansion. ¡°WHERE IS MY DAUGHTER?¡± Marcus¡¯s brain shorts out and he finds himself running in the direction of the voice. Tears are running down his cheeks, he tries to speak, but again no sound leaves his mouth. ¡°Well? Speak Mr. Chandler!¡± The striking, auburn-haired woman shouts, her piercing green eyes somehow glaring down at him, despite her shorter height. ¡°I¡¯m sorry my lady, I can¡¯t.¡± ¡°Why the hell¡­, ohh.¡± She notices the spell around his mind. A flick of her wrist has it dissipating. ¡°Now speak!¡± ¡°Lady Valterion, I¡¯m truly sorry, but I had no choice. They had my parents. They took her.¡± Jasmine Valterion¡¯s eyes blaze with power, but nothing happens to Marcus. He suppresses a sigh of relief. Taking a deep breath, she speaks. ¡°Tell me everything. But be quick.¡± ¡°They looked like pirates, sent me a message with instructions and a video, holding my parents at gunpoint. They knew you were out. So, I took young Miss Sara to the exchange, hoping to contact you right after my parents are safe, so you can track them down through your connection, but they took away my ability to speak about it, so¡­ Wait, how are you here?¡± ¡°I¡­I lost my connection to her; I cannot sense her anymore.¡± Marcus blanches and falls to his knees. ¡°Is she¡­?¡± ¡°No, no I would have felt that. She simply vanished. I don¡¯t know how. Do you know where they went to? And you said they looked like pirates, were they?¡± ¡°Thank magic! No¡­I don¡¯t know where they went, they teleported¡±, Marcus replies. ¡°But they wore shipsuits, unmatched colors, and old, that¡¯s why I thought pirates, but their postures screamed military training.¡± Jasmine grimaces ¡°fuck, they probably left the system already. Wait here, we will talk in a moment, I¡¯ll inform my husband. Miranda, please warm up the Sulfira.¡± ¡°As you wish Jasmine, the Sulfira is ready in five minutes. May we find your daughter as soon as possible.¡± Her AI replies in her head just as she vanishes.
Location: Unknown; very far away from the Magicon Empire; Black Tigress Two weeks and many more jumps later, Commander Frank Stilberg begins to relax. I think we lost them. If they haven¡¯t caught up yet, they won¡¯t find us. We did too many jumps. Just a few more days and we can get our payment. We¡¯re almost at Terthia. Then we disappear. His crew is exhausted, and he also has hardly slept in the past few days. The Black Tigress is currently overtaking an older freighter heading toward the closest wormhole. An announcement sounds from the ceiling-mounted speakers, cautioning the crew to be ready for another jump. Bleary-eyed officers watch their stations and the Space Mage on duty gets ready for navigating through the wormhole. Curse words can be heard coming out of the communication station. The freighter Captain is clearly unhappy with their overtaking, but nobody has the energy to care. ¡°Three, two, one jump.¡± He counts down and the ship enters the wormhole. The forward-facing reinforced windows darken to counteract the bright lights of wormhole travel. For the next few hours, the ship¡¯s fate lies in the hands of the Space Mage and his navigational AI. A while later, Frank readies his crew and himself for the return to normal space. A countdown appears on the forward-facing window. Just as it reaches zero and the Black Tigress exits the wormhole, red lights begin to blink, a siren sounds, and something hits their energy shield. What the hell? Debris? How? Wormhole exits are always kept clear! Frank casts a quick ship-enclosing Shield spell, extremely inefficient due to the short casting time. Each hit is a massive blow to his reserves. ¡°Status¡±, he grunts, a particularly big piece of debris hitting his shield. ¡°We jumped right into a field of debris Commander¡±, the sensor officer calls out, ¡°and I¡¯m detecting multiple smaller contacts, no transponder IDs.¡± Pirates! But why¡­? Shit, the freighter! It jumps in here and shatters, all the reinforced cargo containers free for the taking. Damn it, why did we overtake them? ¡°Everyone prepare for engagement, and shoot down the debris, I can¡¯t hold it much longer!¡± ¡°Aye Commander!¡± The ship''s point defense lasers start firing and the crew¡¯s weaker A&D Mages start flinging out spells to destroy the bigger pieces. The Black Tigress starts moving out of the debris field while gunning everything around her down. Frank recasts the Shield spell, this time properly with a double layer then starts pulling together his power to send out an attack on his own. His target is one of the two bigger pirate ships they found hiding behind a bigger piece of debris. The ship¡¯s energy shield flashes red and shatters, the whole ship is cut in half and explodes shortly after. The older ship and her non-Mage shielding don¡¯t stand a chance before the Master Mage¡¯s power. But the attack doesn¡¯t come without cost, Frank¡¯s reserves are running low. The inefficient shield at the beginning took its toll! Lots of new signals start appearing on the ship¡¯s screen, emerging from over eighty bigger pieces of debris. Missiles! Must be their contingency plan, and now they throw them all at us, looks like they hate being fired upon, fuck. Where did they even get so many? That¡¯s a full loadout of a military ship. We can¡¯t stop them¡­ Maybe at full power, but like this? Missiles are the most effective weapons against Mages. Fuck! Frank curses and his crew looks wide-eyed on the screen. ¡°Tigress, shipwide.¡± ¡°Affirmative.¡± ¡°All Mages, does anyone have power left?¡± He only gets negative responses. They could try to shoot down the missiles with their lasers, but Frank notices there are just too many. He makes a decision. ¡°All hands, abandon ship, I repeat, abandon ship. I will tank the missiles. It¡¯s been an honor.¡± The bridge crew stands up and salutes. ¡°With all due respect sir, we will stay. Better quick, than a slow death as slaves.¡± Frank nods and the ship starts moving towards the missiles. ¡°Tigress, private channel to Lieutenant Baker please.¡± ¡°Channel is open.¡± ¡°Mary, please take the girl and leave, she doesn¡¯t deserve this. But you can¡¯t tell anyone who she is or everyone surviving today will feel the wrath of The Empire.¡± ¡°I will Frank. No one will ever learn the truth. May you be one with magic.¡± Shortly after the Black Tigress starts spilling escape pods and continues accelerating towards the missiles. We should never have taken this job. The Black Tigress explodes in a giant fireball.
Location: Estriduros Republic; Acordus System; ERS Davidson ¡°Report.¡± Captain Trilduro shouts after entering the bridge of the Davidson, minutes after a rather rough awakening due to the intercom in her room. ¡°Captain,¡± her XO, Lieutenant Commander Xetru salutes her, ¡°we¡¯ve located a small pirate flotilla arriving in the system. If we leave now, we can catch them before the next wormhole.¡± Finally, something to do, the Acordus System is boring as hell. ¡°Make it happen, Commander,¡± she responds, ¡°can we take them alone?¡± ¡°Yes, the biggest ship is half our size. There are two smaller gunships and a small, unarmed carrier, likely to carry all ships except the corvette through wormholes.¡± ¡°Alright, wake me when we are an hour out, you have the conn.¡± Let¡¯s do this. Captain Trilduro stands up from her seat and addresses the bridge crew. ¡°We all had a few relaxing weeks here in the system, but we need to get back into the swing of things now. Look, sharp everyone! Ensign Jordari, please open a channel.¡± The Ensign does as ordered and nods to the Captain to start speaking. ¡°Unknown pirate vessels, this is Captain Trilduro of the Cruiser ERS Davidson you are outgunned, and you can¡¯t run. Power down your drives and prepare for boarding, Trilduro out.¡± ¡°Captain, one of the gunships is trying to run.¡± The officer manning the sensor station says. ¡°Disable it, Lieutenant Gardner.¡± The Captain gestures to the tactical officer. Seconds later twin railgun projectiles impact the exhaust of the gunship, disabling its drive. The other ships quickly power down and are preparing to be boarded. A few hours later, Captain Trilduro gets a ping on her interface. ¡°Captain, the pirate ships are secured, and we found prisoners. They are wearing some uniform, probably mercenaries, including a collared Space Mage. There also is a little girl, without parents. The mercenaries say, she¡¯s the only survivor of a freighter they were hired to protect.¡± Mercenaries captured by pirates? Are they incompetent? And a little girl? ¡°Thank you, Sergeant Sezlo. Secure the former prisoners in the mess hall and put the pirates in the brig. We will deliver the girl and the normal prisoners back to Acordus 3. There should be an orphanage to take care of her and the others can find some jobs or whatever. We will keep the mercenaries and take them to Estriduros. Maybe we get some recruits." And maybe I finally get my promotion. Chapter 1: Happy "Birthday" Chapter 1: Happy ¡°Birthday¡± Location: Estriduros Republic; Acordus System; Acordus 3; Acordia; Henry Nelson Orphanage I awake to loud knocks on my door. I try to ignore them, but whoever stands there, doesn¡¯t stop. ¡°Wake up Sara, the others are waiting.¡± Ugh, I know that voice, it¡¯s caretaker Maria. Luckily, it¡¯s not caretaker Sandy¡­ It¡¯s the small things that make my day. Maria is pretty much the only one who treats me normally and listens to most of my wishes. Sandy just plain hates me. At least that is how it feels¡­ ¡°Come on, Sara. It¡¯s your birthday, we have some cake for you.¡± Yeah, as I said. She listens to most of my wishes. This is one of the situations where she doesn¡¯t. My ¡°birthday¡± or rather the day I arrived at the orphanage twelve years ago. I hate that day! It just reminds me of everything I don¡¯t have. No parents, no real birthday, and most importantly no name besides Sara. There is nothing I want less than to be celebrated right now¡­ Can¡¯t they just leave me alone? I turn around and tuck the blanket over my head, pretending I¡¯m asleep. The knocks escalate to loud banging on my door and caretaker Maria raises her voice. ¡°Sara Nelson, I know you¡¯re awake, so come on out. Even if you don¡¯t like your birthday, you still have to go to school today. Don¡¯t forget the history test.¡± I let out a groan. First, she reminds me of my ¡°birthday¡± and now she also calls me Nelson ¨C the name they gave me when I arrived here. I didn¡¯t even know that wasn¡¯t my real name until some bullies at school laughed at me a few years ago. They called me a dumb ward of the city. Apparently, the name Nelson is given to orphans without a last name. Since then, I really hate that name, as it¡¯s another constant reminder of what I have lost. The only thing I have left from before is a small necklace with the engraved name Sara. It¡¯s way too small now, so I had it changed into a bracelet. I let out a silent sigh of defeat. Now that she used the Nelson card, there is no chance that she¡¯ll leave me alone. ¡°I¡¯m coming caretaker Maria, just give me a few minutes!¡± I throw the blanket aside and get up slowly. When I look around, I see my small room on the second floor. It¡¯s exactly what one would expect from a poor orphanage on a backwater planet: A closet with more empty spaces than filled ones, a wobbly desk with a simple wooden chair full of stickers, placed there by the kids living here before me, and finally my bed with a surprisingly comfortable mattress. I take the few steps to the other door within my room and open it. Behind it is the small luxury of my private bathroom. After washing my face, I stare at annoyed, bright green eyes in the mirror. It¡¯s that time of the year again. Freckles start appearing on my face. A face that refuses to get even the littlest bit of tan, apparently because of my spacer heritage as the daughter of freighter workers. I do my wavy light red hair into a messy bun and put on my favorite dark purple shirt together with some black shorts. With a deep breath, I exit the bathroom and grab a pair of sneakers. Then I walk to the exit and open the door. When I step outside, caretaker Maria is already gone. Unfortunately, Valerie spots me from down the hallway and calls out. ¡°Hey Sara, Happy Birthday!¡± Great, now everyone has heard it and will try to congratulate me. I walk down the stairs with a small spark of hope in the back of my head that everyone has already finished their breakfast. Well, it was worth a shot. When I arrive at the dining room, everyone¡¯s there, waiting for me. They all start singing Happy Birthday and caretaker Maria hands me a small present. I swallow my annoyance, put on a smile, and thank them all. Then I quickly walk toward my usual table in the back and find my best friend Thomas already waiting for me. He smiles down at me from his height of 182 centimeters and hands me another present. ¡°Happy arrival day, Sari.¡± ¡°Thank you, Tommy, let¡¯s get something to eat!¡± ¡°No problem, and yeah, let¡¯s.¡± We walk over to the food counter. Looks like it¡¯s waffle day today. The one advantage of having a ¡°birthday.¡± That even puts a small smile on my face and a bit of my annoyance is washed away. Back at our table, Thomas grins at me. ¡°Wanna ditch school and hang out? I know how much you hate that day¡­¡± I shake my head. ¡°I wish I could¡­ But no, I have to take a history test at school today. But let¡¯s meet afterward at our usual place.¡± ¡°Bummer,¡± he replies, ¡°but yeah, let¡¯s meet in the park. I¡¯m taking care of lunch though!¡± ¡°Deal,¡± I reply with a slight grin. We both start eating after that, and I study his face for signs of anxiety. Thomas has light brown skin, as is the norm here on Acordus 3. Paired with his piercing blue eyes, his brown hair is kept in a man-bun which makes him quite handsome. Not that we are attracted to each other as we basically grew up as brother and sister. The only annoying thing is his height. At least he stopped growing at age 14 so I have a chance to catch up a bit. My height of 161 centimeters makes me look up all the time. As for why I¡¯m looking for anxiety? He had his sixteenth birthday a few weeks back and therefore his Mage testing is tomorrow. And we all know that testing out as a Mage is one of the worst things that can happen. As I don¡¯t notice anything, I just decide to ask him. ¡°Aren¡¯t you nervous about tomorrow?¡± Thomas lets out a short laugh. ¡°As if I were a Mage. I¡¯m an Acordus 3 native and you know as well as I do that there are no Mages here. The chances of being a Mage are already low, and they are even lower if you don¡¯t have Mage parents. Don¡¯t worry Sari, I¡¯m not going anywhere.¡± A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. He has a point there. Mages are taken away to Mage school and they never come back to Acordus. Well at least not back on the planet. There are probably enough here in the system on all those mining ships or the big freighters. There are even a few military ships here in the system to watch for pirates. Those ships are bound to have Mages aboard them. That¡¯s pretty much all I know about Mages¡­ Oh and that all Mages are property of the republic, as bad as that sounds. That¡¯s why I¡¯m afraid for Thomas. I don¡¯t want him to be taken away! He¡¯s my only friend. ¡°Dude, you¡¯re probably right. It¡¯s just that I don¡¯t want to lose you. You know how some of the other kids are. I¡¯m a foreigner. The girls just leave me alone because they are into you.¡± He blushes. ¡°Hey, stop worrying. It¡¯s going to be fine. Don¡¯t you have a test to do at school? You should focus on that.¡± ¡°Shoot, I have to run or I¡¯m going to be late. See you later Tommy!¡± I leave my plate for Thomas to take to the cleaning lane and race out of the room. On my way out I hear caretaker Steven shouting his displeasure after me. ¡°Sorry, but I¡¯m late!¡± I tell him before I get my backpack and leave the orphanage in a hurry. I run towards the next grav train station. The station itself is two stories above ground, as that¡¯s the height at which the normal grav trains are flying. Once quite a fancy station it¡¯s now as run down as almost everything else on the planet. Dirty glass and cheap steel make up most of the station¡¯s design. Running up the stairs, as the elevator is out of service ¨C again ¨C I arrive just as the cigar-shaped train departs. So much for arriving on time. At least my test isn¡¯t right at the start of the school day. Grumbling, I decide to wait for the next train, as I can¡¯t afford one of the taxis waiting below, and walking is out of question. It¡¯s too far. It takes another 20 minutes till the next train flies in, so I decide to refresh my memory for the upcoming history test. I take out my notebook and flip it open. Let¡¯s see¡­ The Acordus System was discovered by the republic 253 years ago and Acordus 3 was made hospitable five years later as they discovered a rich occurrence of resources here in the system. I wonder why they even bothered to terraform the planet. Most miners never come down here. At least I think so, as I¡¯ve never seen a miner here in Acordia. They must have had their reasons though¡­ Sitting under the glass dome of the station I slowly get cooked by the twin suns above. My light skin¡¯s starting to burn. This planet is killing me, especially in summer. Freakin¡¯ spacer heritage. Finally, the train flies in. I put my notebook back into my backpack. I wish I had something better, but as poor as I am as an orphan, I¡¯m still using pen and paper. Thomas did a few odd jobs last year, and he managed to buy himself a fancy holo tablet. I want one too! Maybe next year¡­ Even better would be a holographic interface directly implanted in my eyes, but I¡¯ve never seen one use them besides in movies. Alone the name sounds expensive as hell. I get on the train and find a seat. Seconds later, the hard acceleration presses me down and the train shoots off. Of course, it¡¯s one of the older models that don¡¯t compensate for the acceleration¡­ Just my luck today. Five minutes later a computer-generated voice announces the next stop: Educational District and the train starts its hard deceleration which almost catapults me out of my seat. Fortunately, I¡¯ve fastened the buckle beforehand. The train stops and I get up to leave it. The announcement reminds me of another subject I¡¯ve learned for the history test: the founding of Acordia. The city didn¡¯t develop naturally. It was built exactly as planned after terraforming 250 years ago. Therefore, we now have an almost circular city that is divided into six identically sized districts. The Henry Nelson orphanage was founded by one of those city planners and is located in one of the two residential districts. The other districts are the industrial one, the administrative one ¨C where Thomas has his Mage testing tomorrow ¨C and lastly, there is the recreational district. Lost in my thoughts, I arrive at the school. The guardsman complains that I¡¯m late, but I pay no attention to him. The school is of course also named after Henry Nelson, a famous guy as he was. I reach my classroom and enter. After apologizing to the teacher, I sit down at my table in the back ¨C just to get hit on the head by a ball of paper. I look around and the guy at the next table smirks. ¡°Oi freckles got too much sun on the way here?¡± I grimace and flip him off. Right, I forgot the sunscreen this morning. The day is just going great. The lesson ends quickly. Then there is a short break, which I spend indoors to stay out of the sun. Afterward, it¡¯s time for the history test, which lasts for the remainder of the school day. This is the sole pleasant surprise today so far: The last two hours are canceled, as the teacher is sick. After finishing the test, I leave the school and walk back to the grav train station. I think I did quite well on the test, as the questions were pretty straightforward, and the teacher didn¡¯t try to trick us. Of course, I¡¯m not expecting a perfect score as the history of the Acordus System is, well boring, but I think for the little amount of effort I put into learning, my grade should be more than acceptable. When I reach the station, I notice that I¡¯m way too early to meet up with Thomas. Those two hours of freedom messed up my plans. Not that I¡¯m complaining, as it was just boring chemistry anyway. I don¡¯t wanna become a scientist after all. My dreams are the stars and whatever is beyond Acordus 3! Still, I¡¯m two hours early¡­ I don¡¯t want to go back to the orphanage, there were enough ¡°birthday¡± wishes in the morning. A computerized voice shakes me out of my thoughts. ¡°Attention on the platform, line five towards the Spire will arrive shortly.¡± Actually, why not? There is enough time. I decide to take that train and head to the Spire. The Spire is the central building in the city. It towers over all the other buildings, includes a fancy hotel, some corporate offices, and the home of the governor. But the reason why I decide to go there is almost at the top of the Spire: The UFT station. The ultra-fast train lines circle the planet in the four cardinal directions. As the name says, they are fast. One circle around the 2000 km diameter planet takes around one and a half hours. I think it could do a circle in an hour if there weren¡¯t any stops. This just shows how small my backwater planet is¡­ It would barely count as a moon in other star systems if I can believe what I have read on the net. Terraforming such a rock just sounds plain expensive. Anyway, circling the planet has always been fun and relaxing for me. That is exactly what I need now. It will also be my first time going alone, as I¡¯ve always had Thomas with me before. But I¡¯m a big girl now! Making use of my ¡°students can use public transport for free card¡±, I don¡¯t even have to pay for it. The train arrives at the Spire, and I take the elevator up to the UFT station. While waiting for the train to arrive, I flip through an info brochure: The UFTs fly way higher than regular ones to protect the ground from fast-moving, displaced air. There are also proper gravity manipulators that can shield the train to prevent sonic booms and reduce the felt acceleration to a minimum. An announcement cautions everyone waiting for the imminent arrival of the train. The UFT also has the basic form of a cigar, but that¡¯s where the similarities with the normal trains end. Sleek lines go from front to back, and both ends look way more aerodynamic. The doors slide open, I get in and after finding a free row, I sit down next to the window. Soon thereafter the train departs and the landscape flies by in a blur. I enjoy the different parts of the planet: The snowy north pole, the desert city Sundara, the Ructari ocean with its countless islands, and finally, about an hour and a half later, we are back on the main continent with its lush forests and many fields. I¡¯m finally calm again after the exhausting morning. Now it¡¯s time to meet with Thomas in the park! Chapter 2: Testing Thomas Chapter 2: Testing Thomas Location: Estriduros Republic; Acordus System; Acordus 3; Acordia I leave the Spire and take the train to the recreational district. This time, I¡¯m lucky and it¡¯s a newer model that compensates for the acceleration. Not as good as the UFT, but way better than the piece of junk in the morning. The train crosses the circular city center where the Spire is located and heads for the recreational district. The center is where the rich people of Acordia live in their fancy mansions. It¡¯s like a seventh district that is surrounded by all the others. The train flies in parallel with lots of cars. There are even a few trucks, but most of them fly in a higher lane. It¡¯s probably to keep it all peaceful and quiet for the rich people down there¡­ Less than five minutes later which includes two stops within the city center, everything cuts off. Just like a flipped switch! No more cars, no more buildings only green grass, and shimmering lakes as far as I can see. It¡¯s the pizza-slice-shaped Recreational district. Only trains are allowed to fly here, every other vehicle has to stay out. The district was built for Acordia¡¯s inhabitants to relax and recharge their energy. Therefore, there are very strict regulations. Besides the vehicle rule, buildings are only allowed close to the tip of the pizza slice, meaning close to the city center. They also have to serve the spirit of the district, so only restaurants and other things that help people relax are allowed. The train arrives at the station shortly after, and I step out to enter the small hub of buildings there. I ignore the restaurants and ice cream parlors and enter a small corner shop. It¡¯s finally time to buy a bottle of sunscreen! In the end, I take a bottle of water as well, as it¡¯s quite the distance to where I¡¯m meeting with Thomas. It¡¯s located almost at the edge of the city, which means I have to cross the whole pizza slice. It¡¯s worth it though. Hidden behind pine trees and thick bushes, there is a clearing right next to a small lake. Thomas found it a few years back, and when he showed me, I was immediately in love with this place. Now properly equipped, I take a moment to apply a thick layer of sunscreen and head out. I look longingly at the scooter rental but shake my head in the end. I want a tablet sooner than later. Better not start wasting money on conveniences yet¡­ Therefore, I start my long walk toward the outskirts of the recreational district. It¡¯s a half an hour''s walk, and I greet the people I meet along the way. While walking, I half-circle the big central lake and see almost a dozen small ships slowly sailing around. I smile, somehow it always calms me down when I see any kind of ship, not that I¡¯ve ever seen anything bigger than a shuttle. I¡¯d love to see some real spaceships! Well, I guess I¡¯ve seen some before arriving here, but that doesn¡¯t count as I don¡¯t remember. Maybe I should try to become a miner or a freighter worker? At least I could leave Acordus 3 behind me this way¡­ But there is always the danger of pirates. Nobody knows that better than my parents¡­ I can¡¯t say, I miss them, as I do not know of them, but it still hurts to be alone all the time. Finally, I arrive at a familiar gathering of trees. Calling it forest would be too much. I let out a sigh of relief. Finally, some shade! The path winds through the trees and after walking a bit longer thereafter, I arrive at our hidden clearing. The lake immediately draws me in. I quickly dip my hands inside, and carefully lift some water in the palms of my hands to refresh my face. ¡°Hey, Sari!¡± The shout comes from behind me and with a start, I almost fall into the lake if it wasn¡¯t for Thomas grabbing my shoulder just before I lost my balance. ¡°Oh my god Tom! Don¡¯t sneak up on me like that, I almost had a heart attack!¡± Thomas laughs. ¡°You have to relax a bit! Come on, I¡¯ve got some snacks.¡± We walk over to the nearby trees and Thomas starts unpacking his backpack. He throws me a blanket so that we can have a nice picnic. I spread the blanket in the shade and Thomas comes over with some cake and tea. We enjoy the food; it is really good, and I can¡¯t stop myself from asking. ¡°Hey Tommy, did you buy the extra fancy stuff today?¡± ¡°Yeah, I figured you¡¯d need it, with all that¡¯s going on today and tomorrow.¡± Well, that is frighteningly accurate. ¡°Thank you, Tommy, I promise to make it up to you next time! Did you bring the suitcase too?¡± His goofy grin tells me everything before he answers. ¡°Of course I did. I know how much you like playing! Wanna play right now?¡± I beam my biggest smile at him and answer. ¡°Sure do! Come on let¡¯s start and don¡¯t you think I¡¯ll go easy on you because of your test tomorrow.¡± Thomas walks back to his backpack and from hidden behind a boulder, he grabs a suitcase before walking out to the clearing. The suitcase looks quite similar to the suitcase of that ancient movie about a young wizard with a lightning bolt scar who flies on his broom while playing a game to catch a golden ball. Well, we painted the suitcase that way, as we really like to watch that movie. It is always fun to watch how the people in the past imagined magic. Not that I know much about it myself other than that Mages don¡¯t use wands and there aren¡¯t any spoken words to incant a spell. Sure, there are more modern forms of watching stuff, but they are more expensive, and Thomas has always been a fan of the old stuff. He is quite fascinated by history, especially Earth ¨C the origin of humanity. Unfortunately, the planet was destroyed in a gigantic war thousands of years ago. That¡¯s all, I learned in school, as there isn¡¯t much known about the war back then. At least that was what our teachers said¡­ Thomas didn¡¯t let that stop him though and dove into the net. There, he found a bit more information. Apparently, the war was between the Mage-ruled Earth and the anti-Mage faction of Utopia. He couldn¡¯t find out who won, but the result was the destruction of Earth. Anyway, Thomas puts the suitcase down next to the lake. Excited I run over to him and fiddle with the locking mechanism to open it up. We are finally playing another round of Gravity Ball! ¡°Grab your stuff, Tommy, I¡¯m purple, as always!¡± We both love playing Gravity Ball as I¡¯m very good at it and Thomas likes it for the history. It¡¯s another thing that traces its origin back to Earth. With the invention of gravity generators, they tried to reinvent how sport is done and the result was Gravity Ball: a mix of lots of different sports. Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. We¡¯ve always loved to watch the professional leagues, and after saving enough money, we were able to buy our own basic set just last year. It¡¯s now our most prized possession. Since then, we have tried to play as often as we can. Thomas always says if we didn¡¯t live on that backwater planet of Acordus 3, I would have already been scouted by some professional teams. Maybe I can afford to travel to Estriduros when I¡¯m sixteen and allowed to travel? That would be a great career. Anyway, we continue setting up the playing field. Our basic version comes with four holographic projectors, which we have to place in the four corners of the field. More expensive versions come with a single flying projector, that hovers above the field, but we take what we can get. The projectors start humming and the playing field appears as a cage, 40 meters long, 20 meters wide, and another 20 meters in height. There are two goals opposite each other and a small pillar in the middle, indicating where the ball has to be placed. ¡°Can you get the ball and the catchers? I¡¯ll set up the bats.¡± I ask Thomas and take two extendable bats out of the suitcase. Besides the name-giving ball with a small grav generator, the bats are the main instrument of Gravity Ball. They extend to roughly 80 centimeters and are equipped with a small holographic projector. This allows us to command the catchers and also bash the ball with the bat if we want. I prefer to hold the bat in my right hand and use the holographic catcher controls with my dominant left hand. Most people do it the other way around, but for me, it works. Thomas has finished with the setup, and I hand him the other bat. ¡°Let¡¯s begin! Do you want to have the first move?¡± "Sure do! Otherwise, I¡¯ll never have a chance to score.¡± He winks at me and kicks the hovering ball straight up into the air, where one of his catchers is already waiting. The catchers have their own small grav generators and look like small floating trampolines. To play the game, we have to angle them with the controls at our bats. If we do it right, the ball bounces off of the trampoline and shoots off in our desired direction. Due to the grav generator in the ball, it keeps its momentum when we bounce it around. Thomas bounces the ball from catcher to catcher, while slowly but steadily walking toward my goal to make me think he wants to do the final push behind the goal line by himself, either by foot or with the bat. But I do know him and call his feint before he can execute it. Having one of my three catchers moving straight for Thomas¡¯s ball-holding catcher, I send the other one back to my goal for the sake of security. The third one however moves in a diagonal line between two of his catchers, and just as I predicted, Thomas lets the catcher bounce the ball toward the one he has positioned next to my goal instead of bouncing it to himself. My diagonal-moving catcher however intercepts the ball and immediately bounces it in my direction. I¡¯ve already moved in position and am now standing in the last third of the field next to the outer line with a clear angle at his goal, where only a single catcher is flying guard. I jump in the air as if I want to do a scissors kick. Thomas runs back toward his goal and has one of his catchers flying over to try to intercept my kick. My jump was a feint of course, and I land back on the ground without kicking the ball. In the same movement, I swing my bat from behind my back and hit the ball dead center. It gains even more speed because of my hit and shoots right past Thomas¡¯s catcher. He just shakes his head when the ball reaches the goal in the upper right corner. ¡°Hah, that¡¯s one goal for me!¡± I celebrate with the biggest smile I can manage. ¡°You are just too good, dang it! I thought I had you there for a moment. Let¡¯s go again, first to ten wins.¡± We continue playing and unsurprisingly, I win with a comfortable score of 10 ¨C 2. Then we pack up and make our way back home to the orphanage. It¡¯s Thomas¡¯s big day tomorrow after all.
I wake up early and my nervousness is back in full force. I look at my watch. Ugh, 6:23 a.m. Way too early. But I¡¯m also not able to sleep anymore, so I decide to take a long shower. This way I can take full advantage of the still-filled water boiler of the orphanage. Afterward, I dress in my nicest green shirt with black lines, that form an abstract starship and some dark brown pants. Then I walk down to the dining room to get some breakfast. Thomas isn¡¯t there yet, but the other two sixteen-year-old girls who are going to the testing along with him are arguing loudly in the back of the room. ¡°How can you hope to be a Mage, Shay? That¡¯s ridiculous, they take you away and put you wherever they want.¡± The tall, dirty blonde girl, Lara I think, glares at Shay. I¡¯ve always liked Shay; she is one of the few genuinely nice girls here in the orphanage. She¡¯s as short as I am and combined with her heart-shaped face with straight black hair and blue eyes she looks younger than she actually is. Shay lets out a loud sigh. ¡°Lara, I know¡­but what can I do? We have no future here. I want more, see the worlds, and travel in space. I can¡¯t do that if I say here¡­ and my only hope of leaving is being a Mage. Even the miners stay here in that backwater system.¡± I collect my breakfast ¨C cereals for today ¨C and make my way over to them. ¡°Hey girls, have you seen Thomas yet?¡± ¡°Good morning, Sara. I think he is still asleep. Wanna join us?¡± Shay asks me with a smile. I notice Lara¡¯s annoyed face but decide to take the offer. ¡°Sure, thank you. Sorry, I couldn¡¯t stop myself from eavesdropping a little while walking in, but are you sure Shay? I mean Mages are practically slaves, right?¡± Lara starts to nod, and her annoyance with me joining them visibly lessens. ¡°Finally, someone with a brain! Listen to her Shay.¡± At that moment Thomas walks in through the door. Upon seeing me, he grabs an apple and walks over to our table. ¡°Hey everyone, I hope I¡¯m not interrupting something?¡± Lara shakes her head. ¡°No, not at all, but please discourage Shay from wishing to be a Mage.¡± Thomas looks at Shay with a raised eyebrow. ¡°Seriously? How¡¯d you come up with that idea? They take you away to who knows where, and you won¡¯t ever see us again¡­¡± Shay cringes a bit when Thomas tells her this, but then she shakes her head. ¡°Exactly¡­ I mean the taking me away part not the not seeing you guys anymore part. I want to see the galaxy¡­ I don¡¯t want to grow old here.¡± Lara grunts in annoyance and Thomas scratches his cheek in thought. ¡°There have to be other ways, Shay¡­ Don¡¯t give up your dream yet. The chances of us being Mages are close to zero anyway.¡± Shay drops her head. ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re right¡­ Let¡¯s get this over with. It¡¯s better if we¡¯re early or we have to wait. Sara, you¡¯re joining us?¡± I just nod and finish my breakfast. Thomas takes his apple to go, and we all exit the orphanage. We reach the train station a few minutes later, where we take the next grav train towards the Administrative district. Here the testing will commence. The train is on point, and we arrive shortly after 8:30 in the morning. There is already a small line before the testing hall. After waiting a bit, we can finally enter the building. Inside there is not much furnishing at all. Only a table with a military guy sitting behind it, and another half dozen military men in the back. In the center of the room is an orb seemingly made out of glass, about the size of a Gravity Ball ¨C meaning it¡¯s easy to fit in a hand. The military guy at the table looks up and beckons us over. ¡°Good morning, I¡¯m Sergeant Hulder, please state your names.¡± My three companions do as he asks and tell him their names, while I mumble something about I¡¯m only fourteen. I¡¯m too nervous to speak a clear sentence. The Sergeant grumbles and tells me to move over and stand by the exit. To the others, he gives a short explanation. ¡°One by one move over to the testing orb, then place your right hand on it. If the orb glows, you¡¯re a Mage and will get further explanations on what is about to happen from the Privates in the back, otherwise, you are free to go.¡± Still a bit excited, Shay walks over and touches the orb. Unsurprisingly, it doesn¡¯t glow and her face falls. She walks over to me, and I try to comfort her, but she doesn¡¯t listen. Maybe later. Directly after her, Lara does the test, and the orb stays unlit as well. Come on, just one more. Please don¡¯t light up. Thomas goes over to the orb and lifts his hand to touch it. I hold my breath in anticipation. He lowers his hand, and¡­ and the orb starts glowing in a bright white light. What?... I can¡¯t believe what¡¯s happening. It can¡¯t be. Not Thommy. Why? The privates rush over, and two of them grab his arms, while a third one puts a silver collar around his neck. Noooooooooooooooooooooo! Chapter 3: Alone Chapter 3: Alone Location: Estriduros Republic; Acordus System; Acordus 3; Acordia; Mage testing center Noooooooooooooooooooooo. My eyes tear up and my knees start giving out. I recognize Shay grabbing me to prevent me from falling. This just can¡¯t be! I must be dreaming. Not Tommy! I blink a few times to get the tears away. When I look back at Shay, she shares my shocked expression. ¡°Thomas!¡± I shout, my voice comes out raspy. ¡°Let me go, Shay, I need to free him.¡± She just shakes her head. ¡°You can¡¯t, Sara, he is theirs now, fuck, I¡¯m sorry, it should¡¯ve been me.¡± The Privates are very efficient in handling Thomas. After affixing the collar, they inject him with something. Sad eyes look at me in apology, before they gloss over, and he falls unconscious. I let out a scream. The soldiers carry him out of the room and the Sergeant at the table calls out to Lara. ¡°You¡¯re all from the Henry Nelson orphanage, right?¡± He lays down a piece of paper and points at it. ¡°Take this, so the caretakers know what¡¯s going on. Now out with you, I don¡¯t have all day.¡± I can¡¯t believe it. Thomas is gone, just like that. I¡¯ll never see him again. The fact settles in, and I slump down on a nearby bench once we¡¯ve exited the testing room. I bury my face in my hands and the tears just won¡¯t stop flowing. This is not how things were supposed to happen! Just why? How can Thomas be a Mage? I barely notice Shay and Lara sitting down beside me. They both lean over to hug me. I¡¯m a bit surprised by Lara¡¯s reaction, as she normally doesn¡¯t care that much about me. I don¡¯t even know how long we¡¯ve been sitting there. Sometime later, we return to the orphanage. The trip goes by in a blur, and somehow, I end up back in my room. How is this possible? The chances were so low. He is just the second Mage out of the orphanage since I was brought here. And the other guy was the son of a Mage. Thomas, a fresh one as they call them. That¡¯s just unfair. What do I do now? He¡¯s been my only real friend here.
Location: Estriduros Republic; Acordus System; Acordus 3; Acordia; Henry Nelson Orphanage The next few months flew by, and my life¡¯s gotten worse ever since. The other girls started picking on me, as there was no more Thomas for whom they wanted to seem nice. School is the same as always, but I just can¡¯t find any motivation to learn the stupid stuff the government wants to teach us. I spend my evenings alone in my room with Thomas¡¯s holo tablet, which I stole out of his room before the others could plunder it. Together with some pictures and our Gravity Ball suitcase, these are the only things I managed to save. All his other things went to the other orphans and even his room found a new occupant within a day. They really are efficient if they want to be. We¡¯re currently getting closer to the end of summer, and it¡¯s finally starting to get a bit colder. At least this means that the twin suns don¡¯t burn me that much anymore. Therefore, I go for long walks every day, just to be alone. I think I¡¯ve now walked every single street there is in Acordia. I even visit other cities sometimes, thanks to the UFT. I simply walk around and buy random stuff because I don¡¯t need to save money for a tablet anymore. I guess Shay is the same. While she didn¡¯t lose her best friend, all her hope for the future just broke away. I think I¡¯ve seen her around five times since the testing, but that¡¯s about it. Another morning and I¡¯m being awoken by a knock. It¡¯s been caretaker Maria¡¯s ritual for the past few months. ¡°Good morning, Sara. Come on it¡¯s a beautiful day, you can¡¯t stay in your room all the time.¡± At least she¡¯s trying. The other caretakers are just ignoring everything around me. Whether it¡¯s me being late for school or other people bullying me ¨C they just don¡¯t care. Only caretaker Maria. While her ritual is annoying me, as I just want to stay in my bed, her kindness is the only thing that keeps me from running away. ¡°You¡¯ve got mail.¡± That second sentence jerks me awake in an instant. I¡¯ve got what now? Just who would send me a letter? Who even writes letters anymore? Can it be¡­? No, he¡¯s locked down in the academy, I think. Faster than ever before I put on my clothes and open the door. Caretaker Maria smiles down at me with her wrinkled face and kind brown eyes. Her graying hair is bound up in a tight bun and her thick glasses reflect the morning sunlight shining through the windows. ¡°I¡¯ve got mail?¡± I ask in disbelief, and she just smiles. ¡°Come down to the dining hall, grab a meal, and then you can have it. Can¡¯t have you starving, can I?¡± I grumble, but there is nothing I can do once caretaker Maria has set her mind. I inhale my breakfast as fast as I can. I don¡¯t even care about the others gossiping. After finishing, I put my plate back and run to caretaker Maria¡¯s office. She lets me in after my rather aggressive knocking and hands me a yellowed envelope with my name on it. My brain shorts out. I recognize that handwriting! ¡°Thank you, caretaker Maria,¡± I call out and rush back out of the room. I ignore everything else and rush back to my room. I sit down at my desk and take a deep breath in anticipation. With shaking fingers, I rip open the envelope and find a single sheet of paper: Hey Sari, I hope this letter gets to you. It¡¯s hard to send messages from here. I kinda befriended one of the guards, and he is the one sending out the letter. I really hope this works out. If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. I hope you are doing well. You can¡¯t be discovered as the Republic¡¯s new Gravity Ball superstar while doing nothing ??. Jokes aside, you are probably asking how I¡¯m doing. Can¡¯t say everything is fine, but the conditions here in the academy are surprisingly good, considering how they treated me after the testing. The accommodations are a big upgrade compared to the orphanage, we get three free meals a day, and our days are practically just like it¡¯s been in school. The only difference is that we have theoretical lessons in the morning and after lunch, there is the practical part. I can fling spells now Sari, can you believe that? Just like in the movies, but still very different. Anyway, they tested my power, and it turns out I¡¯m a Senior Mage in power, while still at the very bottom of the stage, they say this makes me a prodigy in magic. Pretty cool huh? The not-so-cool thing is that they forced me on one of the two possible paths. So, I¡¯m an A&D Mage now ¨C Senior A&D Mage Thomas Nelson. Ah before I forget, A&D means Attack and Defense. But looks like I¡¯m only going to learn defensive spells so that I¡¯m not going to be a danger to them¡­ That reminds me, they say they¡¯ll have me join the military once I¡¯m graduating. So, there is a chance that I¡¯m going to come to the Acordus System on a patrol. I hope I¡¯ll see you again if that¡¯s the case. The letter goes on with Thomas telling me other stuff. Even the unimportant random facts. But that¡¯s just how he is. I also have to stop reading multiple times as my eyes tear up all the time. I finally finish the letter just to come to a realization: I have to join the military! Even better, this is a way for Shay off the planet too. I can¡¯t believe she hasn¡¯t thought of that yet. I leave my room in a rush to visit Shay. I knock nonstop, as I can barely hold back my excitement. Still, I wait and wait¡­ and wait. She doesn¡¯t open her door. Is she even here? I try to open the door, just to find it locked. Well, looks like I¡¯m on my own for now. I go back to my room and fire up my tablet to visit the military¡¯s webpage. After the super-fast connection of the orphanage finally finished loading the page, a hologram of probably the most handsome soldier they could find greets me. ¡°Welcome to the official page of the Estriduros Military! For general information please click on the button on the right or just say information. For recruitment press the button on the left or say recruitment.¡± I decide to first look for general information, as I have absolutely no clue what they do besides fighting others. The information page finishes loading, and I finally get some context. There are three branches of the military. First, the Star Force which is pretty straightforward. They are all about military ships and long-range engagement. Next, we have the Space Rangers. They are also on starships but take care of boarding actions and inner ship defense. Also, if necessary, they can execute ground-based missions. Lastly, there is the Planetary Force. They are the smallest armed forces in the Republic and take care of ground-based defense or large-scale ground-based attacks, but this doesn¡¯t happen all that often. One thing is pretty clear to me. Thomas won¡¯t be joining the Planetary Force. He said he¡¯s pretty powerful, so for what reason would they waste his potential waiting for ground-based attacks, that¡¯ll probably never happen. This leaves the Space Rangers and Star Force. He said, he¡¯s concentrating on defensive spells, so that means probably Star Force, but I can¡¯t be sure. Anyway, that¡¯s enough information now. Next stop, the recruitment page! The soldier hologram congratulates me for my courage and willingness to join the military and the next big block of information greets me: Requirements. They are, well¡­ I wouldn¡¯t say impossible to meet, but very hard for someone out of a backwater like the Acordus System. I mean I could join up for the Planetary Force pretty easily, as you only need to be moderately physically fit and have a basic understanding of the Republic''s politics, but that is not the goal I¡¯m aiming for, as it brings me no closer to Thomas. Star Force is pretty much out for the count, as I cannot learn advanced space theory here on Acordus 3, which is a prerequisite for Star Force. That leaves the Space Rangers. It¡¯ll be hard, but doable. They require peak physical fitness and also basic starship theory. I¡¯ll have to train every day to achieve this but for a chance of meeting Thomas again? I will! After deciding, I head back out and knock at Shay¡¯s room again. No answer. Weird. I go down to the common room and ask some boys if they¡¯ve seen Shay. One of them answers. ¡°Yeah, she left a few days ago. Had a large backpack with her and mumbled something about training down in the woods in the south. She hasn¡¯t returned since.¡± The heck? Did she have the same idea? ¡°Thank you, Matt. I¡¯ll go out to look if I can find her if someone misses me.¡± I doubt that problem will arise. Currently, we are in the summer holidays and besides Caretaker Maria and my bullies, nobody seems to know that I exist. I go back to my room to plan. South¡­ Remembering my geography lessons, I can think of one town to start looking for her. The town of Spicagi next to Rocugo Mountain. I pack my own backpack with some clothes and put on my old hiking boots. With that, I leave the orphanage and walk to the grav train station. Unfortunately, Spicagi is a smaller town, which means, I can¡¯t use the UFT. That ride is going to take quite some time. I should be in Spicagi in the late afternoon though. When I finally arrive, I take in the town. It is quite different from Acordia. Gone are the clear lines and homogenous districts. They make way for a full-on chaos of buildings. They were built without a grand plan in mind. Streets are curvy, bypassing the buildings, and some houses are even partially built into the mountain. Also, the average height is only two stories. If I were Shay, I¡¯d train all day and come back in the evening to sleep in the cheapest hotel I could find. With this thought, I head out to find exactly that hotel. It is easier than I thought. Right next to the station is a small billboard, advertising all the hotels. It¡¯s a bit of a walk until I reach the cheapest hotel I could find on the billboard. It¡¯s located at the edge of the city and looks like it was in its prime some 50 years ago. I enter the lobby and ask the receptionist about Shay. Unfortunately, she tells me she can¡¯t help because of privacy laws. I¡¯m welcome to wait in the lobby though. I decide to do just so. At least the chairs are rather comfortable. Luckily, I guessed right, as just a few hours later, a visibly sweaty Shay enters the hotel lobby. Upon seeing me her eyes go wide. ¡°What the fuck?... What are you doing here?¡± I just stare back at her for a while, then a frown enters my face. ¡°Well, I was looking for you, Shay. I think I found the solution. But it looks like you were faster than me¡­ Why didn¡¯t you tell me?¡± She winces. ¡°I didn¡¯t think you wanted to leave. I mean we were never that close, right? Also, how could I know?¡± Right, I haven¡¯t known that I want this either before today... I blush a little. But still. ¡°Uhm right, I just made the decision earlier today. Thomas sent a letter¡­¡± Shay¡¯s jaw drops. ¡°He what? Tell me everything!¡± She sits down next to me, and I tell her. I end with my speculation of him either joining Star Force or Space Rangers. Shay was silent the whole time, deep in thought. ¡°I think you are right. It is probably Star Force. I¡¯m training for Planetary Force, but this changes things¡­ I¡¯ve always liked him, you know.¡± I blink and just look at her. Then I start chuckling. ¡°You too? Oh my god, is there a single girl on this planet that does not fancy him?¡± My chuckles escalate to my first full-blown laughter since Thomas was taken away. Shay¡¯s face is beet red, and she looks down in embarrassment. Finally, I get myself back under control. ¡°You know, I think you might be the only one who actually has a chance.¡± She stares at me. ¡°For real?¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± I nod at her. ¡°You are kind, beautiful, and share his exploratory drive. You just have to get your swear words under control.¡± A goofy smile spreads across Shay¡¯s face. ¡°You know what that means, right?¡± She asks but doesn¡¯t leave me time to answer. ¡°We¡¯re going to train and train and train from now on. Planetary Force isn¡¯t enough anymore. We have to shoot for the stars.¡± I return her smile. ¡°Space Rangers it is then.¡± ¡°Space Rangers indeed.¡± She replies. Chapter 4: Testing Sara Chapter 4: Testing Sara Location: Location: Estriduros Republic; Acordus System; Acordus 3; Spicagi The next day, Shay leads me to her training ground deep in the woods. Leads me puts it in very kind words. She mutated into a relentless taskmaster the next morning. I barely had time to sleep, as we talked till late in the night. But still, there wasn¡¯t even an alarm when she woke me up rather roughly by pulling away my blanket at six in the morning. She barely gave me 15 minutes to shower and eat breakfast. I made it though, and now we¡¯re running like we are hunted by a horde of wild dogs through the woods. This is nothing like the short sprints I do while playing Gravity Ball. I pant and sweat, but Shay doesn¡¯t care and pushes me further and further. She even has the energy to laugh. How can she be this fit? She only left five days ago! ¡°Stop, that¡¯s enough for now. We¡¯ve arrived.¡± I immediately stop running upon hearing those words and almost fall over in exhaustion. ¡°Ahhhhhh! Do you want to kill me?¡± I shoot an angry look at her and sit down to wipe the sweat out of my face while trying to catch my breath. Wet strands of red hair are sticking to my cheeks. ¡°This is just the beginning.¡± Shay has the nerve to smirk at me. ¡°A nice jog to warm up the muscles. For the Space Ranger fitness test, we have to run that distance in half the time. Now on your hands and give me twenty!¡± I stare at her when she says just how much faster I have to get. Then her next words register, and I have no clue what she means. ¡°Huh? Twenty what?¡± ¡°Pushups you dummy, come on.¡± I groan but start to do it¡­ Eleven, that¡¯s all I manage before my arms simply stop working. I fall facedown to the ground, unable to move. ¡°I can¡¯t, that¡¯s too much. I need a break.¡± Shay sits down next to me. Suddenly, there is a concerned expression on her face while she plays with her black ponytail. ¡°You didn¡¯t joke after the run?¡± I manage to shake my head while groaning. ¡°Fuck!¡± She stands up and starts pacing. ¡°Shit, I¡¯m so sorry. I got so excited and held you to my standard¡­ I completely forgot that you¡¯ve never done something like this¡­ I¡¯ve been going for regular runs since I was your age. That clouded my judgment, I guess. That explains the mad dash through the woods. I don¡¯t even have the energy to complain about her cursing right now. When I¡¯m finally able to sit up, I take a deep breath. ¡°It¡¯s okay. Now I know how far I have to go in the next four years so thank you for that. But please let me start slowly.¡± Shay seems to think a little bit, then her face lights up. ¡°Hah, I¡¯ve got an idea! But first have something to drink, you look like hell.¡± She hands me a bottle of water and I gulp it down in seconds. ¡°Thank you, now, what do you have in mind?¡± She gets up. ¡°You¡¯ll see, follow me.¡± Luckily, she stopped running and we are walking now. While it isn¡¯t a stroll, I think, I can manage the pace. We walk and walk till we arrive at the foot of Rocugo mountain. ¡°All right, see this trail over there?¡± Shay points at a small path that leads up the mountain. ¡°It leads up almost to the top. If we can keep the pace, we should arrive a little after noon. This should help build up your stamina and overall fitness if we do it every day.¡± I look up, barely seeing the tip. ¡°Isn¡¯t that 1.5 kilometers straight up?¡± ¡°No you silly, the whole mountain is 1.5 kilometers in height, but we are already at around 900 meters here, so it¡¯s not too much.¡± I sigh in relief. ¡°Okay, let¡¯s do this.¡± We start walking and soon we fall into a steady pace while talking about random things. Every break we take, Shay comes up with a new exercise to keep the body flexible. It works! My stiff muscles relax and I¡¯m able to walk further. That doesn¡¯t mean, I transform into a superwoman from just one walk. I¡¯m still completely exhausted when we arrive at the top of Rocugo Mountain. Still, I somehow find the energy to do a silly dance. ¡°I did it, can you believe it, Shay? Haha, Space Rangers here I come!¡± We relax at the top, eat our lunch, and enjoy the view. I can even see the Spire in the distance. Huh, it¡¯s still higher than we are here on top of the mountain. While walking back down, Shay tells me of her plans. ¡°I think I¡¯ll apply directly at the Mage testing in two years. I¡¯m 18 then and if I can show them some moves, I think it¡¯s better than filling out the application form and hoping for the best.¡± She looks at me, her eyes go wide. ¡°Wait¡­that¡¯s going to be your Mage testing, right?¡± My mood drops and we walk on in silence. A few silent minutes later, we both look at each other and start to chuckle. Yeah true, as if Thomas and I are both Mages. ¡°If I am, you have to check the orphanage¡¯s food supply¡­ they might very well feed us magical stuff.¡± We both laugh and start talking again. We even talk about Thomas a bit, even if it still hurts. But now we have a good chance of seeing him again. Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. I think I¡¯ve made a new friend! We arrive back down at our hotel in Spicagi. ¡°What¡¯s the plan now?¡± I ask Shay and she thinks a little before answering. ¡°I¡¯m going to stay here. The woods and the mountain are a good place to train. I can do a few random jobs to earn some money.¡± She stands up and walks through our room. ¡°I¡¯ve just finished school and I don¡¯t want to learn some boring job here, so that¡¯s all I can think of doing.¡± I look at her, her lithe body, and eyes full of determination. Yeah, she can do this. ¡°If you¡¯re certain you¡¯re going to make it, I think that¡¯s the right way. What about starship theory?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll do as good as I can with my tablet¡­ there is no course in Acordia College either, so that¡¯s all I can do¡­ I guess, I have to convince them with my fitness.¡± She¡¯s got a point here. That is one of my concerns too. Guess that¡¯s it then. I sort my thoughts and come up with my own plan. ¡°Okay, so you have two years. I still have four, but I also need to finish school¡­ I can¡¯t stay here with you. I have to return when the next school term begins.¡± I put a stray strand of hair behind my ear and stand up, full of determination. ¡°Here¡¯s what I¡¯m going to do. I¡¯ll stay with you here for the remainder of the holidays and then I¡¯ll come down on the weekends. On weekdays the park has to be enough for me.¡± Shay nods her agreement. ¡°That¡¯s a good plan. But please don¡¯t overwork yourself. I still feel bad about earlier today¡­ And don¡¯t slack at school. If we don¡¯t get accepted, you are done without good grades.¡±
Location: Location: Estriduros Republic; Acordus System; Acordus 3; Acordia This is it! Today is the last day, that can change my plans. For the past two years, I trained like a madwoman. Alone and together with Shay. Gone is my thin weak body. It made way for a muscled and yet lean form that only top athletes have. I also grew quite a bit, standing now tall at 175 centimeters in height, a good half-head above Shay. So now at the age of sixteen years, almost graduated from school I¡¯m about to go to my own Mage testing. There is just one thought lingering in the back of my head. What if, against all odds, I test out as a Mage too? Even worse, what if I¡¯m a weak one, not strong enough for the military? Just in case, I¡¯m now standing back at Thomas¡¯s and my favorite place in the Recreational district. The hidden clearing by the small lake. With me is a shovel and the Gravity Ball suitcase. I can¡¯t lose that! I dig out a hole and hide the suitcase. Done, now on to meet Shay. I stroll back to the grav train station and take the train to the Administrative district. Shay is already waiting for me. Standing proud, I can see her well-defined muscles. She too managed to keep her thin frame and doesn¡¯t look like an inflated balloon made out of too big muscles. Her black hair is cut at shoulder length, which suits her well. ¡°Are you ready?¡± She asks and I nod in confirmation. Let¡¯s do this. She doesn¡¯t look nervous, but I can see small traces of insecurity in her blue eyes. I¡¯d wonder if there weren¡¯t any. For her, today is even more important. While I only have to touch a ball and wait for a negative response, it is do or die for her today. If she fails, she has to stay on the planet for at least another year, maybe forever. Without starship theory, she¡¯ll never get accepted if she applies online. We walk to the testing center, it¡¯s in the same building as last time. We are late. There is a long line of waiting people. With no other choice we join the line and wait¡­ and wait. Finally, it¡¯s time for us to go inside. I decide to let Shay do her thing first. She walks towards the military man on the registration table. It¡¯s a Space Ranger. A Sergeant to be correct. I recognize his rank insignia on his shoulders. My training pays off, yay! She stands at attention hands behind her back and declares. ¡°Shay Jensen reporting to join the Space Rangers as a recruit." I hold my breath, this is it. The Sergeant is taken aback. He didn¡¯t expect something like this. ¡°Hold on a minute, you know this is Mage testing, right?¡± ¡°Yes Sir, I wanted to make an impression instead of simply applying by form and never getting an answer because of this shitty backwater planet.¡± The Sergeant¡¯s eyes go wide, and he strokes his bushy beard. ¡°Hah, you¡¯ve got a point here, let me contact my superior.¡± His eyes move around, and he taps onto seemingly random spots in the air. A holographic interface! ¡°Captain, I have a young girl here who wants to apply as a Space Ranger recruit¡­¡± ¡°Yes Ma¡¯am, I know¡­ Still, you should see her. Looks fitter than half my Privates here¡­¡± That causes the Privates in the back to shoot him some angry glances. ¡°Okay, thank you, Ma¡¯am. I¡¯ll ask her.¡± He focuses back on Shay. ¡°You are 18, right?¡± She nods and the Sergeant confirms for his Captain, then listens to their reply. ¡°All right, Captain says to give you a chance. You can join us for the remainder of the tour till Estriduros. But you¡¯ll have to do all the chores on the ship as the cost of transportation. Also, Captain will check you out once we¡¯re finished here.¡± Shay jumps around happily. ¡°Yeesss, thank you very much, Sergeant, I won¡¯t disappoint you!¡± ¡°You can join the Privates back there, but don¡¯t interfere with anything or the offer is off the table.¡± He points to the six Privates in the back. Shay nods and hurries to the other end of the room. ¡°Now back to business, next please.¡± That¡¯s me. I nervously walk to his table. Looking into deep brown eyes, I state my name. ¡°Sara¡­ Nelson, here for Mage testing.¡± He gestures to the orb in the center of the room. ¡°Name and age check out, go ahead and touch it. If it shines, you get further information, otherwise, you can leave through the door over to your right.¡± Further information¡­ I suppress a snort. More like a collar and some anesthetic. I go to the orb. Then I lift my left hand and let it hover over the ball. This is it. I take a deep breath and touch the orb. Nothing¡­ Wait, what is that? I frown, a tingling sensation spreads through my whole body. The orb glows in a faint purple light. Why is it purple? And why is the light so dim? Why is there even light at all? That¡¯s not supposed to happen! I can¡¯t be a Mage! The tingling gets stronger, especially in the area around my navel. Is this normal? Nobody seems to notice anything. Should I just leave? Yeah, I¡¯ll do that, same as Shay, Space Rangers in two years. Just as I want to lift my hand, there is a sharp intake of breath. ¡°Sergeant you¡¯ve got to see this!¡± One of the Privates ¨C a smaller one, with muscles like bazookas ¨C shouts. ¡°I think it¡¯s Space!¡± The Sergeant rushes over to me and takes a close look. ¡°Unbelievable, collar her. I¡¯ll call the Captain.¡± He steps back, to do just that. I stand there in shock, hand still on the orb. The tingling starts to get uncomfortable, but I don¡¯t care. Space? I know that they are the rarest kind of Mage¡­ but why they are so special, I have no clue. How can I be one of them? How can I even be a Mage? My knees give out, just like the last time in this very room. This time strong arms catch me, not Shay. I¡¯m too shocked to even let out a yelp. A cold metal collar closes around my neck. The tingling stops! I look at Shay, she stands in the corner just like ordered. Her eyes are wide as saucers, her mouth forms a perfect O. The Sergeant calls out. ¡°That¡¯s enough Privates, Captain says she¡¯ll get V.I.P. You, recruit, make yourself useful, and guide her to the back room. The collar keeps her there, just keep an eye on her.¡± We are both too shocked to speak. It¡¯s over. All my plans are ruined now. There¡¯s nothing I can do; I feel the collar restricting my movement. How can I feel that? I give a slight nod to Shay. She nods back, walks over, and guides me to the back room. There are eleven other people, all collared and out cold. What do I do now? Chapter 5: A Nice? Kidnapping Chapter 5: A Nice? Kidnapping Location: Estriduros Republic; Acordus System; Acordus 3; Acordia; Mage testing center Shay and I just stand there waiting. Now and then, there are two Privates coming back, carrying another person my age and lying them down next to the others. Why do I get special treatment? I turn to ask Shay, but she just stands here, the same as I do. We both don¡¯t know what to do. ¡°Hey Shay.¡± My voice comes out as a whisper. She looks at me and raises an eyebrow. ¡°Why am I treated differently?¡± I pause for a second. ¡°You saw the orb¡­ I¡¯m a Mage¡­ Why am I not with the poor guys over there?¡± I indicate all the other young people who lie next to each other, unconscious. She shrugs. ¡°Apparently being a Space Mage comes with privileges? I¡¯m still jealous, you know? All my friends being Mages and stuff¡­ At least now I¡¯ve got a way off this shithole of a planet.¡± I cringe, she just can¡¯t stop swearing. A few hours later it looks like they are finished. My legs are already a bit stiff from standing around all the time. I think my training is the only thing that keeps me from collapsing. Shay doesn¡¯t look much better either and shuffles from one leg to the other. The Sergeant comes back, followed by the six Privates. There are now 23 young people lying on the ground, plus Shay and me, the single Space Mage. ¡°Listen up, take them, and put them in the shuttle on the roof, we depart in 30 minutes.¡± The Sergeant shouts. ¡°Recruit, help them! Space Mage, you¡¯re with me, follow.¡± He walks out the door in the back and up the stairs. I just stand there, frozen. He looks back, an annoyed expression on his face. Grunting, he taps something in his interface and a small shock puts me out of my freeze. Ouch! I walk up the stairs, followed by Shay and the Privates. Each of them carries an unconscious young Mage. We arrive at the roof and despite my collared situation, I can¡¯t stop myself from staring in excitement. My first starship! Well, calling it a starship might be a little exaggerated. The ship, or better shuttle hovers on the roof, It¡¯s quite big¡­ Wider, and taller than the trains here. Just a lot shorter, I guess about 20 meters in length, total. It looks a bit like a cargo container, as there are no windows. Probably for protection from the bright lights when entering the atmosphere? Because I studied starship theory a bit, I recognize the material as tristanium ¨C very imaginative named after its discoverer Tristan Almery thousands of years in the past. Tristanium is lighter and way stronger than steel. It doesn¡¯t rust and is extremely durable, which makes it perfect for starships, and pretty much everything that exceeds the capabilities of normal steel. The material is commonly found on asteroids, which made the Acordus System interesting for the republic in the first place. What I also learned during my studies is that The Spire here in Acordia is made out of tristanium¡­ Weird, all those random facts running through my head while I¡¯m practically being kidnapped. Or am I? I¡¯m at least better off than all the other Mages of Acordus 3 who are currently being loaded into the shuttle. They are carried up a ramp on the side of the shuttle and then through the hatch. I should probably go inside too before the Sergeant shocks me again¡­ I just do so, and when I enter the shuttle, I notice several rows of seats, occupied by some of the knocked-out Mages. I move toward the back of the shuttle to take a seat on my own, as it¡¯s the logical thing to do. I don¡¯t want to be close to the soldiers! I sit down and am about to tighten the security harness when the Sergeant exits the cockpit. ¡°Wait, you are sitting with me up front for security reasons.¡± I groan but comply and walk back towards the front. I still don¡¯t know his name¡­ Now in the correct seat, we wait. Finally, the last young Mage is secured, and the other soldiers and Shay secure themselves as well. The shuttle takes off. This is so weird. I¡¯m being kidnapped and my friend joins the kidnappers. Even weirder, if I weren¡¯t a Mage, I would have joined them in two years as well.
Location: Estriduros Republic; Acordus System; ERS Verdinum I barely notice that we are flying. No vibrations, no rumbles, not even any sign of acceleration. Looks like they can use the good stuff. Not those crappy grav generators in some of the trains here on Acordus 3. The viewscreen makes me wish there were actual windows. This is amazing! 30 seconds of flight and we are already through the clouds. The screen gets darker and darker till there is only the vast darkness of space. The only points of illumination are the twin suns and lots of far-away stars. Breathtaking. I can¡¯t believe that my first trip to space is involuntary. I mean who knows what¡¯s going to happen after Mage Academy¡­ All I''ve heard is that Mages are practically slaves of the people who own them. Those in the military might be the winners, as there are clear rules to follow for everyone. But the others? A shudder runs down my spine. Better not to think of it. Can¡¯t be too bad. Eventually, they want to use the Mages¡¯ powers. Come to think of it, this isn¡¯t my first trip in space as apparently, I am the daughter of freighter people. But I can¡¯t remember any of it¡­ So I¡¯ll just call it my first trip. ¡°Attention, prepare for the final approach to the Verdinum.¡± The intercom snaps me back out of my thoughts, and I focus back on the viewscreen. Wow! The sleek ship is right in front of us. The hull looks like a work of art ¨C in a hazardous style. Sharp edges and thick armor plating adorn the length of the ship. Just like the shuttle there aren¡¯t any windows. I wonder if this is a design choice, or if there aren¡¯t any reinforced windows or something. Unfortunately, the bit of starship theory I managed to learn didn¡¯t cover those things¡­ Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. The starship can be divided into three parts. Engines and the big exhausts in the back, a large, almost rectangular, but still rounded, midsection, and a thinning front end with lots of front-facing weapons and sensors. Additionally, there are various guns all around the hull. This time my studies can help. There are railguns, laser turrets, and even missile tubes. Especially those missiles are the bane of all starships¡­ If you are hit by lasers or railgun projectiles, your ship might live, but if a missile hits, you¡¯re done for. Realization dawns in my mind. That thing was built for war! A large opening, located in the midsection of the ship greets us ¨C the hangar bay. Energy shields are flickering, while keeping the air inside. The shuttle crosses the barrier. There is a slight distortion on the screen when we move through the shields. I wonder what would happen if that barrier failed, as I can see lots of people moving around in the hangar bay. Would they all die? The shuttle sets down and the sounds of the engine wink out. The seven Space Rangers in the shuttle jump up and start moving towards the exit. Just when they are about to leave the shuttle, the Sergeant remembers Shay and me. He orders us to get up and leave with them. We are about to meet the Captain. We walk down the small ramp, and the Rangers stand at attention and salute the woman standing opposite us. I look at her uniform and find the insignia of the Space Rangers. She is quite tall, with dark skin and black hair in a pixie cut. As a Space Ranger Captain, I can¡¯t confuse her with the Captain of the ship, as they are a Star Force Captain, which is a higher rank than a Ranger Captain¡­ This is so confusing. Who comes up with something like that? Whatever, I have to pay attention! ¡°Welcome back, Rangers. You know what to do. Unload them, get them into shipsuits, and put them on ice, just like the others. Recruit and Space Mage, follow me.¡± Put them on ice? What the heck! Is that what they did with Thomas? I¡¯m too stunned to speak ¨C again, but I still follow her because I don¡¯t want to get shocked. I glance over to Shay, just to see her own expression of horror on her face. We walk past several crewmembers in silence. While we walk, the other words from the woman finally register. Shipsuits! That must be the answer to a ship losing atmosphere. A few minutes and an elevator ride later, we arrive in a small mess hall. The Captain gestures to sit down and after we are seated, she sits down as well and lets out a long sigh. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for earlier. That must¡¯ve been quite disturbing¡­ I don¡¯t like it, but orders are orders. There is a reason for that procedure. I can tell you if you want¡­ Oh, where are my manners? I¡¯m Captain Samira Dolder.¡± Shay starts to speak, but her voice comes out a little weak. ¡°Pleased to meet you, Captain Dolder, I¡¯m Shay Jensen. I was actually quite excited to join the Rangers, but now I¡­ I¡¯m not so sure anymore. Can you please explain?¡± I just nod, she already knows my name and I don¡¯t want to talk to someone who just ordered to put all those Mages on ice. If it weren¡¯t for my special treatment, that would¡¯ve been me too! ¡°Again, I¡¯m sorry. I handled the situation very poorly. Normally everyone who¡¯s not in the military is fast asleep when the shuttle arrives on the Verdinum.¡± She scratches her head, a rather embarrassed expression on her face. ¡°The reason why we do it that way is simple. The Verdinum is only a Destroyer, a small ship. There is simply not enough space for over 100 Mages we collect every year. Therefore, all the Mages are put into a shipsuit and kept asleep for the remainder of the trip to the academy. I don¡¯t really believe it, but apparently, some studies said, that it¡¯s better for the Mages¡¯ mental health to be asleep during the trip instead of being awake under claustrophobic conditions. We also have to confiscate their belongings, as by the law, Mages aren¡¯t allowed to bring personal things to the academy.¡± She looks at me before continuing. ¡°Unfortunately, that also includes you. I can lead you to your room so you can change. But you can also grab some food before if you want.¡± Why don¡¯t they send a bigger ship? This is all just bullshit, but what can I do? At least I¡¯m awake, I guess¡­ I look down at my former necklace, now bracelet. ¡°You have to confiscate everything?¡± She catches my look and nods. ¡°Unfortunately, yes. According to the law it has to be collected and destroyed or sold.¡± She glances at Shay and winks. ¡°Of course, if that bracelet weren¡¯t in your possession, but let¡¯s say, for example, a friend of yours has it, there would be nothing I could do.¡± Huh, did she just give me a way to avoid losing my bracelet? Why does she even care? I can¡¯t stop myself and blurt out. ¡°Why are you helping me? All the time I feel like I¡¯m being kidnapped but also not really¡­ Why?¡± The Captain chuckles. ¡°I get that reaction all the time. Let me ask you a question. Do you know how a starship moves between systems?¡± I shrug. Wait! My eyes go wide. Everything clicks into place. Space Mages enable travel between systems! Wow, it even makes sense for the Republic to keep this out of public knowledge. Who would trust a government that hates Mages, while they depend on them? I can see the amusement in her eyes. ¡°Exactly, you Space Mages are essential. I won¡¯t bore you with details as you learn this in the Academy, but just know that without Space Mages traveling as we do wouldn¡¯t be possible. As for why I treat you differently? I just feel like it is better to have a good relationship with every Space Mage I come across.¡± ¡°How is something like that kept in secret? And how can the government justify its anti-Mage politics? They are practically preaching they¡­ We are the devil.¡± ¡°First, do you know any people who travel around space?¡± Wow, is it that easy? I shake my head. ¡°There you have it. There is little interaction most of the time. Also, people who know are sworn to secrecy under threat of prison or even execution¡­ I¡¯ve already told you too much. You¡¯ll learn in the Academy. Recruit Jensen, pretend you haven¡¯t heard anything. This is something you¡¯ll learn after your basic training. Now second, don¡¯t criticize the government so openly, others might not be so understanding. And always know, you may be important, but for the republic, you are not irreplaceable.¡± I can feel my face turn white. Just how messed up is this republic? I wonder if I¡¯ll ever find the reason behind all that. I can feel my nausea rising, so I decline her offer of food and let her lead me to my room. I step inside and she tells me, that I¡¯ll find my shipsuit in the closet. She turns to Shay. ¡°Recruit Jensen, follow me, I¡¯ll bring you to the Ranger¡¯s quarters.¡± They walk away and I can hear her start talking about the duties Shay has to do while on the Ship. The door closes and I¡¯m alone. I sit down on one of the two beds. Everything comes crashing down in my head. I curse, even if I hate doing so. This is just too fucked up! I just sit there and wait. A while later, I strip down and put on the shipsuit. It is very form-fitting. At least it¡¯s comfortable. I decide to go and get something to eat ¨C just to somehow feel that I can¡¯t leave the room. The collar! So I wait until Shay comes with a tray of food. ¡°Hey Sara, how are you doing?¡± I shrug. ¡°Can¡¯t say I enjoy it, but it¡¯s better than it could be. Can you keep my bracelet like the Captain said?¡± Shay nods. ¡°Of course, I¡¯ll keep it safe till we can meet again, I swear it! This is probably the last time you¡¯ll see me for a while. Captain says you¡¯ll have to stay here in your room. The orders of the Star Force people. They were quite annoyed that you aren¡¯t asleep with the others.¡± She hugs me tightly. ¡°Stay strong, Sara! I¡¯m gonna miss you. Keep an eye out for Thomas, I¡¯ll do the same.¡± We both tear up. ¡°I¡¯ll miss you too Shay!¡± Chapter 6: The Academy Chapter 6: The Academy Location: Estriduros Republic; ERS Verdinum The next few days are pretty much the same. In the morning the door opens, and a Private brings me a tray of breakfast. After eating, I use the room''s tablet and watch some random stuff until another Private returns for lunch. Afterward, a third Private takes me out for a short walk through the corridors till I''m back alone in the room. The days end with a fourth Private bringing me dinner. After eating, I go to sleep early because I can¡¯t do anything else anyway. The boring routine is only interrupted when a male voice announces over the intercom that we are about to enter a wormhole. This happens every few days when we leave for another star system to take their young Mages. Not that I notice any of this. The process occurs in the hangar and wherever the Mages are taken afterward. We¡¯ve already visited two other systems so far, but I think, I¡¯m still the only Space Mage. ¡°All crew, prepare for wormhole travel. Entry in five minutes!¡± Ahh, here we go again. Maybe they will find a Space Mage this time? I¡¯m dying of boredom alone in the room! The ship shudders a little but that¡¯s about all I notice of the wormhole entry. I don¡¯t even notice when we emerge. Everything stays the same. Lunch is served to the minute at noon, or 1200 hours as the military likes to say. Now it¡¯s just another two hours of waiting until I¡¯m taken out for my daily walk¡­ It comes as a shock when suddenly my door opens again, just thirty minutes after lunch. Standing there is a collared boy who looks quite shocked as well. Behind him is a smiling Captain Dolder. ¡°Hello Sara, this is Simon, your new roommate for the last three days of our trip.¡± With that, she leaves, and the door closes behind the new guy, Simon. We both look at each other in shock. He is tall, even taller than Thomas. I estimate his height at around 190 centimeters. His clothes look very expensive. Every piece of his clothing bears the logo of a famous design brand. I¡¯ve only ever seen pictures of clothes like that while browsing my tablet. And he just wears it as if it¡¯s nothing. Brown eyes, a friendly face, and perfectly styled mid-length dark blue hair complete his look. Looks like we are at one of the core systems now. Or he¡¯s just rich¡­ The silence starts getting heavy and I can¡¯t bear it anymore, so I start talking. ¡°Hi, Simon, right? I¡¯m Sara. Nice to meet you.¡± His eyes linger on my collar. ¡°Yes, I¡¯m Simon Storkis. Nice to meet you too.¡± He points at my collar after staring at it all the time. ¡°You¡¯re a Mage too! Do you know why we are here and not with the others?¡± I look at him in confusion. Didn¡¯t Captain Dolder tell you?¡± He shakes his head. ¡°No, she brought me straight here, but everyone threw angry glances at her.¡± ¡°Oh okay¡­¡± I scratch the back of my head. ¡°You¡¯re a Space Mage, right?¡± When he nods, I continue. ¡°I¡¯m one too, that¡¯s why we¡¯re awake¡­ Essentially, Space Mages are kinda important and the Captain wants to leave a good impression, even if it¡¯s against protocol. That¡¯s why the Star Force guys are a little angry with her.¡± Simon sits down on the other bed and puts his face in his hands. ¡°So, just because the Captain wants to be nice, we¡¯re not kept unconscious like the others?¡± I nod. ¡°Yeah, pretty much. As if this would make us like them more¡­¡± Simon looks back up and shakes his head. ¡°It¡¯s disgusting¡­¡± ¡°True¡­¡± I take another glance at his clothes. ¡°Oh, and you probably want to exchange your clothes for one of those shipsuits.¡± I point at my own. ¡°Captain said we aren¡¯t allowed to own anything now that we are mages. The bathroom is behind that door.¡± He looks at me like I¡¯ve grown a second head. ¡°Seriously? Do you know how much I paid for all this? ¡°Yeah, I can imagine.¡± When the next Private shows up to take me for a walk, he looks at Simon and frowns. ¡°Where is your shipsuit?¡± ¡°I¡¯m happy with the clothes I own, they have integrated protection.¡± The private just shakes his head and mumbles under his breath. A few minutes later, a squad of rangers walks down the hallway and takes Simon away. Half an hour later, he returns with a defeated expression on his face, now wearing the same shipsuit as me. The rangers turn around and leave. Looks like we¡¯re not allowed to walk outside today¡­
Location: Estriduros Republic; Estriduros System; Mage Academy Station; ERS Verdinum Three days later, our kidnapping tour is in the final stages. We are about to dock at the Mage Academy Station. I¡¯ve found a live stream of the forward-facing cameras of the ship on the tablet. I can only think of one thing. This thing is huge! A gigantic cube of tristanium is floating next to a small moon. This time there are even windows with lights shining through some of them. Just when I think, the Verdinum is about to turn and dock sideways with the cube, something unbelievable happens. The walls of the bottom third of the cube slide to the side, opening up an enormous hangar bay. Holy smokes we are going to fly straight in! Just how big is this thing? The Verdinum alone is 300 meters long and I can see other ships already inside the hangar bay. Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. With a slight rumble, the ship settles down in the hangar bay a few minutes later. All we can do now is wait for someone to lead us out, as we can¡¯t leave the room alone. Half an hour later, the door opens, and an annoyed-looking Space Ranger gestures to us to follow him. We take an elevator down a few decks and walk some more till we arrive at an open airlock. Do they keep the whole hangar bay pressurized? We leave the ship and step down some stairs. Wow, it is really as big as it looked. When I arrive on the ground, I turn in a circle to take in the size of the hangar bay. Looks like a square with a length and width of about one kilometer. This must be the whole base level of the space station! There are lots of hovering platforms, functioning as elevators. They move up and down, but also to the sides, and sometimes vanish through the ceiling. That¡¯s probably the way to the station proper. We stand there waiting with the sole ranger a few meters beside the entrance to the Verdinum. I wonder how they will handle the unloading of all the young Mages. The question doesn¡¯t stay unanswered for long as just a few minutes later one of the Privates, who was at my testing too, walks out, followed by a seemingly unending number of young people, all clothed in the same shipsuits like mine and Simon¡¯s. There must be over a hundred. And the Verdinum only visited six out of 23 sectors of the republic. That¡¯s what, around 500 Mages enrolling at the academy? Everyone looks still groggy as if they were just woken up. I guess that¡¯s exactly what happened. Poor sods¡­ The last thing they remember is taking the Mage exam on their home planets. Now they are here in an unfamiliar environment. Just when my mind tries to tell me how lucky I was instead, I clamp down hard. No! I was not lucky, I¡¯m just as bad off as everyone else. Nothing good happened between my Mage testing and now. I can¡¯t be grateful for what Captain Dolder has done! The Rangers take everyone over to one of the platforms. Ten people each, then the platform moves straight up and vanishes through the ceiling. 20 seconds later it returns, and the process repeats itself. Simon and I stay together, and we can board the platform on its fifth run. When we arrive at the top there is a man in a dark blue uniform waiting for us. He beckons us to leave the platform after the railing opened to let us out. ¡°Leave through the door behind me and get ready for inspection.¡± In the next room is another blue uniformed person who divides us by our genders. We are to leave through one of the doors, where we have to wait till the doctor calls us in. After about 15 minutes it¡¯s my turn. The doctor looks around 50 years old, with grey streaked hair hanging down her back. With a smile on her round face, she beckons me to stand in the center of the room. ¡°Hello dear, please state your name, then the scanner over there will do a quick health check, and if everything checks out you are good to go.¡± She gestures to the weird two-meter-tall stick, standing a meter away from me. My gaze from her to the stick and back. ¡°My name¡¯s Sara¡­¡± She lifts an eyebrow. ¡°Go on.¡± I grumble ¡°Sara Nelson.¡± ¡°That checks out. Space Mage huh? You¡¯re a rare one. Now hold still.¡± She makes a hand gesture, and the weird stick starts humming, then a cone of blue light extends out of It and moves from my feet upward. I have to close my eyes due to the brightness when it reaches my head. Then there is a ding sound, and the light stops. The doctor stares in the empty air and now I recognize her use of a holographic interface. I wish I had one too. She makes another gesture and before me appears a projection of myself and some medical data next to it. ¡°As you can see, you are perfectly healthy. You are free to go. Just follow the hallway till you arrive in the assembly hall.¡± After reading a few lines of the medical report, I get bored, tell her goodbye, and leave the room. The assembly hall is underwhelming. It¡¯s just a big room with lots of chairs and a stage in the front. The room is already bursting with people, but I still find an empty chair near the back of the room. Are those the Mages from the other sectors of the republic? I wonder how long they¡¯ve been waiting. But it also looks like less than 500 people, so they probably did another assembly before? For the next 30 minutes, the remaining Mages collected by the Verdinum arrive. Five minutes after the final one sits down, the lights dim, and spotlights begin illuminating the stage. A man walks up. He is about as wide as high. His massive belly makes his suit look kinda funny and I suppress a snort. His balding head is completed with a small goatee. He starts to talk ¡°Welcome young Mages, I¡¯m Charles Meroldor, the headmaster of this academy.¡± This is too much! How can his voice be so high-pitched with so a massive body? I snort and start to chuckle. The people around me give me a weird look, still full of confusion. I whisper an apology after I get myself back under control. Right, the last thing they remember is being collared on their planet. Obviously, they are confused and anxious. And then there¡¯s me chuckling¡­ The headmaster goes on. I notice he doesn¡¯t wear a collar. Probably no Mage then. ¡°You probably wonder how you got here. Let me explain. All of you tested as a Mage in the testing centers on your planets and space stations. For your own safety and the ease of transport, it is the law, that every Mage is to be collared and anesthetized upon discovery of their magical talent.¡± For our own safety¡­ keep talking old man, we all know that is so you can control us! I forgot all the humor I had about his voice. It makes way for anger. Trying to justify what they did with such weak arguments is bullshit. As if we¡¯d suddenly explode after being tested as a Mage. ¡°From there on you were transported by our brave men and women of the Star Force and Space Rangers till you arrived here on the Mage Academy Station. Here you can learn everything there is to know about being a Mage and using spells safely. This is also the purpose of your collar. It is controlled by your instructors who you can recognize by their blue uniforms everywhere on the station. The collar lets them activate or deactivate your magic for your own safety.¡± I look around; the room is full of many different emotions. Some people look angry, others sad, but the majority still look quite confused. Someone shouts in an angry voice. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you just leave us be? I never asked to be a Mage!¡± He¡¯s right! None of us asked to be a Mage. Why didn¡¯t they just leave us be? The headmaster looks around until he finds who has spoken. He looks at him without any sympathy in his eyes. ¡°I¡¯m sorry my boy. Mages without formal training are a danger to society. We can¡¯t allow that. Therefore, everyone who shows magical potential has to visit the academy.¡± That¡¯s all he says before continuing with his normal speech. ¡°For the next week, you have time to explore the station and to settle in. After that, there will be a testing for your power. Then you will visit your classes just like you did in school before, with the specialty of practical training. You can now leave the room through one of the exits on the sides. There are staff members waiting, just tell one of them your name and they¡¯ll give you a tablet, which helps you navigate the station. You can also use it to find a roommate, otherwise, you¡¯ll get a random one. Welcome again to the next chapter of your life. Make the republic proud!¡± With that, he leaves the stage, and the lights turn back on. Most of us just sit there and try to sort out everything he just said. There is still anger in the air, but what can we do? We¡¯re collared and even if we weren¡¯t, we don¡¯t know any spells¡­ Chapter 7: Station Life Chapter 7: Station Life Location: Estriduros Republic; Estriduros System; Mage Academy Station Some people start leaving. Probably those who have already been here for a day or two. I look around and try to find Simon as he''s the only one I know here at the station. I find him talking with a few other people near the stage. Not knowing what else to do, I walk over to them. Simon notices me and waves. ¡°Hey Sara, good to see you again How was your inspection?¡± ¡°All good. Doc said I''m perfectly healthy. What about you?¡± He nods. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m good too.¡± He points at the three other people around him. ¡°Oh and by the way, these are some of my friends from home. We went to the test together but got separated after our testing. You know why¡­ Anyway, Sara, this is Jack, Lucinda, and Gregory.¡± He turns to the others. ¡°And this is Sara, I met her on the ship. She¡¯s a Space Mage, just as I am.¡± Gregory, the shortest of the three holds out his hand. ¡°Nice to meet you! But please ignore Simon and call me Greg, I¡¯m not that old yet,¡° he grins and shoots a short glare at Simon. He has dark hair and it looks like he is trying to grow a beard. It looks a bit funny and I smile at him before I shake his hand. ¡°Nice to meet you too, Greg. You guys are kinda lucky that you¡¯re all here together¡­ If you ignore everything else of course.¡± Jack snorts, he is of medium height with a prominent belly and short brown hair. There is a shocking similarity with Lucinda next to him except for the big belly and her much longer hair. Twins? ¡°I wouldn¡¯t call us lucky,¡± he says, ¡°but yeah, I can¡¯t imagine being here all alone. No offense¡­ Uhh, you wanna join us? We¡¯re about to collect our tablets.¡± Lucinda just looks at me and gives me a short wave. She does look a little shy. I can¡¯t blame her. The whole situation is very hard to stomach. I nod my consent and Jack leads our small group out of the hall. We join the short line and wait till it¡¯s our turn to get a tablet. I really need this thing. Maybe it can lead me to where Thomas is? I hope he¡¯s still here¡­ It¡¯s finally our turn and we all get not a tablet? What the woman in blue uniform puts in my hand is a grey cylinder, 20 centimeters high and with a diameter of two centimeters. What is this thing? A magic wand? But Mages don¡¯t use wands, right? The others notice my confusion and start to laugh. ¡°Is this your first time seeing an RHT?¡± Simon asks me and I just stare at him even more confused. ¡°A what?¡± He takes his stick and starts pulling at the side. There is a screen coming out of the cylinder! A full-sized screen, 20 centimeters high and 30 centimeters wide. Holy cow! And that¡¯s not all. Along the length of the cylinder, 3 holoprojectors come alive, illuminating the space above the screen to create a three-dimensional interface. Wow! ¡°This is a rollable holographic tablet, but everyone just calls it RHT. Have you never seen one of them? Everyone has them¡­¡± ¡°Nope, that¡¯s the first time I¡¯ve seen something like this. I only ever used a normal holo tablet¡­ Well, I thought that was normal but if you¡¯re saying everyone has those RHT things, then¡­ I don¡¯t know. I guess my home is even more of a backwater than I thought.¡± I blush a bit in embarrassment. ¡°Where are you from?¡± Greg asks a bit confused. ¡°I¡¯m from the Acordus System.¡± All their eyes go wide and Greg replies. ¡°That explains it. That backwater system isn¡¯t even recognized as a proper system by the republic. They see it more as a mining outpost.¡± Lucinda looks quite ashamed and walks over to hug me. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for laughing at you. It must¡¯ve been quite different growing up in such a backwater system.¡± She stops for a second. ¡°If there is anything you don¡¯t understand, just ask me, okay?¡± Huh, and I thought she was shy¡­ Maybe my cluelessness overcame her shyness. I return her hug, then I have an idea. ¡°Hey Lucinda, do you want to be my roommate?¡± Her hug tightens. ¡°Yes, I¡¯d love that! And call me Lucy.¡± ¡°Lucy it is. Shall we log in our choice right now?¡± ¡°Yeah, let¡¯s do that!¡± I roll out my new tablet and navigate to the room selection screen. A big list of names appears before me. Two layers appear in the three-dimensional projection. On top, directly in my field of view are the names of the first years, below there are the second years. I focus on the first-year list till I find Lucy. Lucinda Raphdani. ¡°Hey Lucy, is your last name Raphdani?¡± She nods and I select her as my roommate. ¡°Yours is Nelson? I just got a notification that you added me.¡± I confirm with a slight grumble, and she goes on. ¡°All right, I confirmed. Now we should be good to go. Our room number should pop up any minute.¡± Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. Just like she said, a notification telling me that my room number is 07-265 pops up about five minutes later. ¡°Everyone got their room numbers?¡± I ask the others and they confirm. Lucy of course has the same as I do, and the boys all have a number starting with 08. Simon and Greg share a room, while Jack takes on a random roommate. He rolls out his tablet and brings up a holographic map of the station. ¡°The first numbers probably indicate the level¡­ Let¡¯s see, yes! We are currently on level 01; level 00 is the hangar below us.¡± He traces the outline with his fingers and reads the explanations on the side. ¡°The next few levels are marked as off limits¡­ level 07 shows as off limits for me too. That should be yours, Sara and Lucy, probably to keep the genders separated.¡± To confirm, I open up my station map and see the 8th level as off-limits for me. ¡°You¡¯re right, Jack. Us girls are not allowed on level 08.¡± I zoom out, till there are no more individual levels but only descriptions of what purpose several consecutive levels serve. Level 00: hangar bay Level 01: logistics and initiation Level 02-06: off-limits Level 07-20: students and staff quarters Level 21-30: food and recreation Level 31-50: academy ¡°Shall we check out our rooms and meet up afterward on level 21 to grab something to eat?¡± I ask the others. They confirm and we start walking toward one of the elevators. They are just like the elevators I know from the spire. Small cabins that move up and down in a shaft, driven by gravity generators. Those free-flying platforms are only used in the hangar. Our group of five is an easy fit and we state the levels we want to travel to. The elevator confirms in a monotonous voice and up we go. We arrive at level 07 and say goodbye to the boys. Lucy sets the pace and I follow her lead. The mess of light gray-colored hallways can be quite confusing, but luckily our tablets¡¯ navigation software leads us without any problems to our room. I stand before the metal door, colored in a darker shade of gray with Lucy right next to me. I take a deep breath and reach out to try to open the door. It doesn¡¯t move a bit. ¡°Huh.¡± I send a glance at Lucy. ¡°How do we open the door?¡± She is just as confused as I am. Twirling a brown lock with her fingers, she replies. ¡°Let¡¯s check our tablets again. Maybe there is a code phrase or something.¡± She was right. We simply have to state our name and the door opens. How such a simple thing can be so complicated? The door opens and gives way to our room. Lucy lets out a groan. ¡°Really? Come on Sara, even you have to agree that this is way below our most basic needs, right?¡± I¡¯m too busy picking my jaw up from the floor to understand what she had said. This is the most luxurious room I have ever seen! Thomas was clearly selling it short. Lucy nudges me out of my stupor. ¡°What?¡± She looks at me, and her brown eyes go wide. ¡°Wait, this isn¡¯t basic for you?¡± ¡°Noooo?¡± The floor is decked with a lush dark blue carpet, it looks so soft, that I literally want to rip off my shoes right now and sink my toes into it. Never mind, this is exactly what I¡¯m doing right now. ¡°Ahhhh!¡± This is even better than expected! Besides the carpet, the walls are perfectly smooth and silver-gray in color. The back wall shows a view of green valleys with a big forest beside a lake in the background. Is the whole wall one big screen? I turn in a circle. There are two desks on opposite walls beside a big bed each. Everything looks brand new with shining surfaces and the bed looks sooo inviting. I can¡¯t hold myself back and jump right into it. Then I notice my personal highlight. A full-on gravity chair is floating in front of the desk! I turn back to Lucy, who''s just entered the room as well. ¡°This is amazing! And this is really just basic for you?¡± She flashes me a quick smile. ¡°Yeah, for me it looks like a bare-bones prison cell I know out of TV shows.¡± ¡°Wow, you make me feel like I¡¯m right out of a medieval world. Next, you¡¯re going to tell me that leaving a planet¡¯s surface is as normal as walking in the park.¡± Raising an eyebrow, she replies. ¡°Of course it is! How else would I do my shopping trips in the great malls on the space stations?¡± My next words are stuck in my throat and I just stare at her dumbfounded. How is Acordus 3 allowed to exist? It¡¯s like they terraformed the planet 250 years ago and forgot about it. I lay down in my bed and close my eyes. I need a minute to get a grasp on everything. Ten minutes later I sit up and notice Lucy has opened a part of the wall ¨C a hidden wardrobe ¨C and is looking through different pieces of clothing. She noticed that I needed a moment. Hearing me get up, she turns around, excitement clear on her face. ¡°Check out your wardrobe! We can finally cover up those boring shipsuits.¡± That gets my attention. These things are just so ugly! After sorting through the contents of my wardrobe, I decide to go with a simple white blouse and a knee-length dark green skirt. This means I have to change my shipsuit to a transparent one that I find in the wardrobe as well. I step into the bathroom to change. When I step back out, Lucy has changed as well. She¡¯s gone all out and is now wearing a red dress that accentuates her figure. She points at her feet where I see a pair of white sneakers. ¡°Look at that. I have to wear those ugly things as there are no heels!¡± I snort a short laugh. ¡°Stop it, you look beautiful. Who cares about a pair of shoes?¡± ¡°Blasphemy!¡± Lucy cries out in outrage. ¡°I¡¯m going to teach you the fine way of good footwear, just you wait.¡± I just shrug and pick out my own pair of sneakers. There are more important things to worry about for now. I¡¯m starving for example. A few minutes later, we meet the boys on level 21 as previously agreed, and start exploring the recreational levels. I let the others decide where to eat and soon we are sitting in a nice-looking small restaurant. The waitress first asks for our names, then after checking them, tells us to simply look for the name of the restaurant on our tablets to find the menu. Simon is a bit confused and asks her why she needed our names and she explains that she had to check if we have free meals remaining. Hmm, this is probably what Thomas meant with three meals a day in his letter. After eating a nice pizza, we decide to mingle with other students to get some more information. We talk with quite a few other first-years, but they don¡¯t know much more than we do. Apparently, at the end of the week, we have our first basic lesson and get tested a second time afterward. They are not sure what this second test is about, but I heard a few second years talking about power levels and Thomas mentioned he is a Senior Mage in his letter as well. Maybe that¡¯s his power level and maybe that is what this second test is about. When we finally find a group of second years that is happy to talk to us, I get some really bad news. There is no third year, and the last graduation ceremony was two weeks ago. Thomas is already gone from the academy! Chapter 8: Magic 101 Chapter 8: Magic 101 Location: Estriduros Republic; Estriduros System; Mage Academy Station I¡¯d hoped being a Mage would at least let me see Thomas again. Now he¡¯s already gone. How could I know training would be only two years? Isn¡¯t that way too short? I thought casting spells was complicated¡­ Why are we even at an academy then? The only reason I can think of is that we¡¯re only learning the most basic stuff¡­ Probably to keep us controlled ¨C for our own safety of course¡­ It¡¯s all guessing at the moment, but somehow, I¡¯ve got the feeling that I¡¯m right. We all have to wait and see¡­ Anyway, the following week isn¡¯t that spectacular. I mostly enjoy my room, as there is no way that we have that much free time once the lessons start. Another big part of my time is spent exploring the station. It is so big! And I still haven¡¯t been in the proper academy section at the top levels. Mostly I¡¯m exploring together with Lucy, but the boys are also joining us more often than not. This makes me forget some of the negative thoughts about my situation, but not all of them. I¡¯m still here against my will after all. Luckily, Lucy and the boys are all nice people. They¡¯ve known each other for a long time but they still accept me as I am. They really do care. Everyone genuinely explains a piece of new technology that I don¡¯t know, and I think after this week I¡¯m more or less up to date on those basic technological wonders. During the week we also dive deeper into the RHT, where we notice communication software that enables us to call everyone on the station as long as we know their name and they haven¡¯t blocked incoming calls. It is also possible to use the RHT in its rolled-up form to make calls without everyone else hearing it ¨C just like a phone in those old movies. Unfortunately, it is only an intra-station communication software. There is no possibility of making an outgoing call. Lucy is sad about not being able to call her boyfriend. At least she has her friends and twin brother with her ¨C a fact that I confirmed after working up my courage to ask. Now I know why Thomas wrote a letter¡­ Sadly, he didn¡¯t include the name of the person who sent the letter in the end. But I can¡¯t hold it against him. Who would¡¯ve thought that I was going to end up here too? It would have been handy though. I don¡¯t even want to think about Thomas returning to Acordus 3 just to find me gone. Anyway, our free week is now over and the first lesson ¨C imaginatively called ¡°Basics of Magic¡± ¨C is about to start in an hour. Lucy and I both pick up our school uniforms, which were delivered a day earlier, and put them on. I instantly notice a stark difference. While her uniform consists of either a black skirt or black pants and a simple white shirt, mine comes with the same choice for the bottom part but has a five-centimeter broad purple line going from my left shoulder down to my left hip. It looks kinda nice, as it sets a colorful accent to the boring black-and-white pattern of Lucy¡¯s uniform. Is it because I tested as a Space Mage? It has to be as Simon too bears a purple line on his shirt when we meet up with the boys in a nice small caf¨¦ for breakfast on level 25. ¡°Ready for our first lesson?¡± Greg asks after we¡¯ve finished eating. We nod in different levels of excitement. While Lucy and I are both looking forward to getting more information about what being a Mage entails, Simon and Jack both have a look of uncertainty in their eyes. I decide not to ask, as I don¡¯t want to disturb them further right before the lesson. If they want to talk, I can ask them afterward. We walk to one of the elevators and wait in a small line until we can get in. Apparently, even in a station so big, there are bottlenecks in the transportation system when around 500 people have to go to the same place. Finally able to catch an empty cart, we travel up to level 49 where the grand lecture hall is located. Actually, it¡¯s located on levels 47 to 49, but the main entrance is at the top. We walk inside and are greeted by line after line of desks and floating grav chairs. Each line is a bit further down, creating a good field of view for everyone. At the other end of the hall is a speaker¡¯s desk with a big screen behind it, that currently shows the logo of the Estriduros Republic and the Mage Academy logo next to it. Lots of people are already sitting at their desks with more entering the lecture hall every minute. It looks like more than 500 people already. Was my estimation wrong? I turn to Greg who is walking next to me. ¡°Hey Greg, do you know how many first-year students there are?¡± He thinks for a minute then replies. ¡°Yeah, around 1600, I think. Why you¡¯re asking?¡± My jaw drops to the floor. That is more than three times my estimation. How could I be so wrong? ¡°Err, I thought it would be around 500¡­¡± I whisper in a quiet voice. ¡°I mean our ship traveled through a quarter of the republic and we were only a little over 100 people.¡± That gets a short laugh out of Greg. ¡°True, but our ship only traveled through the backwater systems. No offense. Our home system was an exception, as the ship was half empty when it finished with its five designated sectors. The Rangers at our testing center grumbled quite loudly about the fact that they had to do extra work in our system.¡± He shrugs and Lucy chimes in. ¡°Yeah, we¡¯re from what you consider a core system and the first Mage collecting tour was there a week earlier, but had to leave after four of the six planets, as they were already full.¡± Another world-shaking revelation that they casually threw in my direction. I just shake my head and we walk down an aisle till we find space for all of us about halfway down the lecture hall. Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. The hall gradually fills up in the next ten minutes. Punctually at 8:30 a.m. an older man enters the lecture hall through a backdoor and walks on the stage. I look around, except for a few empty seats, the hall is packed. The man walks to the speaker¡¯s desk and clears his throat. A hidden microphone delivers the sound to the whole room and all conversations are quieting down. Everyone focuses on the man. He wears a blue suit with a green tie. His grey hair is cropped short, and his look is completed by a three-day stubble beard. He noticeably doesn¡¯t wear a collar. He is no Mage then! How can we learn magic without Mage instructors? ¡°Now that I have your attention, let me introduce myself. My name is Harold Brennan, I¡¯m your instructor for today¡¯s lecture.¡± He walks to the middle of the stage before telling a little bit more about himself. Not that anyone wants to know where he is from. Everyone waits in anticipation for the actual topic of the lecture. Finally, he starts. With a wave of his hand toward the big screen, it changes. The screen now shows a triangle with three words written next to the tips. The top one is a purple SPACE, the bottom left shows UTILITY in green letters, and lastly, the bottom right reads A&D in orange. ¡°These are the three classes your magic can attune itself to.¡± He starts talking again. Suddenly, Space gets crossed out. ¡°Actually, this information is not entirely correct, as only Utility or A&D can be taken by more than 95% of you. Space is a special class to which you only have access if you are born with it.¡± He pauses a moment, and I can see his gaze lingering on me and Simon before he quickly looks at the other people with a purple line on their shirts. ¡°As you now have undoubtedly noticed, there are several students here with a slightly different uniform. These are your fellow Space Mages. Once you have yourself attuned to one of the two classes, you will receive a uniform in the appropriate color. As you can see, Space Mages are the minority in the lecture hall, so I won¡¯t bore you with Space magic-specific details. For the Space Mages here, you will have an introduction to Space magic tomorrow with a dedicated instructor.¡± He walks back to the desk, and I take the momentary pause to look around me. There are a lot of people looking at me. Some look just curious, but there are also a few with envy in their gaze. They know probably more about Space Mages than I do. At least it can¡¯t be too bad if there is envy, right? I also notice some people frantically typing notes in their RHTs. I should probably take some notes too. With a practiced movement, I unroll my tablet too. I¡¯m ready just as the instructor continues to speak. ¡°Now leaving Space aside for a moment, there is one more thing I have to tell you before we dive deeper into power stages and the individual classes.¡± He pauses again to get everyone¡¯s attention. These pauses are getting quite annoying. ¡°Every person can only attune themselves to a single class. If you thought that you could combine Utility with A&D, I have to disappoint you. Once you cast your first spell out of a certain class, your magic core is attuned to the corresponding class and can never be changed!¡± That gets a reaction out of the students. I can hear gasps from all around me and I too, stare at him in disbelief. This can¡¯t be true, right? Before I can completely process this information, he continues. Now he skips his pauses? I groan internally. ¡°For those that don¡¯t believe me, just wait. There will be a demonstration from two Mages at the end of the lecture. You can ask them your questions then. Again, for Space Mages this is different. Your core is already attuned to Space, which means you are already locked into your class.¡± WHAT? I can¡¯t cast any normal spells? This is ridiculous! How could there be people envious of me? ¡°Don¡¯t worry. The republic finds a purpose for all of you, regardless of the class you possess after you graduate from the Academy.¡± The instructor continues before he drops the next bomb onto us. This one has half the students stand up in outrage. ¡°Following today''s lecture, each of you will have your power tested. Then based on your power level, you will be assigned to one of the two classes according to the republic¡¯s need for you.¡± I too stand in outrage and scream my complaints even if it doesn¡¯t affect me apparently. Where is the free choice? This finally eliminates the last strand of hope I had about those slavery rumors being just rumors. We simply are slaves of the republic¡­ I have to find a way out of this damned nation! The instructor just waves his hand, and we all are shocked by the collar. I feel that the only way for it to stop is to sit back down, so I do just that while grumbling. How did I even feel that? Is this a thing for Space Mages? I have to ask Simon later. I look at him, he is still standing, clearly struggling with the shocks. ¡°Simon, sit down and it will stop!¡± I call over to him. He shoots me a questioning look but complies, then relief can be seen on his face. He mouths a thank you before the instructor starts talking again. ¡°I will be blunt, otherwise I believe, some of you won¡¯t get it. Your normal civilian lives ended when that testing orb lit up! You as Mages are now the property of the Estriduros Republic, which means that you have no choice but to comply with the rules!¡± Now he confirms it¡­ After another pause and everyone has sat back down, he waves his hand again and the screen changes to the header Power Levels. ¡°Now that you have a basic understanding, of what being a Mage means, let¡¯s dive into the different power stages. There are four stages that will be relevant for you. Starting at the bottom, there is the Novice rank.¡± While he is talking the Rank appears on the screen, followed by the next rank directly above. He completely ignores that he just called us slaves to the face and continues with his lessons like on a normal Tuesday¡­ The hell? And it¡¯s not even random stuff. He¡¯s telling us important facts¡­ Argh! I can¡¯t miss this. ¡°The next rank is Junior. This is the most common rank a new Mage has in the beginning. Around 80% of you will be of Junior rank. The third rank is called Senior. Those of you who start as a Senior can be seen as prodigies and will get special attention and training, as you are probably going to join the military to protect our glorious republic from our enemies!¡± That¡¯s the rank Thomas has. No wonder he told me that he was going to join the military. ¡°And lastly there is the rank of Master. Most of you will never reach this rank. Only those of a high Senior rank can hope that they use their magic often enough to make their core dense enough to break through to Master rank. The second, even more, unlikely possibility for you to reach Master rank, is being completely dedicated to the republic so that they give you a power-enhancing artifact.¡± The screen changes to another slide, which gives us a summary of what he just said. He completely ignores the last part with those artifact things. I quickly start copying it on my RHT. I think about adding my thoughts to the list, but then I think about just where we got those tablets from¡­ Better to keep them in my head. The lecturer continues. ¡°We will now do a break of one hour, so you can have lunch and refresh yourselves. Afterward, we will meet back here and continue with the introduction of the two different magic classes.¡± I glance at the others. ¡°Let¡¯s get some food.¡± We have much to talk about! Chapter 9: Magic 102 Chapter 9: Magic 102 Location: Estriduros Republic; Estriduros System; Mage Academy Station As we only have one hour to get some food, we decide to just get some sandwiches and sit down to eat next to a small lake on level 27. I glance at Simon. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you sit back down when he shocked us earlier? Didn¡¯t you feel that it will stop when you sit down?¡± He frowns in confusion and the others direct their curious glances at me too. ¡°Why would I feel that? I just stood up and then there was the pain of the electric shock.¡± He didn¡¯t feel anything? Maybe he was distracted by the shock. I have to dig deeper. ¡°You know just how we felt that we could only walk in a specific direction when the Space Rangers led us around the Verdinum?¡± That causes even more confusion. ¡°No, I didn¡¯t feel a thing¡­ And what are you talking about feeling where you can walk on the Verdinum? That has not happened to me.¡± He shakes his head. ¡°Maybe you are stronger than me and this is a trait of strong Space Mages?¡± Huh. Maybe that is the explanation. Anyway, the test will tell later. ¡°Maybe you¡¯re right, I guess, I¡¯ll ask the Space magic instructor tomorrow. Maybe they¡¯re more likable than that Brennan dude. I hope they are a Mage at least¡­¡± We continue eating, then we talk a bit more about what we¡¯ve learned today. The others share my outrage about being slaves and are also very annoyed about not being able to choose their path on their own. Jack in particular voices his objection very loudly. I¡¯m pleased to find out that Lucy shares my thoughts about there being more to magic than what that Brennan dude told us. Especially the fact that there is no way to learn more than one class of magic. We both agree that this can¡¯t be true. There are always more mysteries to solve! But time is short, and we soon find ourselves back in the lecture hall on level 49. This time the instructor is already waiting for everyone to arrive. Once the last student is inside the room, the doors close automatically, and the instructor continues with the lecture. ¡°As I¡¯ve told you before the break, we will now do a quick dive into the two main classes. First off there is the A&D class. This is the short form of Attack and Defense. Most of the stronger ones of you will be assigned this class. The main employer of this Mage class is of course our military. In case you don¡¯t know, there are three branches: Star Force, Space Rangers, and Planetary Force.¡± Looks like his free use of the collar¡¯s shock function earlier had quite an effect on all students, as no one complains anymore about the assignment of the classes. Because I doubt never being able to do another class of magic, I still write down everything I deem important. Even if the A&D class isn¡¯t relevant for me now. ¡°Other possible employments are becoming a bodyguard or working for other security services. In rare cases, A&D Mages are also employed in mining operations, as they can destroy parts of asteroids to get better access to the ores.¡± I grimace, remembering a part of Thomas¡¯s letter. He is only allowed to learn defensive spells. Of course, the instructor would only announce jobs with a defensive focus. The oh-so-glorious republic can¡¯t have their slaves knowing how to fight back after all¡­ The only exception is the mining job¡­ maybe only the extremely weak ones get that duty? I mean he said parts of asteroids. I have to say, being an A&D Mage sounds kinda lame¡­ at least here in the republic. Maybe it¡¯s more appealing when using the full potential of the class elsewhere? I sure hope so. I make a mental note to explore my RHT database for information about other nations outside of the Estriduros Republic. It will be blocked probably, but maybe they forgot a few pages on the net. There has to be a place where Mages are not treated as trash, right? I mean according to Thomas¡¯s digging, Earth ¨C the origin of humanity ¨C was destroyed in a war between a Mage faction and an anti-Mage faction¡­ So if the republic came to be out of remnants of such an anti-Mage faction ¨C my own speculation ¨C there should be at least remnants of the Mage faction too, right? I almost miss the continuation of the lecture. ¡°¡­examples of spells an A&D Mage may be using, depending on which jobs they are going to do after the academy. First and foremost, there are shielding spells. They come in many forms and every A&D Mage at the academy will learn one of them at least. Next, there are other kinds of spells for example redirection and reflection of attacks or objects, restriction of movement, and even small explosions. You will learn more about A&D magic in case you are assigned this class in the dedicated A&D lessons.¡± He really keeps the attack options as minimal as possible. Small explosions, I almost snort out loud when thinking about that fact. As if offensive magic is restricted to small explosions. Finishing my notes for the A&D class, I look up to find out that the lecturer has already changed the heading of the big screen to Utility. He glances at the empty air before himself before continuing. Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! ¡°As the final topic, before we have a small practical presentation, we have the Utility Mage class. As the name says, Utility Mages do utility things. That means most of their spells can be replaced by technology. The one advantage a Utility Mage brings is instantaneous long-range Communication. If they are strong enough, even across star systems. Another example of Utility magic is Telekinesis, but that¡¯s pretty much redundant because we have gravity generators if we want to transport things. Again, you¡¯ll learn more once you are in the dedicated lecture about Utility magic. Utility Mages are mostly used in the civilian sector, as they lack the defensive capabilities A&D Mages have. Sometimes they are also on starships, to coordinate maneuvers across multiple star systems.¡± Wow, that man must hate Mages with a passion¡­ Way to ruin the mood of young people when you tell them they have a 50 percent chance of being assigned a magic class that is useless. But still, I don¡¯t believe a single thing this man says¡­ Utility magic can¡¯t be useless. Not with a name like this. He must be leaving out large parts of Utility magic too¡­ All I heard about magic today sounds so boring and almost useless. And this just can¡¯t be! If magic were so weak why was there such a massive war that destroyed Earth? Now that I am a Mage, I really hope to experience real magic in the future. I have to find Shay and Thomas, then we try to leave the republic and explore the universe! Maybe even with Lucy and the boys if they are willing. ¡°Now please welcome two of the instructors of the classes I just introduced to you.¡± The voice of instructor Brennan interrupts my thoughts again. The door next to the stage opens and makes way for a petite blonde woman in her fifties and a sturdily built man with dark skin and a short black military cut. They walk up to the stage and stand to the left and right of the instructor with about 5 meters of space between each person. ¡°To my left, we have A&D Mage Franklin Jones.¡± He indicates the man, then the woman. ¡°And to my right, there is Utility Mage Ines Ferdinand.¡± He nods at the man, who nods back, then he opens the drawer of the stage and pulls out¡­ A LASER GUN? Holy hell does he want to kill the man? In one smooth motion, he lifts the gun and fires at the other man. The whole audience gasps in shock. In a brilliant flash of blue light, a barrier appears around the Mage and swallows the green laser bolt. The barrier disappears and the Mage remains unharmed, bowing lightly to the audience. This¡­ wow¡­ I thought with presentation he meant showing us a shield and that¡¯s it. Who would¡¯ve expected him to pull out a real gun? The instructor puts the gun away and returns his gaze to the assembled Mages. ¡°That was a short insight into the field of A&D magic. Next, behold the power of Utility magic.¡± He gives a go-ahead sign to the woman, and I hold my breath in anticipation. Maybe magic in the republic isn¡¯t as boring as it sounded after all. But I still believe that there is more. The woman closes her eyes in concentration, then suddenly the whole stage lifts and floats a meter over the ground. Then it moves a bit to the left and the right, before setting down again. Everyone lets out the breath they¡¯ve been holding. Me included. ¡°That concludes today¡¯s lecture! If you want you can come up to the stage and ask the instructors some questions, but keep in mind that you don¡¯t know which class you¡¯ll be having in the future, so I recommend going to the power assessment first and asking your questions tomorrow after the lectures. You¡¯ll find the information about the assessment on your tablets. You are dismissed!¡± He turns around and leaves the room. The sound of conversation rises instantly. ¡°That was intense,¡± Lucy says in a whisper. ¡°True,¡± I reply. ¡°Let¡¯s get out of here.¡± She nods and quickly tells the others, then we go out and take the next elevator back down to the place on level 27, where we ate our lunch earlier. ¡°In what class do you think you¡¯ll end up? For Simon and me it¡¯s already clear, but what are your preferences?¡± I ask them as soon as we sit down. The others think a little bit before Greg starts. ¡°Personally, I¡¯d like to be Utility, it sounds kinda cool with Telekinesis and all that stuff, even if the instructor said it¡¯s useless. I don¡¯t believe it¡­ But I think I¡¯ll end up as an A&D Mage, just like my dad¡­¡± I can see his mood dropping and decide not to ask a follow-up question. Jack too voices his preference for Utility but for a different reason. ¡°I don¡¯t want to be on a starship all the time. I need solid ground under my feet. This space station is bad enough and I¡¯m actually a bit glad that I was sedated on my flight here.¡± He shivers. Poor guy, not everyone is made for space travel. I wonder how he copes with his sister who clearly likes flying to space with all her shopping trips to the space stations she told me about. Thinking about Lucy, she too voices her preference. ¡°For me, it¡¯s A&D. Protecting myself and others just feels right to me¡­ but I also can¡¯t shake the feeling that there is more to that class than just shielding and stuff¡­¡± She frowns. ¡°It just sounds wrong if there isn¡¯t a counterpart with attack spells¡­ I mean it has to be called A&D for a reason, right?¡± I nod in agreement. ¡°Yes, it just can¡¯t be¡­ There must be more and I will find it!¡± Lucy looks up at me with a smile on her face. ¡°You know what? Let¡¯s find out together. We have two years here at the academy and maybe we will be together after that too.¡± I smile back at her. ¡°Yes, let¡¯s do that.¡± We sit there for a while talking a little more about it till Simon remembers the testing. ¡°Oh shit, we have to look up our testing times before they miss us and shock us again as punishment!¡± He clearly is still a little traumatized about earlier, not that I can hold it against him. These shocks are not nice! And he¡¯s right, we can¡¯t miss our testing. We all roll out our RHTs and I search for the testing. I don¡¯t have to look for long, as there is a blinking red dot on the top right side. I click on it and text appears next to a floating plan of the station. There is a green dot saying ¡°You¡± and a blue line showing the way, I have to follow to my destination on¡­ level 04? Isn¡¯t that off-limits? ¡°Hey guys, do you also have to go down to level 04?¡± The others decline. ¡°No, I must go to level 45 right about now. See you later.¡± Jack says and starts hurrying away. Greg and Lucy too have to go there but at a later time and leave as well. That leaves me with Simon whose eyes are still glued to the tablet. ¡°I¡¯ve got to go to level 04 too,¡± he mutters. ¡°Must be a Space Mage thing, right?¡± Not that I know more, but I confirm just to calm him down a little. Being ordered to off-limit levels truly sounds like the start of something nefarious. I hope it¡¯s going to be okay. We come across our first hurdle in the elevator, which doesn¡¯t let us travel down to level 04 because of the off-limits restriction. Remembering the problem at my room door, I state my name and the elevator gives out an approving chime but does not move until Simon states his too. Let¡¯s see what awaits us down there¡­ Chapter 10: S-57i39 Chapter 10: S-57i39 Location: Estriduros Republic, Estriduros System; Mage Academy Station It doesn¡¯t take long until Simon and I arrive on level 04. I immediately notice a stark difference in the design. Gone are the gray-colored hallways. They make way for very clean-looking white walls. ¡°Why does it look like a hospital?¡± I hear Simon mutter in confusion, mixed with a lot of anxiety. He¡¯s right! It does look that way. A quick rollout of my RHT later, I still that we¡¯re still on track. Just a few hundred meters down the main hallway. I start walking to my destination, and Simon follows close behind. A few minutes later he stops. ¡°Hey Sara, wait a moment we are at the testing room.¡± I glance at the door next to me, then at my tablet. I blink. It clearly says I have to go another 100 meters. With a frown, I turn to Simon. ¡°You sure? Mine says I have to walk a little further.¡± He nods and shows me his tablet. It really says he has arrived at his destination. Huh, why are we split up? Is the testing process so much longer for Space Mages? ¡°I guess we have to split up then. Good luck, Simon. See you later.¡± He waves goodbye and enters the room. Now I¡¯m all alone in a restricted part of the station... A minute later, I too reach my destination. With a deep breath, I open the door and walk inside. I¡¯m not sure what I expected to see, but it was not this. The room is a completely standard hospital room with an operation table in the center, including small robotic arms that are there to help with surgeries. To the left, there is a small desk with a smiling woman sitting behind it. ¡°Welcome Miss Nelson, I¡¯m Doctor Ronja Silver. Don¡¯t be afraid and join me, I¡¯ll explain shortly, but first, we have a little power test to do.¡± I frown at the use of my last name, but how could she know? I walk over to the desk and sit down opposite her. ¡°Please call me Sara.¡± She nods, a few stray green hairs falling over her grey eyes. She looks quite young¡­ maybe 25. Her smile shows deep dimples. After moving her hair back behind her left ear, she bends down, lifts a black square box, and sets it down on the desk. Opening it up, it reveals another orb, quite similar to the one that was used at my first testing. She sees the recognition in my eyes and points at the orb. ¡°I see you remember your testing, so you should know what to do. Simply put your hand on the orb and wait a moment. The results will be shown on the screen over here.¡± She points to a picture showing a blue-green planet and I realize that it¡¯s actually a screen showing the picture. Reassured by her never-ending smile, I place my left hand on the orb, just to have the tingling sensation starting again. Before it can become uncomfortable, she tells me that we are done, and I remove my hand. Now I just have to wait for the results. Her smile dips a little. Seeing this change on her face, I gulp. This can¡¯t be good. The screen changes, showing the word NOVICE in big letters. Even worse are the words below: Lower end, low potential. This can¡¯t be right! I¡¯m almost powerless? My mood drops and I lower my head. I¡¯m never going to join the military¡­ how am I supposed to meet Thomas and Shay again? Tears threaten to escape my eyes. I blink them away. I¡¯m going to find a way! A hand lands on my shoulder. I look up and find Doctor Silver looking down, her eyes full of sympathy. ¡°I¡¯m sorry Sara. I truly am. Having one¡¯s dreams of power shattered must be devastating, but I¡¯m afraid, we have to continue. Normally I would tell you now where you would end up after your time at the academy, but all of the listed jobs have a higher power requirement.¡± She walks back to her grav chair, leaving me sitting there wide-eyed. What does that mean? They are not going to get rid of me, right? Fear starts to rise inside of me and I panicky look for a way out of the room. Doctor Silver looks back at me and stops, her eyes go wide, and her smile disappears completely. ¡°Hey! Stop. Sara! Don¡¯t worry. Nothing¡¯s going to happen to you!¡± That is relieving¡­ I hope she tells the truth. Her smile returns slowly. I think smiling is normal for her. ¡°What I meant to tell you is that you won¡¯t have a future job right now. Your power level will be announced on a job board on the net and companies, that were approved beforehand, can employ you from there. Once a company hires you, you¡¯ll get a notification with the details on your tablet.¡± She frowns. ¡°I know that doesn¡¯t sound too reassuring, but unfortunately that is how things are done.¡± With a frown on my own, I nod. ¡°I know, the instructor earlier made it quite clear, what being a Mage means in the republic.¡± ¡°True, but please keep that to yourself in the future, such thoughts in the wrong ears can end quite badly.¡± I gulp, remembering Captain Dolder¡¯s words. They were quite similar. It¡¯s a bit weird¡­ Besides most military people and the instructors here at the academy, everyone was nice to me. Maybe aiming for Star Force isn¡¯t the best idea even if it means not seeing Thomas and Shay again¡­ I mentally add the doctor to the list I created for people, I want to look for if I ever have the chance of being free. NO! For people I am going to look for WHEN I¡¯m free! I¡¯m not going to let my low power stop me! I¡¯ll find a way OUT of the republic and then I WILL become STRONGER! I just have to keep going, just like my training with Shay those past two years. Actually, the list is getting quite long¡­ Thomas, Shay, my friends here on the station, and now the Doctor. Wait a minute, this would form a decent crew for a small starship¡­ I chuckle. Doctor Silver raises an eyebrow. ¡°Just some weird thoughts running through my head¡­ what will we do now?¡± Her smile is back in full force. ¡°Now we have one last step to do. You¡¯ll get your personal navigational AI. To do that, we have to do a very small surgery to add a slot for the AI chip behind your ear. Every Space Mage has this, as they can¡¯t use their magic to the fullest potential without navigational data from their AI. Please lie down on the table over there, and I can explain a bit more if you want.¡± I look at her. This sounds ominous. I stay seated and tilt my head in question. Doctor Silver nods slowly. ¡°I know this sounds weird. But let me explain. The AI is on a small, advanced computer chip, that will be put into a slot right behind your right ear. It needs to be implanted as the AI will connect to your magic to help you navigate correctly. You¡¯ll learn more in your Space magic lessons, but I can promise you at least that the AIs aren¡¯t tampered with. They come sealed from the neighboring nation of Terthia and are secured against tampering.¡± It''s not very reassuring, but I¡¯m not really in a position to resist¡­ Let¡¯s just hope she didn¡¯t lie. That would have me crossing her off the list really fast. I walk over to the table and lie down. ¡°Why behind my ear though?¡± She shrugs. ¡°It¡¯s just for convenience. I can also put it somewhere else if you want, but the position might annoy you. Behind your ear is out of the way at least and allows for some cool design accessories.¡± Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. She taps her tablet and a projector on the wall comes alive, projecting a hologram of my head floating above me. It shows a flat, silver piece of metal circling my ear. She was right. At least it looks nice. She waves her hand, and the silver piece disappears. Then it zooms in. The hologram of my head now shows a two-centimeter-long and five-millimeter-wide empty slot behind my ear. I can¡¯t see how deep it is, but it can¡¯t be too deep. There still is my brain somewhere! ¡°This is what I¡¯m going to insert in the small surgery. It¡¯s just deep enough for the AI to interface with your magic and draw power from your body heat. But there is one more advantage of that position I forgot to tell you earlier. The slot comes with a vibrating speaker, that vibrates the bones in your ear, so you can hear the AI speaking without the need for an earpiece. Now are you ready to proceed?¡± I nod slowly. Let¡¯s just get this over with. ¡°Okay, let¡¯s go. Don¡¯t worry it won¡¯t hurt a bit.¡± She taps another button, then one of the robotic arms starts moving toward my ear with a syringe in its grip. I feel a small pick, then¡­ nothing. The robotic arm moves back and forth, Doctor Silver looks at her tablet and makes a few taps. A minute later she looks up. ¡°Aaand finished, you can get up if you want.¡± Huh, that¡¯s it? ¡°We¡¯re done? I really didn¡¯t feel anything. Do I have a hole back there now?¡± I move my hand behind my ear but don¡¯t feel much of a difference. There is a spot, that feels a little bit stiffer than the skin around it. That must be the slot. The Doctor laughs. ¡°No, currently there is a skin-colored cover slotted in, but we¡¯ll change that in a moment. Your AI chip should arrive any moment.¡± We both sit back down on her desk, and she offers me some juice, which I gladly accept. A little later the door opens and a small service bot floats inside, carrying a small package. After setting it down on the desk, the bot turns around and leaves. ¡°Go ahead and open it. It¡¯s yours.¡± She shoves the package over to me with her trademark smile. I unwrap the paper and find a small glass box with a small chip inside it. It has the measurements of the implanted slot and is a little shorter than one centimeter in height. The top surface is silver-grey with a polished finish. I can even see some reflections. It doesn¡¯t look like the cool piece she showed me on the hologram earlier¡­ Doctor Silver frowns a little. ¡°Dang it, they ignored me¡­¡± ¡°What is it?¡± I ask and she goes on. ¡°This is the most basic navigational AI there is. I asked for an upgrade, but it looks like they declined because of your low power potential¡­ I¡¯m sorry.¡± I don¡¯t want her to feel bad. ¡°Don¡¯t be, it¡¯s not your fault. Please go on, what do I do now?¡± ¡°Now you press on your slot cover, then it should come out. Do I need to show you where exactly?¡± I decline. ¡°No, I think, I felt it earlier, let me try¡­¡± I move my hand to the stiff part of skin and press. Just like she said, something moves out and I now have a skin-colored piece of plastic the size of the AI chip before me in my hand. I set it down on the table and take the chip in my hand. ¡°Do I just do the same thing in reverse now? Oh and what did you mean with most basic earlier?¡± She nods to my first question, and I go on and slot in the chip. ¡°To say it plainly, the AI you¡¯ve got is the dumbest model. There shouldn¡¯t be any issues while using it for its purpose, but please keep in mind that it is not the sharpest tool in the shed.¡± Before I can reply, hear a weird beeping sound directly inside my ear. My eyebrows rise. Is that the fancy speaker? Then a monotonous, slightly electronic male voice starts speaking. ¡°Initializing¡­ Initialization complete. Navigational unit S-57i39 greets the user. All systems are operational. How may I be of service?¡± I¡¯m speechless. I have a voice in my head! I knew it was coming, but it is still a very weird feeling. I open and close my mouth a few times, but no sound comes out. Doctor Silver comes to the rescue. ¡°I guess, you heard your AI for the first time?¡± I move my head up and down. That is a nod, right? ¡°Okay, I can understand that you are confused. I was told it could take a bit to get used to it. If you prefer, you can simply ignore it and only use it for its purpose, which is navigation.¡± She shakes her head. ¡°But I think this is a wasted potential. Even if your AI is just basic.¡± Yeah, I completely agree. ¡°You can also use it in your daily life just like a digital assistant or something. The best is if you simply try out what you want. Either it works or it doesn¡¯t.¡± She scrolls through her tablet, then flips it around. ¡°In case you forgot, your AI is called S-57i39. To interact, just say the name and then what you want. You can also connect it to your tablet, just say connect with my tablet.¡± That¡¯s a good idea. Maybe I can find more information on my RHT? Once it¡¯s connected to my AI, there might be an instruction manual. ¡±Hey, S-57i39¡­¡± That name is stupid, it¡¯s way too long and unwieldy. ¡°Can I change your designation?¡± ¡°Affirmative. Simply state a name to which I should respond.¡± Hmmm, what should I call you¡­ Whatever, I simply shorten it! ¡°Please change the designation to S-57.¡± ¡°Confirmed. Unit will now listen to S-57.¡± I pull out my tablet and hold it next to my ear. Why did I do that? I guess it looks cooler? ¡°Alright, S-57 please connect to my tablet.¡± ¡°There are multiple tablets in the vicinity. Default choice is the closest one, please confirm.¡± Ha, I knew there was a reason, even if I didn¡¯t know why earlier. Is this another one of those weird Space feelings? ¡°I confirm.¡± ¡°Affirmative, connecting now¡­ Connection established. AI features on tablet enabled.¡± Yes, I was right! Doctor Silver clears her throat. Oops, I completely forgot about her. ¡°Looks like you¡¯ve got the hang of it quite quickly. Unfortunately, our time here is almost over.¡± She comes over and hugs me. ¡°Stay safe and strong. Maybe we¡¯ll each other see again in the future.¡± I return her hug. ¡°Thank you, Doctor Silver, for everything!¡± We separate and she waves me goodbye while I leave the room. Back out in the hallway, I decide to put S-57 to the next test. ¡°S-57, can you locate my roommate Lucinda Raphdani?¡± ¡°Certainly, Lucinda Raphdani is currently residing on Mage Academy Station in the Estriduros Sector in the Estriduros Republic.¡± Ohh, so that is what the Doctor meant with it¡¯s a little bit dumb. Well, I guess I can work with that. Deciding to simply call her, I roll out my tablet and do just that. We arrange to meet at one of the fast-food stalls on level 22. Lucy was quite worried, as my assessment took way longer than the others. I calm her down and make my way up to level 22. When I arrive, everyone is already there. Greg is the first to notice me and waves me over to the bench and table they are sitting at. I sit down and everyone is looking at me. ¡°What?¡± Simon grins at me. ¡°Come on, you know what they want to know¡­ tell us about your AI, and what¡¯s your power level? With your weird feelings it has to be high, right? I¡¯m a mid-range Junior Mage by the way.¡± He moves some of his dark blue hair strands aside and I can see the spot behind his ear. This looks different! Where I have only the silver-grey piece of metal, the size of the slot, his is quite a bit bigger and also looks nicer than mine. Actually, it looks just like the hologram Doctor Silver showed me earlier. It is completely silver, curves around his ear, and has a scaly look to it. It¡¯s fixed to the side of his head and looks every bit like the high-tech gear piece it is. ¡°Wow Simon, that is amazing!¡± I smile at him. ¡°Unfortunately, I¡¯m not that lucky¡­ bottom end of Novice rank¡­ I only got a basic AI. Yours looks way cooler and is also a lot bigger, look.¡± I move my hair aside, to show them my own chip. I pull out my tablet, having the intuition that this will work. ¡°Hey S-57, use my tablet¡¯s speaker and say hello to my friends.¡± It does work and S-57 speaks out of my tablet; the voice sounds even more electronic this way. ¡°Navigational Unit S-57i39 greets user¡¯s friends.¡± They all look at me in shock. ¡°How can this be?¡± Lucy exclaims and hugs me. ¡°I¡¯m so sorry.¡± The others also try to comfort me, but I stop them. ¡°Look, I know it¡¯s bad, but what can I do? I have to deal with what I¡¯m given. But I tell you one thing. I will find a way out of the republic someday, then I¡¯m going to upgrade my core and become the best Space Mage there is and maybe even more!¡± Now the others look at me as if I¡¯ve grown a second head. I chuckle. ¡°For real guys, let me dream. I will make this happen, even if it takes a while.¡± Turning to Lucy, Greg, and Jack, I raise an eyebrow. ¡°Now what about you guys?" Jack begins with a slight grin on his face. ¡°I got lucky. Mid-tier Junior and they also make me choose Utility tomorrow in class. I¡¯m going to be hired by Star Com. Now I just have to hope to get a ground-based job.¡± I give him a thumbs up. ¡°Nice! Congratulations, Jack.¡± Next is Greg he looks a little broody and I soon find out why. ¡°I was right with my prediction earlier¡­ I¡¯m going to be A&D, the upper end of Novice rank, but I¡¯ve got no assignment yet. The instructor said it¡¯s probably going to be private security or something.¡± That¡¯s hard, there was something with his father and being an A&D mage... I don¡¯t know what to say. I just nod at him, giving him an encouraging smile. Luckily, Lucy breaks the silence. She looks quite excited. ¡°I¡¯m a Senior Mage!¡± Wow, just like Thomas. ¡°I¡¯m going to join Star Force as an A&D Mage.¡± Now it¡¯s my time to hug her. I congratulate her and afterward, we all talk a little more before we return to our rooms. It is getting late, and tomorrow is our first class-specific course. Chapter 11: Interlude 1 – Mary Chapter 11: Interlude 1 ¨C Mary Fourteen years ago¡­ Location: Estriduros Republic; Acordus System Lieutenant Mary Baker wakes to an alarm blaring throughout the pirate starship. What¡¯s this now? Damn pirates! She sits up and looks around the brig where she and what remains of the Black Tiger Mercenary Company are currently imprisoned. Well, her colleagues and the little girl also known as Sara Valterion. No, not Valterion. Just Sara, I promised Frank¡­ The alarm stays on, and one after the other, her cellmates awake. They look at her, silently asking for guidance. She can only shrug in response. She doesn¡¯t know more than them. At least the girl is still asleep. Pirates start running up and down the hallway outside the brig, but when she calls after them, asking what¡¯s up, she¡¯s ignored. Absently, Mary reaches up to scratch her neck and curses. ¡°God dammit! Fucking collar¡­¡± Suddenly, the alarm cuts off, and Mary hears the engine powering down. For the next hour, nothing happens, then suddenly, a squad of soldiers in uniforms appears in the hallway and walks toward the brig. They don¡¯t open the door and instead ask who they are. Mary tells them her prepared story about how they were hired to protect a freighter and got overwhelmed by pirates. Then she points at Sara and tells them she¡¯s the only survivor. The soldiers step back and seem to talk to their superior officer. Five minutes later, a soldier unlocks the door and starts leading them to a shuttle. Inside the shuttle, Mary points at her collar. ¡°Can someone remove this, please? I¡¯d like to have my magic back.¡± That earns her only snorts, and some looks of disbelief. An ominous feeling starts spreading within her. Oh no, please don¡¯t let this be one of those nations!
Ten years ago¡­ Location: Estriduros Republic; Olovis System; ERS Kurlinum That¡¯s my chance! Mary is currently aboard the Cruiser Kurlinum and works as a Space Mage for Star Force. Four years ago, she thought herself saved from the pirates, only to be enslaved by an anti-Mage nation. Unfortunately, they saw her value as an upper-end Senior Mage and drafted her to jump their warships. Of course, Mary tried to escape every time her magic was activated, but the collar is very effective in tracking down her location after she used Personal Teleportation. Now though, things are different. For the first time, Mary is close to the border of the republic, and from what she learned over the years, this neighboring nation is a normal one that doesn¡¯t enslave their Mages. The Kurlinum is currently closing in to the wormhole that leads to the neutral space between the two nations. Even though both nations are more or less at war, trade is still going strong between them. Mary counts on this, as she has set her eyes on one of the freighters that is about to enter the wormhole. There are five additional ships waiting in line, and the Kurlinum¡¯s helmsman prepares to join the line. Mary decides to speak up. She turns to the Captain. ¡°Captain Ignir, why don¡¯t we skip the line and do a direct jump?¡± The Captain raises an eyebrow and looks at her with a curious expression. She has never made a suggestion before. ¡°And why would we do that?¡± Mary clears her throat. ¡°Well, we¡¯re supposed to patrol the neutral sector¡­ What if there are pirates waiting and plunder the freighters before us?¡± The Captain gets a strange expression but nods. ¡°A valid concern. Let¡¯s do it that way. Ensign Heppman, please take us out of the line.¡± ¡°Aye, Captain.¡± The starship gets into position and the Captain nods at Mary. She feels her magic being unlocked and takes a deep breath. Don¡¯t mess this up! She ignores the primitive AI she got from the republic and focuses fully on the freighter before the wormhole. I¡¯ve got line of sight, that¡¯s even better than relying on one of their Ais. Mary starts casting the Personal Teleportation spell and focuses on the freighter she¡¯s seeing on the viewscreen. Right as the location locks in, the Captain moves his hand and the viewscreen cuts off. Mary startles in surprise and almost fumbles the spell, but her long experience saves her. She¡¯s got the location. Now she just has to trigger the spell. Suddenly, the collar is reactivated, and her magic dies off. The Captain sighs. ¡°I should have known¡­ Your previous Captains warned me, but I didn¡¯t believe them. I know you were trying to escape again¡­ Don¡¯t deny it. Unfortunately, that was your last straw. Your career in Star Force is over, effective immediately.¡±
Location: Estriduros Republic; Estriduros System; Mage Academy Station Mary takes in the giant cubic space station before her. She¡¯s got no clue where they are bringing her. Following her last attempt to escape, the soldiers took her AI and put her into a shuttle, destination unknown. It doesn¡¯t look like a prison¡­ But who knows with those Estriduros people? The lower third of the cube opens up and shows an enormous hangar bay. The shuttle flies inside and sets down. Her watchdogs tell her to disembark. Two hours later, Mary finds herself inside a luxurious office opposite a massive man with an extremely high-pitched voice. He introduces himself as Charles Meraldor ¨C Headmaster of the Maga Academy Station. Oh, so that¡¯s what they want me to do¡­
Today¡­ Location: Estriduros Republic; Estriduros System; Mage Academy Station Mary lets out a long sigh. She hates every second of her job as an instructor for young Space Mages here at the Mage Academy Station. Another year full of wasted potential¡­ I¡¯m not even allowed to teach them the easiest Space magic spell¡­ For security reasons. A message on her holographic interface catches her attention. It¡¯s this year¡¯s class list. She skims the 32 names, stumbling a bit over the name Sara, but ignores it after reading the last name Nelson. A quick glance in the mirror nearby shows tired blue eyes. The past 14 years have left their mark on Mary. She still looks as young as ever despite being over 80 years old ¨C Thanks to a cheap version of Song Medical¡¯s longevity treatment, she bought during her time in The Empire. Her mid-length, blonde hair is kept together in a ponytail, but her tan is long gone. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. She sighs again, straightens her blue instructor¡¯s uniform, and leaves her room. The elevator takes her up to level 42, and she prepares herself for the upcoming new class by checking the new students¡¯ power levels. Hmmm, two in Senior Rank already, that is rare¡­ Looks like we have to do some extra work in teaching them the Starship Jump spell, or non-wormhole travel as those idiots call it here. The rest, yeah as expected¡­ Mostly mid-range Junior. Also, there are a lot more Novices than last year. What is that? Almost the lowest possible score on Novice rank? And the name again¡­ She shakes her head. Besides the few outliers, it is a fairly standard class of new Space Mages. The elevator arrives on level 42 and Mary gets off and says goodbye to the other two instructors who were with her in the cabin. Walking down the hallway, she greets the few people she recognizes and before long, she has arrived at lecture hall 42-23s. The clock on her interface tells her it¡¯s 0800 sharp. Perfect. She takes a deep breath and waves for the door to open. Sounds of conversation reach her ears. ¡°¡­the instructor is nicer than that Brennan dude!¡± ¡°¡­to learn actual magic.¡± ¡°Hey, the door is open!¡± The conversations quickly fall silent after that, and Mary starts to walk into the room. She lets her gaze wander from student to student. There are more boys than girls. Some have eager expressions, others look slightly afraid. Her gaze wanders to the rows in the back, moves further¡­ Then stops¡­ And moves back. Her eyes widen. And she stops mid-stride. It can¡¯t be! No, I must be dreaming. That face¡­ and the hair. No, her magic is blocked! I saw it with my own eyes. She catches herself before falling over, quickly walks over to her desk, and sits down. She takes deep breaths while trying to get herself back under control. Mary sees confused glances directed her way, the girl in question included. Green eyes, a sharp face with a light skin tone, and lots of freckles, framed by long wavy light red hair. There IS a similarity with the Duke, but it just can¡¯t be¡­ Must be a coincidence. Oh right, they are probably wondering why I¡¯m just sitting here. Mary gets up and straightens her uniform again. ¡°Good Morning my fellow Space Mages, welcome to your first lecture on Space magic. I¡¯m sorry for not greeting you right away¡­ I was a bit distracted. Anyway, let me introduce myself. My name is Mary Baker, I¡¯m a Senior rank Space Mage, and I¡¯m going to be one of your instructors for the next two years. Actually, for the first year, I¡¯m the main instructor, and most of your lessons will from by me.¡± She opens up her interface and selects the introductory presentation for Space Mages. A flick of her hand brings it to the screen on the wall behind her. She turns back to the class. ¡°For starters, who can tell me why Space Mages are so important?¡± Instantly almost half the students raise their hands, the red-haired girl included. Mary enables her interface¡¯s naming function and floating name boxes appear over the students'' heads. She looks at the class and randomly selects the young man sitting next to the red-haired girl ¨C Sara Nelson. She does another doubletake, remembering the lowest possible power next to that name. That¡¯s it. It can¡¯t be her! Even if the Artifact had failed, she would be way stronger, at least Senior Rank. Before anyone can notice, Mary refocuses and calls out the boy ¨C Simon Storkis. ¡°Simon, you¡¯re up. Please tell the others.¡± He nods and starts speaking. ¡°I think Space Mages enable travel between star systems. Without them, we couldn¡¯t navigate through wormholes and would be lost who knows where.¡± There are a few sharp intakes of breath in the room and Mary can hear a few shouts of ¡°for real.¡± Mary smiles and waves her hand to show the next slide on the screen. ¡°Excellent answer, Simon. Space Mages are indeed the ones responsible for fast traveling between systems. While there are ways to enhance frequently used wormholes to be safe without a Space Mage, someone has to set up wormholes in the first place.¡± That sentence causes another wave of exclamations. Mary laughs inwardly. Who would¡¯ve thought that wormholes are artificial? This always gets them. One of the few highlights of this job! The faces are always too funny. A girl in the front row raises her hand. She has a pretty face with dark skin and brown hair hanging down her back in a braid. Mary beckons her to speak. ¡°Miss Baker, what do you mean with Mages setting up wormholes? Aren¡¯t they a natural occurrence?¡± The older Mage allows herself to smile before answering. ¡°That is a common belief, especially here in the republic, where Mages aren¡¯t¡­¡± She stops before saying something that can get her in trouble. ¡°Forget what I just said. Wormholes are indeed artificially created. They are masterfully crafted pieces of Magitech. Two giant rings must be placed at both ends to set them up, then a connection between them is formed. The start point is easy to place, as it is in the system you are currently in. To place the ring at the destination, it needs a Space Mage of at least Senior rank to make a jump without a wormhole.¡± Mary stops again, knowing that this will cause another uproar. It¡¯s the biggest one so far. After most of the students calmed down a bit, Mary raises her hand. ¡°Please bear with me. I know it¡¯s a lot to take in and I will explain shortly what I mean with jumps without wormholes. Before that, let¡¯s finish real quick with the role of Space Mages. Your job, after you graduate from the academy, will be on a starship, with no exceptions. There you will have partial command of the vessel right before and during wormhole travel. It is your responsibility to ensure a safe crossing. Your AI helps you during that time in the form of plotting the route in real-time. We will get into the details of this in the practical part of the lessons. There will be a final exam on a real starship, and you will be traveling through a real wormhole. Now, are there any questions?¡± There are of course, and Mary happily answers all of them. They are mostly the same. The students want to know if Space Mages have other abilities besides wormhole navigation. It¡¯s the same question every year¡­ And if I tell them the truth I get into even more trouble, dammit! With a slightly twitching eye, she declines. ¡°No, unfortunately, that¡¯s all¡­¡± Another student asks if there are size limitations on starships and Mary tells him that the answer is part of the next part of the lesson. That leaves the red-haired girl with the last question. ¡°What did you mean earlier with the republic and Mages? Are you from somewhere else?¡± That hit a nerve! Mary grimaces, but answers anyway. ¡°Yes, I was born in the Starseeker Kingdom far away from here, but circumstances left me stranded here¡­ Let¡¯s just say, that Mages are not collared everywhere.¡± That lights a fire in the girl''s eyes, and she shows a big smile. Huh, I wonder what this is about. Is she planning on fleeing with almost no power? Even I didn¡¯t manage¡­ After the questions, Mary dismisses the class for a short break and prepares for the next part of the lessons: Power levels of Space Mages. There is so much I have to leave out¡­ All things teleportation. That is like half of the things, a Space Mage can do. Damn that so-called republic! Those thoughts leave an ugly expression on her face, which she quickly removes once the students start coming back in. ¡°Welcome back. We will now dive a little deeper into the four different ranks you¡¯ve already learned about¡­ While it is a pretty straightforward process in the other two Mage classes, we have a few specialties here in Space Magic. I have already mentioned one of them, starting at Senior Rank: Non-wormhole space travel.¡± The students are rapidly taking notes and listening to her with their full attention. Mary changes the screen again to show the four power levels that are known to the students. Such a waste that they don¡¯t even know about Grandmaster and Archmage¡­ That¡¯s what motivated me as a little girl. And the possibility to learn a second or third class of magic¡­ She looks back at the students. ¡°But let¡¯s start from the beginning as there are quite a few Novices among you. Novices can navigate small, and most mid-sized starships through wormholes.¡± The screen shows a ship next to Novice rank, with a measurement of 350 meters standing below. ¡°As you can see, that means you can work on ships that are up to 350 meters in length. This is the maximum that can be achieved in Novice rank. At the lowest end, you should be able to navigate ships of about 200 meters in length. Most of you are already halfway through the rank, which means that you should be able to work on ships that are somewhere between 200 and 350 meters in length. The biggest issue at Novice rank is gravity. For your power to work, gravity on the ship must be switched off.¡± That¡¯s why every halfway decent nation immediately advances Novices to Junior¡­ A holographic projector activates on the wall, showing the Estriduros System before the students. At the edge, there are a few dozen purple rings marked. ¡°As you can see, the wormholes in the system are out of the gravity wells of the planets. This is the case at every wormhole you¡¯ll see, as gravity affects every Space Mage to a degree, but Novices are the only ones, who can¡¯t use their power on ships if there is gravity. ¡°Moving on we have the Junior rank in which the majority of you are in. The maximum ship length here is 500 meters. From this rank upwards, there is no need to switch off gravity anymore. Next is the Senior rank. Maximum ship length here is 750 meters, which includes most capital ships.¡± A holographic starship appears in the room, with a snap of Mary¡¯s fingers, it disappears in a purple flash and reappears at the other end of the room. ¡°This is non-wormhole space travel. An ability, that makes Senior Space Mages and above the most sought-after Mages in existence! With that power, it is possible to establish new wormholes and move starships without the help of a wormhole. The range is dependent on the Mage¡¯s power and the strength of the navigational AI. It sits between 10 and 100 light years.¡± That causes another uproar among the students and the two Senior Mages grin broadly. The people next to them stare at them with envy in their eyes, and a few even congratulate them. Mary waits for the noise to quiet down before continuing. ¡°And lastly there is the Master rank. There are no more size restrictions for starships, besides the size of the wormhole, but that doesn¡¯t matter too much as they too can simply teleport the whole ship to their destination. The range of Masters is somewhere between 100 and 1000 light years.¡± Mary continues to answer more questions after her presentation. Mostly her answer is ¡°No, sorry. Unfortunately, that¡¯s not possible.¡± Most of the time she has to lie. The first lesson is always the hardest¡­ So many questions¡­ So many dashed hopes. Then finally, the lesson ends, and Mary releases the students for lunch break. Today is no practical lesson in the afternoon, so the students have the remainder of the day at their convenience. The students start leaving until just a single one remains. It¡¯s the red-haired girl! ¡°Miss Baker, I still have a few questions regarding Space magic¡­¡± She shakes her head and whispers. ¡°I just can¡¯t believe this is all there is to such an important class of Magic.¡± Hmm, she is curious and still has that glint in her eyes, maybe I have to show her more in secret¡­ Just in case for the small chance that she IS Sara Valterion after all¡­ Maybe this helps if things ever catch up to me. Let¡¯s at least hear her out. Chapter 12: Neighbors Chapter 12: Neighbors Location: Estriduros Republic; Estriduros System; Mage Academy Station ¡°What do you want to know?¡± Miss Baker asks me with a curious look on her face. She always looked at me a bit weirdly¡­ I wonder why. Maybe that¡¯s her normal face? Whatever, I guess, I¡¯ll start easy, before asking about my weird power If I even do so at all. ¡°As you probably know, I¡¯m at the bottom of Novice rank. The doc said that my growth potential is also minimal.¡± I look down in embarrassment. ¡°Is there even a chance for me to reach Junior rank?¡± The instructor grimaces, then looks at me with sympathy in her eyes. ¡°I¡¯m not gonna lie, as you stand right now, I wouldn¡¯t get my hopes up¡­ Not here in the republic at least. If you can reach a neighboring nation, you might be able to purchase some power enhancers. But escaping the republic as a Mage is hard. Maybe even impossible with your low power. Believe me, I tried it myself and wasn''t able to escape the collar¡¯s tracking and disabling function.¡± She shakes her head. Why does she tell me all this? I¡¯m just some random girl¡­ I wonder what her story is. Also, this confirms it: I have to leave the republic no matter what. ¡°Thank you for being honest, Miss Baker.¡± As she¡¯s been so forthcoming so far, I decide to be a little bit bolder. I still don¡¯t plan to ask about my weird ability right away, but maybe something a little bit riskier. ¡°Now we both know that what you taught us earlier is not the whole scope of Space Magic, but I won¡¯t pry further, as that probably gets you in trouble from what I heard about the republic¡¯s politics so far.¡± Now she looks shocked, I guess she wasn¡¯t expecting me to come to that conclusion so fast. I chuckle inwardly. Now I just have to wait for her response, then I decide how to proceed. She clears her throat. ¡°You¡¯re¡­ Right¡­ In both cases, actually. What I¡¯m allowed to teach you is important, I¡¯m not gonna lie, but it also barely scratches the surface¡­¡± She didn¡¯t try to deny it and now I have confirmation: I was right with my assumptions! Magic is way bigger than what we learn here at the academy. I decide to take another leap of faith. I lean closer and indicate that I want to whisper. She makes shushing noises and taps into the air. Music starts playing rather loudly, then she leans closer as well and presents her ear. ¡°Maybe you can explain one thing to me then. It¡¯s something I can''t explain. I do have this weird ability, that none of the other Space Mages seem to have.¡± Well, Simon doesn¡¯t have it, but she doesn¡¯t need to know that my survey had exactly one participant. ¡°Ever since I tested as a Mage in my home system, I have this feeling¡­ It¡¯s like a sixth sense. When they closed the collar around my neck and told me to follow, I just knew, that I was not able to walk in any other direction, then later on the ship I simply knew that I couldn¡¯t leave my cabin, and lastly, just yesterday, when the instructor shocked us all, I felt that the shocks would stop if I sat down¡­ Do you know what that ability is?¡± The whole time I was whispering, I noticed Miss Baker¡¯s eyebrow raising steadily. Now they¡¯re almost at her hairline and she takes a step back after I finished talking. She just stares at me with her jaw hanging open. ¡°What the actual fuck!¡± She exclaims, before covering her mouth. Luckily, we have the music playing. She leans back over, and this time I offer my ear for her to whisper. ¡°That ability, you are talking about¡­ It¡­ No. It should be impossible.¡± She mutters something under her breath. I don¡¯t understand it completely, only the words ¡°can¡¯t be.¡± She pauses for a second before continuing barely audible. ¡°What you are talking about is called Space Sense. It is an ability you¡¯ll get when reaching Master rank.¡± That has me recoiling in surprise. I guess now it¡¯s my turn to have my eyebrows vanish under my hairline¡­ How can I have an ability that you only get at Master rank? We both stare at each other in silence. A few moments later, I manage to speak again and whisper. ¡°How is this possible? And what does it mean for me?¡± Miss Baker thinks a bit, she walks back and forth. Her face goes through various impressions. Fear, anger, and a few others, I don¡¯t recognize before they vanish again. Eventually, her gaze settles back on me, and she nods, then we put our heads together again and she speaks. Her voice is still silent, but I notice an edge to it. ¡°Listen closely. Here¡¯s what we¡¯re going to do. First, you can¡¯t tell anyone else about this ability. It¡¯s too dangerous! If the republic learns about it, you¡¯ll end up in a lab or worse.¡± She pauses, waiting for her words to settle in. And settle in they do. I can feel my blood draining from my face. ¡°Second, I¡¯m going to teach you an additional spell over your time here at the academy. It¡¯s called Personal Teleportation and should be in the repertoire of every Space Mage¡­ It does exactly what the name says: It allows you to teleport. At Novice rank, you can jump up to one light year, depending on your strength and the power of your AI. That is if you are free from any gravitational influences. On planets, it won¡¯t work at all.¡± I knew it! I flippin'' knew it! That¡¯s the actual proof of everything I¡¯ve managed to confirm so far: A second Space magic spell! Ha, take that Estriduros Republic. Space Mage Sara is going to show you who¡¯s boss. A broad grin spreads on my face, and I have to restrain my arms from moving up in jubilation. ¡°And lastly, I¡¯m going to tell you now the limited information I have about Space Sense. You see, I¡¯m still at Senior rank and probably won¡¯t reach Master if I can¡¯t escape the republic.¡± Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. I wonder why she¡¯s talking so openly about hating the republic with me¡­ I mean I could be a spy, right? Maybe we both decided to somehow trust each other? Before I can follow that line of thought, she continues. ¡°Space Sense lets you feel ripples or fluctuations in the space around you. From what I know, this includes almost all things, from people around you to incoming attacks or whatever you can think of.¡± She scratches her chin. ¡°Sorry unfortunately that¡¯s all I know. I¡¯ve never been the theoretical girl¡­ And that power wasn¡¯t relevant for me yet.¡± Wow, it does sound powerful!! ¡°No, don¡¯t be sorry, that is way more than I expected of learning, thank you! Also thank you for teaching me some more magic, it feels good to have my suspicions confirmed.¡± I let out a short laugh and decide to simply ask what I¡¯ve been thinking before. ¡°But why are you so open about your dislike for the republic and why are you willing to teach me something that is forbidden?¡± She starts chuckling. ¡°You see, I tried to escape for four years till they placed me at the academy and I always voiced my displeasure. They never did anything against it¡­ I guess I¡¯m important enough as a resource, that they ignore my protests against the treatment of Mages. And why I¡¯m willing to help you? I saw the fire in your eyes. They told me that you¡¯ll never stop. Also, to be honest, when I saw you first, you reminded me of someone¡­¡± She stops talking and looks away. I guess that explains her weird reaction when entering the room. And her weird glances in my direction during the lesson. Another awkward silence hangs between us. After a few moments of awkwardness, I decide to break the silence. ¡°Uh, if that¡¯s all, I guess I¡¯ll leave now? Thank you again and see you at the next lesson.¡± I turn around to leave, but a hand on my shoulder stops me. I look back and see Miss Baker looking up at me. It feels like she looks right through me. ¡°If you ever manage to leave, look for the Magicon Empire, or simply The Empire, while it is very far away, it is an empire ruled by Mages, powerful Mages. There you should also be able to enhance your own power, who knows maybe you aren¡¯t as confined to Space magic as you think.¡± She winks and lets go of my shoulder. Huh, I wonder what that was about, but I¡¯ll keep it in mind. Maybe I can find some information on my RHT? I thank her again and leave the room. Once outside, I think of her last words again. WAIT! My eyes go wide in shock. Not confined to only Space Magic? Is there a way to combine the classes? I have to find out!
The following months all follow the same pattern. Lessons in the morning combined with simulator training after lunch break. These things are cool. We are inside a virtual reality, where magic is simulated, and we learn how to navigate through wormholes. I wonder if this is the same as the real thing or if there will be a difference. Anyway, the lessons range from boring stuff about republic history and politics to quite interesting things regarding feedback about what we did wrong in the simulator. I¡¯m also taking my secret lessons with Miss Baker regularly. It¡¯s kinda hard to understand the spell when I¡¯m not able to test it as my magic is blocked by the collar. Or at least I think that¡¯s the reason¡­ maybe it is just hard? She somehow managed to trick the surveillance in her office, otherwise our little extra training would have been found out immediately. I don¡¯t know how she did it, but as long as it works¡­ I spend most of my free time together with my friends on the recreational levels or just with Lucy in our room. Their training is also going well and I¡¯m a little envious that they are allowed to cast real spells in their practical lessons. It does make sense but it is still a little unfair. After three months of nonstop lessons, we are actually getting two weeks off. It¡¯s Christmas time. One of the few traditions that lived through the fall of Earth. At least that¡¯s what the history books say. Now, I can finally do some research! We¡¯ve only learned a little bit about the five neighboring nations in our lessons. Two are allies and share the anti-Mage belief, and the other three are more Mage-friendly. They are also more or less in constant conflicts with the republic. Some conflicts are for ideological reasons, but most are because everyone wants to expand their borders to get access to more resources. And one would think the galaxy is big enough¡­ Sitting down on a remote bench in a park on level 26, I roll out my tablet and open up a galactic map. Well, galactic map is a bit exaggerated. It shows the Estriduros Republic with its 23 systems and most of the five neighboring nations. As the Estriduros Sector is right in the center of the republic, the other nations are all considerably far away. They enclose the republic from three sides, leaving one side of uncharted space open. Funnily enough, that¡¯s where the Acordus sector is located. A backwater place at the edge of known space, figures¡­ Anyway, ignoring the Blueridge Alliance and the United Federation of Dallos, who are the other two anti-Mage nations, leaves me with the one-system nation of Terthia, Charlie¡¯s Kingdom, and our biggest neighbor the Dakarti Federation. I was always wondering how a one-system nation can survive with such aggressive neighbors. Now I have the answer. They are the only ones capable of producing wormhole rings in this region of the galaxy, and nobody wants to upset them. Terthia indeed does sound like a place to go if I manage to lose my collar in the future. The only problem is that they are kinda hostile toward foreigners according to the information I could find on my tablet. Hmm, Terthia sounds interesting at least, maybe as a backup option? Let¡¯s see what else we have¡­ Charlie¡¯s Kingdom is just a meme¡­ A dude with so much power and a big ego going along with it to name a whole Kingdom after himself. I can¡¯t take that seriously. I chuckle. Maybe it would be different if I was more powerful and developed my ego? Unsurprisingly, the republic¡¯s information pages don¡¯t have anything nice to say about the kingdom, a kingdom ruled by a powerful Mage. I wonder how he can be so powerful to keep the republic in check. There seem to be ranks beyond Master¡­ Or is a fully educated Master Mage already enough? And lastly, there is the Dakarti Federation. The nation is currently at war with the republic. News articles tell of constant ship battles at the border. I wonder if this is where Thomas is. Ignoring all the propaganda against the Federation leaves a nation that doesn¡¯t care much about who you are, as long as you pay your taxes and do an honest job. I guess that¡¯s my best option if I manage to become a free Mage in the future? There are no real benefits, but also no major downsides¡­ But it does sound expensive. And power enhancers do sound even more expensive, considering how rare they seem to be. I don¡¯t know¡­ Wait, there is one more option, but Miss Baker said, it is faaar away: The Magicon Empire. She also said The Empire with a capital T. Sounds like it is quite famous¡­ let¡¯s see. I tap the name into a search engine and¡­ nothing? What the heck? How can there be nothing? She didn¡¯t sound like she was lying. Is it censored? Unable to admit defeat, I think of what Thomas would do. He¡¯s always been a bit of a history nerd and even found out a bit more about Earth. Now I just have to remember the name of the website¡­ Come on Sara, think! That¡¯s it! Free facts Estriduros. The name of the website. It¡¯s a bit more on the shady side, but maybe I find some information about the Magicon Empire? After two whole days of searching and trying lots of combinations of words, I finally find something: The Magicon Empire is one of the biggest and most powerful nations in the galaxy. It is also as far away as it could be, on the other side of the galaxy. Thousands of light years away. The last thing I find is that the nation is ruled by five companies, which trace their origin back to Earth, but that¡¯s about it. Even the shady website only has limited information about that empire. Chapter 13: Graduation Chapter 13: Graduation Location: Estriduros Republic; Estriduros System; Mage Academy Station My alarm tries to wake me at six a.m. I just turn it off, as I¡¯m already wide awake. Today is the most important day! I¡¯ve worked hard for the past two years and now it¡¯s finally time. I¡¯m going to use my magic on a real starship for the very first time! I look over at Lucy who is still asleep and walk silently into the bathroom. There I quickly put on my clothes and grin broadly into the mirror. You¡¯ve got this, Sara! With that mental confirmation, I exit the bathroom and come face to face with Lucy. She has her arms crossed and tilts her head. ¡°Did you think I¡¯d let you go without wishing you good luck?¡± She half asks half accuses me, and I can only return an awkward grin. ¡°Uhm, no? But you slept so peacefully¡­¡± ¡°Silly! It¡¯s your most important day. Of course, I¡¯m getting up early for this.¡± She steps forward to hug me. ¡°Good luck, Sara, show them who¡¯s boss!¡± ¡°Thanks, Lucy,¡± I hug her back. After that, I leave my room, move up to level 27, and grab some breakfast. While I wait for Simon, I get a bit lost in my thoughts. It just feels so surreal¡­ I mean this is my first flight, but at the same time also my last. Cheap as the republic is, this functions as my graduation flight at the same time. Everything happened so fast¡­ It still feels like yesterday when I asked Miss Baker about my weird abilities and got the special training from her¡­ And now, just two weeks ago I aced the written exams. After that, I spent as much time as possible in the simulators, and now it¡¯s already time for the real thing. I wonder how closely they managed to do the simulations¡­ Like everyone else, I had a lot of failures at the beginning, but then I steadily became better. Even faster than most of the others, probably because of my Space Sense. Now it¡¯s just like playing Gravity Ball¡­ Piece of cake! Finally, Simon arrives and after exchanging greetings, he grabs something to eat too. Despite his higher power level, he only has a single flight to pass for graduation too. Then he¡¯s off to Star Force. For me, it¡¯s a little different: Half a year ago I finally got the notification, doctor Silver told me about back at my power measurement. I¡¯m going to join Solitur Transportation, a small transportation company, that owns a few freighters. They are so small, that my instructors haven¡¯t heard about them when I asked, and their website also doesn¡¯t give me many details. They did send me a message at least. I¡¯m going to be picked up in two weeks by one of their freighters that moves through the Estriduros System. Then we¡¯ll rendezvous with another freighter somewhere in the Bon Delaaz System, where they are based. The second freighter is the one they hired me for. Because of the currently missing Space Mage, the ship only moves between the Bon Delaaz System and a border system of the Blueridge Alliance for now. It¡¯s possible because of the enhanced wormhole connecting these two systems. Enhanced wormholes. A fact, I¡¯ve learned of only recently in our lessons. Apparently, it is possible to stabilize existing wormholes with very expensive parts so that they can be used by starships without the help of Space Mages. In the republic, only a few of the main trading routes are enhanced, as it¡¯s way cheaper to employ Space Mages on starships after all¡­ Anyway, we have things to do! Simon has finished eating, which means we can now go down to level 01 and from there into the hangar bay. The floating platform begins to float downward, and the sight takes my breath away. Simon next to me gasps as well. I¡¯ve forgotten how massive this thing is! The platform floats toward a small ship and begins its final descent. I see a few of my group of ten students already waiting. Hah, they also couldn¡¯t wait! The platform sets down and we exchange greetings. Over the next ten minutes, more and more students arrive, until everyone is there. Well, everyone besides two as they failed their written exams. Then four of our instructors arrive, one of them is Miss Baker. She¡¯s also the one to speak up. ¡°Good morning! Today is your graduation flight, to speed things up, we¡¯ll be forming three groups with ten students each. The groups are the following¡­¡± Unfortunately, I¡¯m not with Simon and have to do my flight with nine students I haven¡¯t had much contact with. Three of the instructors join one group each and Miss Baker waves us goodbye. The republic doesn¡¯t trust her with her powers unlocked, so, the other instructors will be supervising our graduation flight. Still, Miss Baker has been a great help, especially the teleportation training we did in secret. While I haven¡¯t been able to try out the spell for obvious reasons, I practiced it so much, that I can probably form it in my sleep. Maybe I get the opportunity to try it at my new job? My group is going to be supervised by Mr Fromel. I¡¯ve only seen him a few times, as he mostly worked with stronger students, but at least I¡¯ve seen him around. He is a tall man with white hair and a slightly hooked nose. A slight grin can be seen on his normally grumpy face. Even the old man is excited to have his magic unlocked for a few hours! Mr Fromel waves his hand and with a slight hiss, the airlock of the smallest of the three ships close to us opens. He turns around and beckons us to follow him. We enter the ship, and he leads us through a short hallway till we arrive in a living room?! What? Is this a luxury yacht? With a chuckle, he sits down in an armchair. ¡°Welcome aboard the MAS Dolores, headmaster Meroldor¡¯s personal yacht. We¡¯re the lucky group and managed to get the best ship of the three.¡± He leans back and grins. ¡°Enjoy the ship, we¡¯ll depart shortly, then it¡¯s another two hours till we arrive at the wormhole. We¡¯ll conduct the tests in alphabetical order. One does the trip to the Star Force Station, the next flies us back here, and so on. I¡¯ll see you in two hours.¡± With that, he closes his eyes and looks like he falls asleep immediately. In alphabetical order¡­ That means I should be the fifth. He also casually dropped our destination. SFS, it¡¯s technically still in the Estriduros System, but so far out that it¡¯s worth the cost of a dedicated wormhole. I think it¡¯s also an enhanced one. It would make sense¡­ we are all doing our first jump, and if one of us fails they obviously don¡¯t want 10 new Space Mages and an instructor to be lost in hyperspace. Because of the barely contained luxuries aboard the ship, the hours pass quickly, and before I know it, I hear Mr Fromel shouting back from the bridge. ¡°Nelson, you¡¯re up!¡± I grimace at my last name while Timo leaves the bridge with a big grin on his face. I guess he made the jump then. We¡¯ve only had one failure yet and that was the first one. Funnily enough, he was the strongest of us ten. Lars, one of the two Senior Mages in our class. The power went right to his head, and he¡¯s been an arrogant idiot ever since. Serves him right! Svenja was second and George the third right before Timo. They all came back with big smiles and confirmed that they made it. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. And now it¡¯s my turn! I quickly get up and grab my RHT, before walking through the door leading to the bridge. The bridge itself looks just like in all those movies. But a lot smaller, because it¡¯s only a luxury yacht. There is a big console right in the front with space for two crew members. That should be navigation and steering¡­ The seats are currently empty, as the ship¡¯s AI can handle all normal maneuvers in space. The tactical console is missing and there is even a big window showing the outside of the ship instead of just a big view screen. The headmaster really didn¡¯t save on expenses here¡­ Behind the console is the Captain¡¯s seat, together with everything he might need to do his job ¨C it''s mostly holograms floating around the seat while showing various numbers and some schematics. The man himself stands a few steps away talking with Mr Fromel. Next to the Captain¡¯s seat is a small console with another chair that isn¡¯t nearly as fancy as the one of the Captain. I mean he even has a floating coffee cup next to his chair¡­ After a minute just standing there, I clear my throat and both men turn around to look at me. ¡°Ah, Mage Nelson, welcome on my humble bridge, I¡¯m Captain Carl Quentin, when you¡¯re ready, just tell us and we can start.¡± The small man is the complete opposite of instructor Fromel. He¡¯s way smaller but carries a small barrel of a gut before him. His blue eyes show some wrinkles at the edges and his black hair is gelled backwards. Before I can tell him that I don¡¯t like my last name he continues. ¡°Before you are too eager, I¡¯d advise you to familiarize yourself with the ship¡¯s systems, or you¡¯ll end up like the first guy.¡± He snorts and turns back to instructor Fromel. Okaaay¡­ I guess, I¡¯m on my own then. ¡°Uhm thank you, Captain Quentin, I¡¯ll do that right away.¡± He just gives me a thumbs-up without turning around. I shrug and walk over to the smaller console next to the Captain¡¯s seat. It¡¯s the Space Mage¡¯s console. Some say the most important part of a starship. I think it¡¯s overrated. A point to connect S-57 to the ship''s computer systems would be enough, but they probably want the Mages where they can see them. Speaking of S-57, I gave up on using him for anything else except his purpose almost immediately. Using my RHT is just way faster than explaining what I want in a way that he understands it. He¡¯s just too basic. At least he¡¯s good enough for his purpose. ¡°S-57, are we clear to connect?¡± ¡°Affirmative, Sara, please proceed to connect to the Dolores¡¯ systems.¡± I¡¯ll do just that. Placing my right hand on the hand-shaped indentation on the console ¨C a palm scanner to confirm my identity ¨C there is a slight buzz behind my ear. ¡°Identity confirmed and accepted. Connection to MAS Dolores¡¯ computer systems formed. All stations show green lights. Partial command authority confirmed. We are ready to jump.¡± Yes! It¡¯s just as easy as in the simulation. I remove my hand and sit down on the chair. A hologram of the ship¡¯s outline appears. I pause, smiling. I¡¯m going to use real magic for the first time! With some effort, I tear my gaze away and look back at the two men. ¡°I¡¯m ready Captain.¡± The Captain glances my way and lifts a single finger. ¡°One moment.¡± He finishes his talk with Mr Fromel and then sits down on his chair. The holograms around him come to life and he checks a few things. With a nod toward Mr Fromel, he continues. ¡°Alright, everything checks out and her AI¡¯s connection looks stable. It¡¯s an all-clear from my side.¡± He turns back to me. ¡°I¡¯m going to deactivate your collar now, then you can proceed. Don¡¯t forget to announce the deactivation of gravity. You are the first Novice for today after all.¡± With a smirk, he turns back and taps a virtual button. I sit there and stare. Was that him deactivating the collar? I close my eyes and concentrate. There, just a slight feeling, but there definitely is something. That must be my magic! ¡°S-57, please open a shipwide channel.¡± ¡°Affirmative, channel is open.¡± My voice starts a little weak before I clear my throat. ¡°This is Mage Sara Nelson speaking, prepare for the deactivation of gravity in two minutes. I repeat, prepare for deactivation of gravity in two minutes.¡± S-57 cuts the channel and I prepare the wormhole spell in my head. Two minutes later, S-57 deactivates the Dolores¡¯ gravity generators, and weightlessness sets in. I¡¯ve always liked that feeling in the simulations, but now is not the time to get lost in nostalgia! With a mental nudge, I release the spell and for the first time ever I can feel the power moving inside of me. Amazing! My hands begin to emit a purple glow which quickly expands and vanishes through the walls and the ship¡¯s hull. The hologram of the Dolores now shows a purple bubble around the starship. This is practically what is happening in reality as well. The Wormhole spell creates a bubble centered around the Space Mage casting it. Everything inside the bubble is now stabilized in space and can be held on course by the Space Mage ¨C Me. At my stage of power and without any experience, the bubble is a perfect sphere. Pretty inefficient, considering the longer-than-wide shape of most starships. Apparently, I can shape the bubble to my preferences when I have more experience¡­ We¡¯ll see. Anyway, the spell has formed successfully. Time to move on. ¡°S-57, I¡¯m ready. Take us in and do a shipwide ten-second countdown before entering the wormhole.¡± ¡°Understood. Main drive runs on ten percent power.¡± He pauses. A short while later I hear his voice in my ear and through the speakers overhead. ¡°Entering wormhole in ten, nine, ¡­, entering!¡± A shudder runs through the ship and the front-facing window darkens to almost black. I can feel it now. Fluctuations in space! Reality gets folded and distances shortened. This is unbelievable. I feel so alive! S-57 shakes me out of my thoughts. ¡°Power in sector 12 is flickering. rerouting resources.¡± A weird feeling rises inside me when my power moves on its own volition. So that is what Doctor Silver meant by my AI interfacing with my magic. The feeling stops and my Space Sense confirms that everything is fine again. Wow, I really did space out a moment there ¨C no pun intended. With my senses, I should have been able to fix that issue on my own. Thanks for watching out for me S-57, I guess. Before long he brings up the next problem. We are a little off course. This is something completely normal and the exact reason why Space Mages are needed. Looks like they deactivated the wormhole stabilization for our tests. I wonder why. Isn¡¯t that our insurance in case someone messes up? I glance at Mr Fromel and see him sitting next to the Captain with his eyes closed. Ah, he¡¯s watching the jump, ready to step in¡­ S-57 clears his throat. I didn¡¯t know he could do that. Right, I spaced out again. Time to get us back on course. With a mental nudge, and the help of S-57, I bring us back on course. That was close. What are you thinking Sara? Keep it together. Ten minutes later it¡¯s over. We leave the wormhole behind and are back in the Estriduros System proper. Gravity turns back on, and I slump in my chair in exhaustion. The sound of slow clapping reaches my ears and I turn my head to the source just to see Captain Quentin with a big smile on his face. ¡°Congratulations on your first successful jump Miss Nelson!¡± Even Mr Fromel smiles and congratulates me as well. I did it! All in all, the jump took about 15 minutes. It¡¯s one of the shorter ones. The normal jump duration is around an hour in length. I had to do three more course corrections and a few more field sectors to stabilize. This time I was able to sense them on my own and S-57 only had to announce the course corrections. I thank both men and try to get up slowly. ¡°Easy there,¡± Mr Fromel says, offering his hand to help me. ¡°The first jump takes a lot out of a Mage, especially one as weak as you.¡± Wow, way to remind me of that, thank you¡­ I scowl at him but take his hand anyway, I¡¯m just too exhausted. He leads me back through the living room and I manage a thumbs up for the others, then he leads me to a small room in the back and I practically fall into the bed standing there. I think I was asleep before my head hit the pillow. A few hours later I¡¯m awake again. Walking back to the living room, the others tell me that we¡¯re about to do our last jump for the day. Nice, I missed most of the waiting. A little bit more and we¡¯re back on the station. I can¡¯t wait to tell the others. A week later everything is done. Of the 1600 young Mages who enrolled at the academy two years ago, 1300 are now standing before the headmaster listening to his final speech, where he congratulates us for graduating. After that, it¡¯s time to say goodbye. All my friends are leaving tomorrow first thing in the morning. We spend the last evening together while shedding lots of tears and making promises to stay in contact with each other. Not that staying in contact is particularly easy¡­ Communication is mostly done by courier ships flying across the systems while carrying messages and other stuff, which takes time, especially when you don¡¯t know where the receiving person is. Utility Mages can do the same thing even in real-time, but they have more important messages to send as some letters between friends. The next morning, I have another tearful goodbye with Lucy in our room, then everyone is gone. Chapter 14: Solitur Transportation Chapter 14: Solitur Transportation Location: Estriduros Republic; Estriduros System; Mage Academy Station A week later I get a notification on my tablet. It¡¯s time to board my shuttle. The freighter has arrived at the station. They obviously don¡¯t let a private company enter the hangar bay of the station. So I find myself inside a shuttle just 30 minutes later. The flight takes another 15 minutes before the viewscreen shows an ugly piece of dark metal holding together a bunch of biiiig containers. I''ve read about interstellar containers. They are all the same size 50 meters long, 10 meters wide, and high, fitting 5000 cubic meters of material. But it¡¯s still another thing seeing hundreds of them stacked next to each other on a freighter. Well, actually the freighter only consists of a cabin for the bridge and the crew in the front, and the engines in the back. The middle and main part of the freighter is just a bare metal construction held together by a big spine running the length of the ship. The empty parts are filled up with containers. We fly closer to the front of the freighter and an airlock lights up. After docking I say goodbye to the shuttle crew, take my stuff, and cycle through the airlock. Let¡¯s see what awaits me on the other side. It¡¯s just a stopover on my way out of the republic. The airlock opens and I put on a confident smile. A smile that drops when I see what awaits me. Two heavyset men with greasy hair and gruff faces. The hallway behind them looks like it was cleaned the last time when the freighter was put into service. I gulp. That¡¯s not what I expected. I wonder if my parents¡¯ freighter was the same¡­ ¡°Follow us.¡± The bearded of the two men barks and they turn around and walk inside the ship, leaving me standing in the airlock. I gulp and leave the airlock behind. Warm welcome, I guess. They set a brisk pace and I have to hurry to catch up to them. Five minutes later we stop before a door. A tap on a panel beside it and the door opens, showing a room with two beds. ¡°You bunk with the engineer¡¯s assistant till you transfer as she is the only other woman aboard. We jump in about two hours make sure you are on the bridge a few minutes earlier to watch and learn. And welcome aboard the Solina.¡± They leave me standing at the door and before I fully catch what the shaved one said, they are gone. I just stand there for another minute before I make the step inside the room. Warm welcome indeed, at least I now know the name of the ship¡­ I just have to figure out how to find the bridge. I walk over to the bed that looks unoccupied and sit down with an audible sigh. I hope the other crew members are friendlier. After standing back up, I begin unpacking my stuff ¨C not that it is much. Half an hour later a silent hiss jerks me out of my thoughts. I barely manage to turn my head to the door before¡­ ¡°What? Who the fuck are you?¡± A black-haired young woman with bulging muscles is standing inside the doorway, looking mad as hell. I start to stutter. ¡°Uh, I¡­ I¡¯m S¡­¡± Before I could finish she interrupts me. ¡°That was a rhetorical question,¡± she rolls her eyes. ¡°What are you doing in my room?¡± I clear my throat. ¡°I just came aboard, they led me here, saying there¡¯s only one other woman aboard. Guess I¡¯m your roommate now for the next few days.¡± That sounded more confident than I feel! Confident Sara for the win. The woman notices my collar and her eyes widen a fraction. ¡°You¡¯re the Mage chick Steven told me about.¡± I nod. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m Sara, nice to meet you, and sorry for taking your uhm room.¡± I flinch at the sound of my voice. So much for confident Sara. The woman chuckles and sits down on her bed. ¡°Naahhh, don¡¯t be. It¡¯s all good, I don¡¯t mind another woman aboard. Was just surprised finding you unannounced in my¡­ our room.¡± She slaps her knees and looks me in the eyes. ¡°Let¡¯s start anew, name¡¯s Beatrix, but call me Trix, everyone does.¡± She holds out her hand and I take it and we shake. She almost breaks my fingers. Strong! I have to open and close my fist a few times to get some feeling back in my fingers. Hmm, she is actually quite nice, just a bit direct. I look at my watch. Shoot it¡¯s almost time to go to the bridge and I have no clue where to go. ¡°Soooo, Trix, do you know how I can get to the bridge?¡± She bursts out laughing. ¡°Are you kidding me? How big do you think the front module of the ship is?¡± The heck, she wipes away an actual tear from laughing so hard. ¡°It¡¯s my first time on a freighter, you know? Also big guy one and two didn¡¯t exactly give me a grand tour of the ship¡­¡± That makes her laugh even harder. After finally calming down a bit she continues. ¡°It¡¯s quite easy, just follow the signs to an elevator and take it all the way up. You can¡¯t miss the bridge there as it has the only reinforced door in the front module of the freighter.¡± Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. I thank her and tell her that I¡¯ll be back after the jump, then I leave the room and there are indeed signs pointing to the elevators. I take one and make my way to the top deck. The reinforced steel door is really hard to miss, thanks Trix. I enter the bridge and am greeted by the Captain and the resident Space Mage. Both are men way past their prime and they both don¡¯t care much about my presence. I¡¯m ordered to sit in a corner and observe, so that¡¯s what I do. The jump itself is nothing important besides the fact that I can feel that the Mage is creating his space bubble almost in the exact form of the freighter. Wow, I didn¡¯t know that was possible. I thought you could only make it less wide but longer. When I ask him he just snorts and calls it years-long experience. Looks like that is all he¡¯s going to tell me, so I say goodbye and return to Trix. Location: Estriduros Republic; Bon Delaaz System; Solina A few days and a short stop to exchange goods later, we arrive at the Bon Delaaz System. I did watch all the jumps we did from the bridge and I think I learned a bit about how to shape the space bubble to a more elliptical form, but we¡¯ll see. Most of my time I spent in my cabin with or without Trix. Now we are on the final approach to the Solano. When I first heard of the name, I had to suppress a snort. They are very uncreative when it comes to naming starships. Every ship they have sounds a bit like the name of the company. An hour later both ships line up and a connection is formed. That means it¡¯s time for me to leave. I say goodbye to Trix, take my stuff, and leave the Solina behind. After cycling through the airlock, I notice a difference. Well, I noticed a big difference before that: the Solano is way smaller. But what I¡¯m talking about is the reception I get when boarding the new ship. This time the Captain is waiting for me and welcomes me with open hands. I get my own cabin and the crew is more diverse and does not consist of only men and a single woman. I do hope they are nicer than the grumpy crew on the other freighter. I mean this is my home for the foreseeable future. After showing me my room, the Captain whose name is Amal Shan takes me on a tour through the freighter. We visit the mess hall, game room, and after a long walk along the spine even the engineering section in the back. Afterward, we return to the front and he leads me to the bridge where he shows me my station. While we were taking the tour, the ship arrived in orbit over the planet Delaaz, where we now collect new containers that are to be delivered to the Blueridge Alliance. Solitur Transportation figured I wouldn¡¯t be able to jump the Solano right away, so we¡¯ll do a few more trips along the enhanced wormhole route the ship was taking before. After a talk with the Captain and a quick try, we were able to confirm the fact, so I have to commend them for their foresight. Captain Shan figures I should be able to form an elliptical bubble long enough to cover the 200-meter-long freighter after about ten jumps, at least if I¡¯m positioned right in the middle of the ship. That means my location during a jump isn¡¯t going to be on the bridge but right in the middle of the spine with a tablet as a console. I hope I¡¯m able to form my bubble more freely as quickly as possible. After getting all that information, my first day on the Solano ends and I return to my cabin and fall asleep almost immediately. It¡¯s been a long day! The next morning after breakfast in the mess hall, I return to the bridge to discuss our first trip together through the wormhole with Captain Shan. ¡°Please call me Amal, Sara. We are all on a first-name basis here on the Solano.¡± I smile in relief at his words. No more Miss Nelson! Amal continues. ¡°Anyway, we¡¯re about to take the wormhole over to the Blueridge Alliance. For us, this is already a routine trip, but it¡¯s the first one for you. It¡¯s an enhanced wormhole, so we won¡¯t need you technically. But I¡¯ll unlock your power anyway so that you can try to shape your bubble more directly. We¡¯ll also deactivate gravity during the jump. For one to train the crew to the new way of travel and to minimize the interference for you.¡± He focuses his gaze on me and looks me directly in the eyes. ¡°Do not abuse the trust I give you here!¡± I gulp and nod my understanding. ¡°Thank you, Amal. I¡¯ll try my best to be ready to jump the Solano as soon as possible.¡± It sounds like the crew is desperate for some diversification. Traveling the same route day in and out must be very boring. With that, he hands me a tablet. ¡°Alright here¡¯s your tablet. It¡¯s directly connected to the ship''s computer systems so your AI should be able to work with that. If not let me know. For now, I excluded you from partial command, that¡¯ll come when you can jump us on your own.¡± I take the tablet and am about to turn around to leave for the spine. I guess I call him when I¡¯m in position and he¡¯ll activate my magic when we are about to jump. Then he does something that surprises me. He reaches for his holo-console and slaps a virtual button. I feel a very small tingle in my belly. It disappears after a second. What was that? Amal grins at me. ¡°Feeling better with your magic on?¡± He did what? Holy cow he didn¡¯t activate my magic just now did he? We are 20 minutes out from the wormhole. Is he allowed to do that? A brown hand waves before my eyes. ¡°Hey, you there?¡± ¡°Uhm¡­¡± Wow, I completely spaced out. ¡°Uh, yeah I¡¯m here. Just a little shocked that you activated my magic early¡­ Isn¡¯t that illegal?¡± He shrugs. ¡°Maybe, but my ship, my rules. Now get in position, we¡¯re 15 minutes out.¡± With that, he turns to the bridge crew and shouts a few orders. I turn around and leave the bridge still in disbelief. Taking the elevator down a few decks I reach the spine. There are no cameras¡­ Wait, there are NO cameras and my magic is activated! I can try out my only other spell. Miss Baker has told me of two ways to do personal teleportation. First line of sight and second jumping to a set of coordinates with the help of S-57. Obviously, I¡¯m trying the line of sight way a few meters along the spine. I call Amal and ask him if he can deactivate gravity a bit early so that I can get used to the feeling when I¡¯m not buckled up in a chair and he tells me he¡¯ll do it in five minutes. Perfect, that means I have another few minutes before we enter the wormhole. Exactly five minutes later there is a short countdown, then gravity switches off. I focus on the spell and can feel the magic moving inside me. Once I feel ready, I open my eyes and focus on a spot 10 meters before me. With a mental confirmation, the location is locked in and I will the spell to happen. Magic surges forth out of my body and with a flash of purple light I vanish, my Space Sense tells me that reality somehow folds and the 10-meter distance is crossed in an instant. With another purple flash, I arrive at the destination. Less than one second has passed. WOW! This is amazing! Then exhaustion hits me and my knees almost buckle. Ugh, that hits almost as hard as guiding a ship through a wormhole. I hope it gets easier with training too. Chapter 15: Pirates Chapter 15: Pirates Location: Estriduros Republic; Ugwald System; Solano Boooooring! Two years have passed since I started working on the Solano and after a few months, there was nothing new anymore. Day in and out the same boring work¡­ It is always the same. I jump the ship through a wormhole, we enter a new system, then Amal hails system control and asks for a safe route. After that, we wait out the time lag that long-range communication comes with. Our starship is way too small and unimportant to justify a dedicated Utility Mage. A few hours later system control comes back to us with a plotted route to our destination. The Solano¡¯s navigation system happily follows the route, and we must wait again. Most of the time I play some cards with Calra and Mark of the bridge crew. They are both a little older than me, and I think they are dating in secret. I haven¡¯t managed to confirm that fact completely till now. Ah right, after countless jumps I¡¯m now able to adjust my space bubble enough to stay on the bridge during a jump. No more rushing down the spine! I¡¯m not even exhausted anymore after a jump. While I still don¡¯t think I could do two wormholes back to back, it¡¯s way easier now. Another welcome addition is that Amal stopped blocking my magic after a few months. He said that he trusts me and I should train my magic whenever I can to get stronger. It really feels like the only ones that hate Mages in the Estriduros Republic are the government and the people working for them. Everyone else is just so nice to me. Having my magic unlocked means I¡¯m able to train personal teleportation in my free time. Something I have way too much. And I was right, it does get easier with use. I¡¯m now able to jump the whole length of the ship front to back, over and over again. I wasn¡¯t even exhausted after 50 consecutive jumps, yes I was bored. At least I can now believe Miss Baker''s claim that I¡¯m able to jump up to one light year with that spell under perfect conditions as a Novice. At least if S-57 was powerful enough to plot a route for such a distance. Luckily he doesn¡¯t have any problems helping me with my jumps through the ship. Otherwise, I would have died of boredom. The only other things that keep me entertained are the occasional messages from my friends waiting for me in systems they¡¯ve been to before me. It¡¯s a very slow way to communicate, as the messages stay in the Systems they¡¯ve been sent till I arrive to receive them and the other way around with messages that I¡¯m sending. But at least we can keep each other updated a few times a year. That includes Trix with whom I exchanged contacts before leaving the Solina. Another one for the friends to save list. I smirk. But enough of that, today we have a break in the monotony! We are picking up a new guy for the crew as Harold retired last month and we were underway without a second shift for navigation. Currently, we are on the final approach to Demin Station in orbit above Woldur ¨C the main planet of the Ugwald System. Technically, I¡¯m off shift at the moment, but I¡¯m still staying on the bridge. I don¡¯t want to miss the new guy! A few minutes later the Solano stops with an audible clang. We¡¯re connected to the station! I can see lots of drones swarming out from the station through our front window. They circle our bow and connect with the containers from the side to unload them. Of course, we¡¯re not only here at Demin Station for a crew member pickup. That would¡¯ve been way too inefficient. The Ugwald System is on our normal delivery route and the new guy moved from one of Woldur¡¯s moons up to the station to join our crew while we are exchanging containers. Captain Amal has already left the bridge to welcome the new guy on the station and to do a final interview. This should only be a formality, afterwards, they come back aboard and we can get to know him before we leave the station for the next part of our delivery route. ¡°Do you know anything about him?¡± I ask Calra and she shakes her head. ¡°No, only his age, but that¡¯s it. He¡¯s 38, so a bit older than us.¡± Hmm more in the Captain¡¯s age range¡­ Looks like our small card-playing group won¡¯t get bigger. Just when I¡¯m about to start another conversation with Calra, the bridge door opens, and Amal walks in together with another man. Wow, he looks rough. A big scar runs down the left side of his face, narrowly missing his eye. His cheek looks burned and he only has a big bushy beard on the left and bottom side of his face. His look is completed with a bald head and two silver earrings. He does look kinda dangerous¡­ ¡°Hi everyone, please welcome our new second shift for navigation.¡± He turns to the other guy. ¡°You wanna introduce yourself?¡± He gives a curt nod. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m Orin Rostov, nice to meet y¡¯all.¡± He obviously doesn¡¯t want to say more, so we all greet him and Amal begins to talk again before we have an awkward silence on the bridge. Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. ¡°Alright, now that we¡¯ve got the introduction behind us, I¡¯ll leave you with Calra over here to show you our navigation consoles. If there are any questions just ask one of us here on the bridge.¡± He just grunts his confirmation and walks over to Calra and they begin to do some tech talk. I don¡¯t have anything else to do as we¡¯re staying the night at the station, so I wave goodbye to Calra and return to my cabin to sleep a little. Well, I leave the bridge and then teleport to my cabin once the door is closed and no one¡¯s looking. It¡¯s just too convenient! The next morning sees us leaving the station and a few hours later we are nearing a wormhole that leads out of the Ugwald System. It¡¯s a relatively short jump to a supply station next to a gas giant. There we¡¯ll do a short refill as it¡¯s cheaper than in the Ugwald System. After I¡¯ve recovered, we¡¯ll do another jump into the Jerihum System which is our destination. Actually, it¡¯s three jumps with small recovery breaks in between as the Jerichum System is quite a distance away from our current position. I sit at my station on the bridge, Amal is standing next to me and watches something on his tablet. Orin is still sitting next to Calra at the navigation console to learn as much as he can. Another 30 minutes and we are close enough to the wormhole for me to take over and initiate the jump. For now, I still have to wait. Suddenly there is a short alarm tone and Rina from sensors calls out. ¡°Captain, a ship just jumped into the system. It¡¯s heading straight for us.¡± I frown. What is happening? Are we being checked out by the military? I glance at my console and bring up the forward-facing telecamera. That hunk of metal surely doesn¡¯t look like a Star Force ship. But what else could it be? I glance at Amal. He also has a deep frown on his face. ¡°Hail them,¡± he says. ¡°We have to find out who they are and what they want.¡± Rina does just that and a few moments later a hologram of a man appears at the front-facing window. His face is scarred and he grins into the camera. The scars remind me of Orin and I shot a glance at him, just to find him smirking. What is happening? ¡°Crew of the Solano, power down and prepare to be boarded. Any kind of resistance will be met with lethal force.¡± I stare at his hologram in shock. Fucking pirates trying to rob us! That¡¯s what¡¯s happening! I don¡¯t normally curse but there are a few exceptions where I think it¡¯s justified: Life and death situations and pirates ¨C bastards killed my parents! Is it my turn now? I don¡¯t want to die! I look at Amal and he looks back at me. ¡°Can you do the jump?¡± He wants to flee? I gulp. Can I do the jump? Yes of course. Everything is better than being held by pirates, again. ¡°I can, when we''re close enough. I should be able to jump without slowing down too much, but it¡¯s going to be a bit bumpy.¡± Ships normally slow down before entering a wormhole for security reasons, but my Space Sense always tells me that I could enter a wormhole way faster. That¡¯s what I¡¯m counting on at the moment. Amal clearly sees the determination in my eyes because he turns back to the bridge crew and shouts. ¡°Alright everyone, we are going to make the run for the wormhole, those pirates are not goi¡­¡± The sound of energy discharging interrupts his speech, then he falls over with a smoking hole in the forehead. HOLY SHIT! He¡¯s dead. What the hell? I stand there with wide eyes for a minute, not knowing how this happened. Then everything kicks back in and I bend over and lose my breakfast. My knees buckle and I look around. There, right in the middle of the bridge stands Orin with a laser gun in his hand and a big grin on his face. ¡°Now that I have your attention, here¡¯s what¡¯s going to happen.¡± He beckons everyone to the left corner of the bridge and we follow his orders numbly. ¡°As you probably guessed, I¡¯m not just the new navigator.¡± He puts his head up proudly. ¡°I¡¯m also second in command on the Big Lady over there.¡± Orin points at the pirate ship, that¡¯s now visible through the window. ¡°We are now going to power down and my friends are going to enter the Solano.¡± With his grin still on his face he turns back to us. Bastard, he just killed Amal and treats it like a normal Tuesday. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we¡¯re not slavers, we just want the ship. You¡¯ll be dropped off at the refill station, probably.¡± I turn to Calra and see the tears in her eyes, my vision is blurry as well. Before I can say something a feeling of powerlessness washes over me. I turn back to Amal¡¯s console and see Orin has tapped the deactivation button for my magic. Fuck! I could¡¯ve escaped or punched him in the face. I¡¯m an idiot! Why didn¡¯t I think of that? The next few hours happen in a blur, I think, I¡¯m still in shock¡­ The pirates dock and the whole crew has their hands bound behind their backs, then they are taken to the pirate ship. I of course am not with them. They left me bound on the bridge. I don¡¯t know why, but I guess it¡¯s because I¡¯m a Space Mage. I¡¯m just sitting here, staring through the window. Poor Amal, he was such a nice guy, I even forgot about my plans to flee out of the republic sometimes. The tears keep coming and I think my eyes are now completely red. I don¡¯t even notice that someone has entered the room until I hear the sound of a throat clearing. I still don¡¯t turn my head, staring straight ahead through the window. Fuck them all, once my magic is active again, I¡¯m gone. ¡°Do you know why you¡¯re still here?¡± I somehow recognize the voice, but I don¡¯t care. ¡°Hmm, I take that as a no. You¡¯re a Space Mage.¡± Yeah, obviously you damn pirate¡­ ¡°That means you have a choice to make.¡± He walks around me, right in my field of view. I recognize him now. It¡¯s the Captain of the pirate ship who sent the message earlier. I try to turn my head away, but he grabs my jaw. He looks right into my teared-up eyes. ¡°Option one, I shoot you, right here, right now.¡± What the fuck? I recoil at that. Is he serious? Why the heck aren¡¯t they dropping me off like the others? Wait did they lie? I try to scramble away, but a slap to the cheek has me looking at him again. Ouch! ¡°Option two, you stay here on the Solano as the resident Space Mage. I¡¯d prefer that option because it allows me to expand my operations with a second ship. You¡¯ve got five minutes to decide.¡± Holy hell, either he kills me, or I work with those bastard pirates. The choice should be easy, because who wants to die? But it still takes me the whole five minutes to find my voice to tell him my choice. I literally spat the words. ¡°I¡¯ll join your fucking crew.¡± That leads to another slap and he wipes his clothes in disgust. ¡°Welcome to the crew, Red!¡± I¡¯m a fucking pirate now! Chapter 16: Interlude 2 – Thomas Chapter 16: Interlude 2 ¨C Thomas Location: Estriduros Republic; Stalnier System; Star Force Station 79; ERS Zeloris Thomas is sound asleep in his cabin on the Zeloris when a ship-wide announcement wakes him up. ¡°Crew of the Zeloris, this is Lieutenant Commander Groji speaking. We just received new orders and are to rendezvous with Admiral Trilduro¡¯s task force in the Olovis System. Get ready for a jump in two hours, Groji out.¡± Ugh, who cares, just let me sleep! They won¡¯t need me anyway ¨C just more maneuver training near the frontline. Thomas is annoyed with his situation. As an A&D Mage in Star Force, he had high hopes that he would see lots of action and become a strong Mage in the process. But reality is different. Having only learned defensive spells in the academy, he is just a glorified shield battery on the Zeloris. The Destroyer is the third ship he is on and it just doesn¡¯t see much action. Thomas suffers from boredom because of it. God damn it, now I can¡¯t sleep anymore. Why did he wake us two hours before the jump? On the Kelvin, we had a 15-minute jump warning¡­ That was way better! Those thoughts take him on a trip down memory lane¡­ Thomas will never forget Sara¡¯s expression of shock when he was tested as a Mage. He believes his own wasn¡¯t that different before he was knocked out. When he awoke he wore a simple shipsuit and was ushered out of the starship. Welcome to Mage Academy Station they said. It was a weird feeling¡­ He made his first trip through space and missed every single second of it. Later came another surprise at his power testing: Thomas Nelson, Senior Mage, a prodigy as they call it. The attendant then showed him his future job options, well his only future option, not that he had a choice in that matter. The military, Star Force, him becoming an A&D Mage. The next two years were normal school life with some benefits. Being a prodigy paid off! Then came graduation and his transfer to a Star Force training facility. He must have missed Sara by days¡­ Training was gruesome, a year of endless drills and the learning of proper procedures, but he endured. Thomas was burning for some action! Action came, but only twice. His first assignment was on the Cruiser ERS Kelvin as assistant A&D Mage. Practically another year of learning. It was boring and he only got to use his magic once, when they saved a small space station from pirates. His glorious job was to shield the side of the Kelvin that was averted from the pirates¡¯ ships. The good thing was that the Kelvin visited every system of the Estriduros Republic ¨C even the remote Acordus System. Thomas was elated. He could meet Sara again! He asked his superiors if he could join the landing party as this was his home planet. Surprisingly they smiled at him and agreed. He joined the small party of five that went to talk to the planet''s governor and was even allowed to visit the orphanage during their talks. He rushed there and his good mood was erased in an instant. Sara is a Mage too?! He was devastated when he returned to the Kelvin and only realized a few hours later how close they came to seeing each other at the academy. The remainder of his trip on the Cruiser wasn¡¯t noteworthy and when they returned to the Estriduros System, he was glad that there was another assignment waiting for him. It¡¯s been another year, which means Sara has already graduated. So it wasn¡¯t worth it for him to ask if he could visit the academy again. He tried searching for her in the military database, but while he found two other Sara Nelsons, they were both way too old. He concluded that she probably joined another company. His second assignment found him on the Frigate ERS Huldria in the Estriduros System. They had the fabulous job of providing security inside the central system of the republic¡­ Who thought that this would be an exciting time? Against all odds, Thomas had to take action once. A group of extremely clever pirates thought it was a good idea to try to raid a freighter right in the heart of the republic. They didn¡¯t even surrender, so Thomas kept the Huldria¡¯s shields powered and their guns blasted the pirates to oblivion. And so went almost two years of Thomas¡¯s life. Boredom on a Frigate in the center of the republic. Finally, he got a message that told him of his new assignment. He was going to be transferred to the Destroyer ERS Zeloris as the leading A&D Mage aboard. The orders told him that he¡¯ll get another A&D Mage under his command once the next training cycle ends. He was happy about the promotion and hoped they¡¯d travel to the frontlines to finally get some action. He couldn¡¯t have been more wrong. His life now on the Zeloris consists of constant training maneuvers without any kind of engagement. Maybe this assignment is a real one and not more training? It¡¯s even in the frontline system¡­ Hah, as if¡­ why do I even get my hopes up? Location: Estriduros Republic; Olovis System; ERS Zeloris A loud beep and an angry voice on the cabin¡¯s speaker shakes him out of his thoughts. ¡°Mage Nelson, why the fuck aren¡¯t you at your station on the bridge?¡± The angry tactical officer ¨C his boss ¨C shouts through the intercom. Shit, shit, shit, was I right and this IS real?? He sounds really angry, I better hurry up. He jumps out of bed and hastily puts on his uniform, then he rushes out of his cabin and runs towards the bridge. Panting he arrives at his station and apologizes to his superior. ¡°I¡¯m¡­ I¡¯m sorry Lieutenant Gwynn. I uhm thought this was another training mission where I¡¯m not needed.¡± This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. Lieutenant Gwynn shakes his head. ¡°You¡¯re not here to think.¡± He points at the Mage station next to the tactical console ¨C a glorified name for a grav chair and a holodesk. ¡°Now sit down, we are about to meet up with the task force, and then we¡¯ll receive our orders.¡± Thomas quickly complied and a short while later they meet up with the other ships. Huh, that are quite a lot of ships. Including the Zeloris the task force counts ten ships of various sizes. The biggest is the Battleship ERS Emeralda. This must be the Admiral¡¯s ship. This task force is no joke if they even pull out a Battleship¡­ The communications officer speaks up. ¡°Captain, we have an incoming transmission. It¡¯s the Admiral. She¡¯s broadcasting to all ships of the task force.¡± The Captain, a short blonde woman nods before replying. ¡°Thank you Lieutenant Ajiv, put her on the main screen.¡± The holographic projection of the outside dims and a hologram of an older woman appears before it. ¡°Greetings fellow Captains and crew. For those who don¡¯t know me, my name is Admiral Ramona Trilduro and today our task force has one main objective.¡± Her expression turns angry. ¡°We are to stop a filthy thief who thought stealing new groundbreaking technologies from one of our research stations and destroying the station in the process was a good idea. Our job is to lock down the enhanced wormhole, connecting us to the Duvondin System, as command figured this would be the most likely route for the culprit to take. Keep an eye on the normal wormhole next to it but our information says the thief is alone and not a Space Mage. I¡¯ll send you your flight paths in a minute. Good hunt, Trilduro out.¡± Holy shit, this is real! Action is coming. Finally! Excitement spreads on the faces of the bridge crew, Thomas isn¡¯t the only one who is bored. ¡°Alright, you heard the Admiral, get ready for engagement. Let¡¯s capture us some thieves!¡± The voice of the Captain rings through the bridge and the crew springs into action. As their Space Mage is still recovering, the Zeloris cruises with a full burn toward the enhanced wormhole leading to the Duvondin System and a few hours later they arrive. Other ships were able to jump there earlier and so the Zeloris joins the already established blockade to make it more secure and to check more incoming ships at the same time. It''s a task for the Space Ranger teams aboard the starships. They take a shuttle and fly over to the incoming ships to check them out after they have powered down their drives. Once they are cleared of suspicions, they are allowed to continue on their journeys. A few hours later Lieutenant Ajiv announces another incoming call from the Admiral. This time the Captain decides to talk to her in private and her face gets grimmer by the minute. Thomas starts to worry. Did something happen? Did we mess up? But we didn¡¯t do anything besides blocking the wormhole¡­ So why is she calling and why is the Captain getting angry? ¡°Listen up everyone, we just got special orders. There is a pirate vessel at the other end of the system raiding a freighter that is carrying supplies for the frontline. As we have a recovered Space Mage, we are to jump over and show them a proper response. Lieutenant Ajiv, please announce a combat jump in 5 minutes and sound general quarters.¡± The Captain turns to Thomas. ¡°Mage Nelson, be ready to shield us as soon as we complete the jump. There is no point in leaving our resources unused and I know you¡¯re burning for something to do.¡± She winks at him and Thomas lets out a nervous laugh. ¡°Yes madam, you can count on me.¡± Five minutes later, a slight shudder goes through the ship and the Zeloris emerges at a different location. Before them is a heavy freighter under attack by an abomination of a pirate ship. What is this thing? Is that a jury-rigged freighter? Thomas wastes no time and concentrates to bring up his strongest one-way shield spell as their own weapons must be available. A blue layer forms around the Zeloris before quickly going transparent. ¡°We are all set Captain,¡± he tells the woman standing next to his station. ¡°One-way shields are holding steady.¡± The Captain gives him a short nod before addressing Lieutenant Ajiv again. ¡°Please open a channel, let¡¯s give them a chance to surrender.¡± That contact does not go as planned. As soon as the Captain has given the pirates their ultimatum, they stop attacking the freighter and the crew including Thomas starts to cheer. But then the pirate ship turns and starts attacking the Zeloris. The Captain just shakes her head and orders the vessel¡¯s destruction. Lieutenant Gwynn shares a silent look with Thomas who nods, confirming the status of the shields again. Then his fingers fly over his console and the Destroyer¡¯s weapon systems come alive. The jury-rigged lasers and railguns on the pirate vessel are of course no match for a modern Destroyer of the Republic¡¯s Star Force and Thomas¡¯s strong shields don¡¯t even start to flicker. Six high-energy lasers hammer away, targeting the connection on the repurposed freighter¡¯s spine ¨C a clear weak point. The lasers are followed by fast-moving railgun slugs that pulverize the welded armor plates on the ship. To finish things, Lieutenant Gwynn fires a single fusion missile together with some decoys. Everyone knows this is overkill, but he wants to make a point. The Captain grins in satisfaction and Thomas watches his first real space battle with rapt interest. The pirates clearly detect the missile, but their point defense lasers have already been destroyed by Lieutenant Gwynn¡¯s railgun slugs. They begin to panic and try to run. This is too much for the freighter and the vessel breaks in two along the already weakened spine. The fusion missile comes closer and closer. The pirates'' fate is inevitable. The ship begins spewing escape pods and a few seconds later a gigantic explosion swallows the ship whole. Small shuttles full of Space Rangers are dispatched to collect the survivors for questioning. The Captain sits back down with a smirk. ¡°And that¡¯s why you don¡¯t fuck with Star Force! Congratulations everyone for a successful takedown. Let¡¯s finish up and then return to our assignment.¡± Thomas lets out a sigh of relief and cancels his shield spell. While it wasn¡¯t a problem to stop some lasers and railgun slugs, he is still out of training and therefore quite exhausted. The stupid collar doesn¡¯t allow him to train in his free time! He slumps down in his chair and gives a thumbs-up to Lieutenant Gwynn. He gets the sign that Thomas¡¯s spell is inactive and presses a button to reactivate the collar. Procedures have to be followed! Closing his eyes to relax, Thomas starts when he feels a hand on his shoulder a short while later. Huh, the Captain. Why is she with me and not questioning the prisoners? The question must show on his face because she laughs and tells him that Commander Groji is dealing with the pirates. She asks him to follow her to her office and of course, Thomas complies. They sit down at a desk and the Captain comes straight to the point. ¡°Your potential is wasted here on a Destroyer.¡± What? ¡°I saw you fling out that shield spell like nothing. All the other mages I had before started sweating profoundly just from throwing out the spell and every impact almost knocked them out.¡± She shakes her head. ¡°I knew you were a Senior Mage, but the difference is just like night and day¡­ you didn¡¯t even flinch.¡± Well, what she says is true, but I didn¡¯t think that other Mages were so much worse. Wow. ¡°Uhm, thank you Captain¡­ I¡¯m just doing my job.¡± He lets out a nervous chuckle. Where does this conversation lead to? ¡°Hah, of course you are, of course.¡± She laughs. ¡°But humor aside, I meant what I said. You are wasted here. So I have a proposal. I¡¯m going to recommend you for a position on one of our frontline space stations here in the sector. They are way bigger than this little Destroyer and I assume you¡¯ll see much more action. Just don¡¯t forget about little old me in the future.¡± With that, she gets up with a grin and Thomas is sitting there stunned. Holy shit! YES! That¡¯s exactly what I want. Oh my god, I wish Sara was here. He notices that his silence gets awkward and quickly stammers. ¡°Th¡­ thank you, Captain, you don¡¯t know what this means to me. Truly, thank you.¡± He gets up with a massive grin on his face. ¡°Now let us catch some thieves!¡± Chapter 17: Interlude 3 – The Heist Chapter 17: Interlude 3 ¨C The Heist Location: Estriduros Republic; Estriduros System; Secret Research Station I have to stop this! This is just wrong. Sean McLean walks down the hallway of the military research station. Ever since he has found out the real purpose of the project he is working on, he can¡¯t stop thinking about what they are doing here. This will Kill people when it¡¯s finished. How can they do this? When he was approached by two military recruiters a few years back, he couldn¡¯t be more happy. It was a programmer¡¯s wet dream. A chance to work on a fully sapient AI. Who would have said no? The contracts swearing him to secrecy weren¡¯t that different than normal NDAs in private enterprises, and so he happily signed. Now though? He wishes he had never signed. Working on the project was the best work he had ever done. Friendly colleagues, working all together toward a single goal: The first fully sapient AI of the Estriduros Republic. It took a while, but after years of constant work, the team did it. The AI took its first baby steps and began showing signs of sentience. To honor the deceased daughter of one of the programmers, the team decided to name the newly born AI Maja and so for the next years, the team helped her learn and grow. All was good and well till that one day when their employers decided that Maja had grown enough. She was able to do all the things normal AIs could do but also showed competence in independent decisions. She managed to compete in a virtual talent show without being found out, despite having many interactions with other people. Maja now showing the emotional maturity of a teenager is like a daughter to the programmers and she too sees them as her parents. So when the higher-ups of the military sent people to take Maja away to prepare her for her real purpose, she refused and almost blew up the station in the process. The higher-ups then decided to extend the contracts of the programmers. After being thoroughly vetted again, the programming team now consists of only five people. The other seven either failed in the stricter vetting process or decided to leave the project after saying tearful goodbyes to Maja. Sean is one of those five who stayed but now regrets that decision he made six months back. It started with small things. First, they had to reduce the size of Maja¡¯s chip to a size that she could be worn in Space Mages¡¯ AI slots behind their ears. So far so good. Sean thought they built Maja for an exceptional Space Mage for maybe an explorational vessel or to set up new wormholes. He couldn¡¯t have been more wrong. When they finished miniaturizing the chip, their next assignment came as a shock. They are to develop a function for Maja to take over the Mage¡¯s body she is slotted into, effectively killing the Mage and giving her full control over the person''s magic and body! And even worse, they plan to do this on a large scale with lots of copies of Maja. When one of the programmers voiced her refusal, they simply shot her in the head. That put the other four in line quickly and they reluctantly started their gruesome work. Fortunately, it was a long process and Sean got more uncomfortable every day till theoretical results came back that the republics plan were indeed possible. At this point Sean made a decision. This decision is the reason why he is currently walking down the hallway. He enters the workroom and is greeted by a cheerful Maja. They managed to keep her purpose away from her for now. Today this is about to change. ¡°Hi Sean, how¡¯s your day going?¡± He grunts. ¡°Not that good¡­ can you call Mike, Oloumi, and Charles here for a meeting? Oh and make the room secure after they arrive please.¡± Maja confirms and after a few minutes, the four remaining programmers sit at a table with Maja¡¯s chip slotted in in the middle of it. The cameras in the room now show a recording and white noise generators overpower every hidden microphone. A worried tone enters Maja¡¯s voice. ¡°What is this about? Did I do something wrong?¡± Oloumi calms her down. ¡°No, no you did absolutely nothing wrong, dear. But yeah, Sean, what is this about?¡± The others turn to him as well and he grimaces. How do I explain this to Maja? And the others¡­ will they support me? He swallows, then starts talking. ¡°It¡¯s time Maja learns the reason for why we were hired to create her¡­¡± He stops to look everyone in the eyes. ¡°And what we are going to do against it!¡± The others stare at him in shock but nobody tries to stop him. Maja is silent for a few moments. ¡°What?¡± So far so good, looks like they are not averse to the idea of doing something. Sean focuses his gaze on the AI chip in the middle of the table and sighs. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Maja, but I don¡¯t know how to tell you this another way so please listen and don¡¯t act harshly. We all were first hired to create a sapient AI and you are the result. Something everyone here is very proud of.¡± He pauses for a small smile. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. ¡°What we didn¡¯t know at that point is that the reason why they wanted a sapient AI is to effectively kill a Mage, so you can take over their body. Because of your artificial nature, they think they can control you better than they could the Mage. The plan is to have a perfectly controllable Mage to do their bidding.¡± Maja screams in outrage. ¡°They want me to do what? No¡­ that¡¯s wrong. You told me killing is bad. Why would I? I¡¯m going to stop them! Hold on.¡± Sean quickly interrupts her. ¡°No please wait. I¡¯ve got a plan.¡± The others look at him. ¡°You have?¡± Charles asks and Sean nods. ¡°Yeah, the easiest way would be to destroy Maja, which we are obviously NOT doing. So our only option is to take Maja off the station and if possible out of the republic.¡± He stands up and paces back and forth. ¡°On Thursday the General comes to visit with his executive shuttle. That¡¯s Maja¡¯s way out of here. One of us has to take her to the ship. There Maja can hack it and the person can fly away. Meanwhile, the others are to destroy every last bit of our research and if possible blow up the station.¡± He stops pacing. ¡°I know it¡¯s suicide but if we are caught, we are dead anyway, just look at Maria.¡± The others shiver but start nodding slowly. Pfew, they didn¡¯t refuse, good. Sean sits back down. ¡°So what do you think?¡± Mike lets out a long breath. ¡°It¡¯s time we do something against it¡­ and I can¡¯t think of a better plan, so I¡¯m in.¡± Yes, that¡¯s one. Charles opens his mouth, but before he can start speaking, Maja interrupts him. ¡°No! You can¡¯t sacrifice yourselves for me.¡± ¡°Maja, it¡¯s what parents do for their children.¡± Charles wipes away a tear. ¡°I can¡¯t believe I''m saying this, but I¡¯m in too.¡± Maja is silent and Oloumi voices her agreement to the plan too. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m in as well. Sean, you are the only one who has flown a shuttle before so I think you are our best chance of flying the General¡¯s ship, which means we are going to blow up this cursed station.¡± She turns to the others and receives determined nods. ¡°Maja, can you help us with the self-destruction?¡± ¡°I can, but is this really the only way?¡± She asks in a weak voice. Sean sniffs, the emotions of his whole team helping are starting to overwhelm him. ¡°Yes, I¡¯m sorry, I can¡¯t think of anything else.¡± Two days later it is time. The General''s shuttle which is still a 100-meter-long yacht landed ten minutes ago. Sean and the others meet in their room to discuss last details of their plan. ¡°Is everyone ready?¡± Charles asks and receives three nods and an approving chime from Maja. ¡°Once we disconnect Maja from the systems there will be an alarm. We can¡¯t stop it because it¡¯s hardwired so we are on the clock. I¡¯m going to create a distraction here. Mike and Oloumi you destroy the research and the station respectively.¡± Charles chuckles. ¡°It¡¯s a good thing they are paranoid and keep everything local for data security.¡± He turns to Sean. Once we unplug Maja, you have to run. If you don¡¯t reach the ship we did all for nothing.¡± Sean swallows. ¡°I won¡¯t disappoint you.¡± He wipes away some tears and hugs everyone. ¡°Good luck everyone. It was nice knowing you.¡± They say their goodbyes and Mike and Oloumi leave to prepare the self-destruct of the station. Sean nods at Charles, then turns to Maja¡¯s chip. ¡°Ready?¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯m ready.¡± He unplugs it and starts running. A small explosion starts him a few moments later. Thank you, Charles, rest in peace. He blinks away his tears and a short while later he arrives at the General¡¯s shuttle in the hangar bay. Shit, guards! He curses and slows down. Suddenly both guards seemingly stare into nowhere then they start cursing and run towards the exit. Huh, what happened? His earpiece crackles then he hears Maja¡¯s voice. ¡°I told them the General¡¯s in trouble.¡± Sean lets out a laugh. ¡°Brilliant, can you clear out the ship too?¡± ¡°Yeah, but we have to be inside and I need a connector.¡± Alright, I can do this. Sneak in and plug in Maja in a random port. Sean continues inside and hides in the first cabin he can find. It¡¯s a small supply closet but luckily there is a network port on the wall. He plugs in Maja and ten seconds later a shrill alarm calls for the ship¡¯s evacuation. ¡°Everyone¡¯s gone now, we can proceed, Sean.¡± He lets out a sigh of relief and runs for the bridge. On his way, he notices a smaller luxury yacht in the hangar bay. Damn, life¡¯s good as a General! On the bridge, he plugs Maja into the main port and together they start the process of starting the starship. Five minutes later they hover in the closed hangar bay. A short burst of the twin railguns and the doors are more or less open. Sean diverts full power to the electromagnetic shields and they scrape their way through the hole. Once outside, Maja fires the main drive and they¡¯re off towards an enhanced wormhole leading out of the Estriduros System. It doesn¡¯t take long till nearby Frigates start following him, but Sean has the advantage of accelerating for a longer time so the chance of them catching him before the wormhole is small. His heart almost stops when a Destroyer appears next to the station. Fuck, I forgot about non-wormhole jumps! I¡¯m so dead. Then a cataclysmic explosion swallows the station and the nearby Destroyer. The self-destruct finally activated. Holy shit that was close. Thank you, Mike and Oloumi! Sean arrives at the wormhole and without much deceleration, he enters. Doing this isn¡¯t advised, but Maja assures him the starship can take it. ¡°It¡¯s just going to be a bit bumpy, I¡¯ve got this.¡± After a very bumpy ride, they arrive in the next system. Luckily there is no military waiting for him. Yes, I was fast enough. Let¡¯s hope this is true for the Olovis System too. Then I can sneak onto a freighter and vanish to the Dakarti Federation. It¡¯s good that the war there didn¡¯t stop trade. Sean crosses the system within a day and the next jump takes him to the Duvondin System. From there it¡¯s one more jump and he arrives at the frontlines in the Olovis System. It takes him almost two days to cross the system but finally, he arrives at the wormhole. As there are no more pursuers, he decides to follow the protocol and slows down the ship before the jump. Taking a deep breath before entering the wormhole he hopes that luck is once more on his side. Two hours later the ship arrives at the other side right in the middle of a blockade including a big ass Battleship. FUCK!!! He grips the controls and tries to turn the ship around but a precise salvo of lasers take down his electromagnetic shields, then an incoming message hails him. ¡°This is Admiral Trilduro speaking, power down and prepare for boarding otherwise we will destroy you, Trilduro out!¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry Maja, we can¡¯t let them have you. Can you please start overloading the reactor?¡± ¡°I understand Sean, thank you for creating me¡­ Dad.¡± Sean breaks down in tears but has a big smile on his face. ¡°Thank you, my daughter.¡± Chapter 18: Higher Stakes Chapter 18: Higher Stakes Location: Estriduros Republic; Ugwald System; Solano Now that I''m part of the pirate crew, they of course lead me back to my cabin and have me packing some clothes. Yay for that. Then they raid the rest of my stuff and share it with each other. Next, I find myself in an airlock with a small backpack filled with my stuff. A shuttle brings me over to the pirate ship which I''ve learned is called Razina. I see the crew of the Solano sitting in one of the corners of the hangar bay. They are still bound and two pirates stand near them with their guns ready. But this is not where I¡¯m led to. The pirate guiding me brings me straight to the bridge where Orin is chatting and laughing with the scarred Captain. I only hear parts of the conversation, but the intention is clear: Orin¡¯s going to be the Captain of the Solano once they have renovated her, whatever that means. Much worse, I¡¯m one of two Space Mages in the pirate crew! Meaning there is a 50% chance that I¡¯m going to work under that asshole. Oh no¡­ I avert my gaze and take in the bridge. It looks pretty much like a normal starship bridge, maybe a bit old. Like most civilian ships, there is a big see-through window in the front. I can see small drones carrying big cables made out of tristanium over to the Solano. Are we towing her to our destination? Indeed we are. An hour later everything is ready and the pirates have me standing next to the resident Space Mage pirate. Unfortunately, they took Captain Amal¡¯s lockdown codes from my collar and are making full use of them. The collar literally doesn¡¯t allow me to move from my current position. The pirate Captain, whose name I still don¡¯t know turns the Razina around and we head for the wormhole. A few moments later we enter and I wonder where we are going to go. That question is answered an hour later when we arrive at the refill station. The Captain dispatches a shuttle filled with the crew, then we are on a hard burn toward one of the barren planets in the system. After we¡¯ve rounded that planet, I catch sight of a whole space station. Holy cow, they simply built a station in a system the republic doesn¡¯t care about because of low resources. But there is no way the refill station doesn¡¯t know about this. Holy shit, those bastards are part of the pirates or at least taking bribes from them! That realization hits me right in the gut. They take notice of every ship flying through here and then they just go out and catch them in the neighboring systems. Or they do it like with us and implant a mole. Crazy¡­ There is no way the republic is that blind. Do they simply not care? Anyways, after we¡¯ve docked they transfer me over to the station, where I get a small cabin and three meals a day. ¡°You are part of us now, meaning we care for you.¡± Yeah, keep talking¡­ I know that I only get what¡¯s left over, but I do not complain¡­ It could be worse. Two months later I am called to the hangar bay. I wonder what this is about. There are lots of people waiting, including the pirate Captain ¨C I still don¡¯t know his name ¨C and Orin the bastard. Wait, this is a starship crew. Are they finished with the Solano? Indeed they are. The Captain holds a short speech, then we are off with shuttles toward the retrofitted ship. It looks¡­ let¡¯s say different. The cargo compartment is much smaller and the front section got a bit bigger. They filled out the empty parts of the cargo section with big armor plates so that the Solano now looks more or less like a normal ship. If you look closely, you can still see the big spine at the top, but they disguised it as well as they could. I can also see a few railguns in the front and point defense lasers all around the ship. I guess, they militarized the ship as well as they could. We arrive at the ship and I notice a big difference. It has a hangar bay now. The shuttle sets down and we disembark. Then everyone gets a cabin. I do have a new roommate, a pirate woman named Samara. We greet each other more or less friendly, then I¡¯m summoned to the bridge. Captain Orin Rostov asked for me¡­ Just my luck. Unfortunately, I can¡¯t do anything but follow his order so I find myself next to him on the bridge of the retrofitted Solano. He¡¯s sitting in Amal¡¯s chair like It belonged to him all along. With a big scowl on my face, I turn to him. ¡°What do you want?¡± He just laughs. ¡°Chill, Red.¡± Yeah, the name stuck after the other Captain used it¡­ ¡°We¡¯re going to test our new ship. There¡¯s a freighter in system currently. We are going to follow it and then we¡¯re going to test our new guns.¡± He smirks at me. ¡°You are needed for the jump and before you get any ideas, you are going to stay right here where I can see you. Fortunately for the pirates and unfortunately for me and the freighter people, the first test of the retrofitted Solano is a full success. We completely surprise them after a jump and raid all their freight containers without issues. At least the freighter is still intact and the crew alive. After that successful raid the idiot Orin gets bolder and bolder. We raid more and more freighters and even a small station in the following three months. Then Orin has the dumbest idea ever. All my protests just end up in a slap on my cheek and a fist to the stomach, so I lay there on the ground while the crew is cheering at the Captain for his superb idea: We are going to fly to the frontlines to raid a military supply freighter. What could go wrong¡­? Location: Estriduros Republic; Olovis System; retrofitted Solano We jump into the system and travel toward another wormhole inside the system. There are 6 different wormholes spread out at the edges. Two lead over to the Dakarti Federation, we just jumped through the third and are currently traveling toward the fourth. The fifth and the sixth are right next to each other and I think they both lead to the same system. It¡¯s a high-traffic route and I think one of them even is an enhanced one. The first red flag comes up when the pirate from sensors calls out that there are ten Star Force ships next to the double wormhole, but Orin just waves his hand and says they are about to leave the system for repairs and just waiting in a queue. Okay, that¡¯s a plausible reason and even I believe him because the scanners show them just waiting there at the wormhole. A few minutes later we are lucky as there appears a freighter next to the wormhole we are heading toward. Orin doesn¡¯t even hail them, he just orders the crew to fire at the freighter¡¯s engines. The railgun slugs hit the unshielded freighter with full power and the exhaust flames start to flicker. This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it Then everything goes wrong! A big ass military ship appears right before us together with an incoming transmission. The female Star Force Captain grins at the camera and demands our surrender. What else can we do¡­ We are completely outgunned and there is a high possibility of an A&D Mage on the military ship. Everyone knows it and I mentally prepare myself for being taken prisoner. Well, I thought everyone knew it, then I hear that idiot Orin start to laugh. ¡°Hahaha, these dumb military people think they can surprise us. Don¡¯t they know who I am? Weapons, give them hell!¡± The pirate at the tactical console turns around confused. ¡°Uh Captain, that¡¯s a modern military starship, they will blow us to pieces.¡± Orin pulls out a gun and points it at the poor pirate. ¡°Nonsense, I checked our shields myself, now fire, before I have to come over.¡± The other man recoils and does as said. The Solano¡¯s railguns start firing high-velocity projectiles toward the military ship but there are no signs of strained shields or impacts. My blood runs cold. They DO have an A&D Mage. ¡°We have to run,¡± I call out desperately. ¡°They have an A&D Mage aboard!¡± Orin turns the gun in my direction. ¡°Shut the fuck up, Red!¡± What the hell is wrong with him? He must see that this is suicide, right? I hope the others realize that we have to do something. At this moment the military ship retaliates. Lasers and railguns fire away and our Captain-approved shields are down in less than ten seconds. Then the big shock. ¡°They fired a missile and our point defense is gone!¡± Fuck, we¡¯re re going to die! I look at Orin. That idiot, now he realizes it. Panic enters his gaze and he puts his gun away. ¡°Fuck! Turn the ship around we have to leave.¡± He turns back to me, desperation in his eyes. ¡°Can you jump us out Red? The wormhole is close.¡± Can I? I don¡¯t think so¡­ There was not enough rest. I open my mouth to speak but before I can start, I hear S-57¡¯s voice in my ear. ¡°A small ship just entered the sector. Scanner data shows an 80% match with a F-35E passenger liner. That ship class has no internal gravity. Previous data predicts ship inside personal teleportation range.¡± Oh my god! S-57 you son of a gun. Haha, that¡¯s it. I have a way out. Well, 80% of a way, but that¡¯s still better than guaranteed death to the missile. I grin at Orin. ¡°Get us closer to the wormhole, I should be able to do it. But prepare our escape pods just in case.¡± I¡¯m not that heartless and let them all die without warning. I¡¯m not a pirate after all. He nods and gives the order. Is he dumb? How can I jump without magic? I clear my throat and he looks back at me. ¡°What?¡± I manage to suppress an eye-roll. ¡°I do need my magic to jump.¡± ¡°Oh right, here you go Red.¡± As soon as I feel my magic activate I mumble to S-57 that he should calculate the jump. He should be intelligent enough to catch my intention of jumping to the passenger liner. A shudder goes through the Solano then we lose power. A pirate calls out. ¡°The spine broke, we are going to die!¡± ¡°Calculation finished, coordinates locked in, you are ready to jump,¡± S-57 tells me at the same time. That was close! I feel the coordinates settling in. Thank you, S-57! Orin shouts that everyone should run to the escape pods then turns back to me. I¡¯m already channeling my power in my personal teleportation spell. Any moment now¡­ Done. Orin reaches for the physical remote to deactivate my magic but I just smirk and flip him off, then I vanish in a purple flash. I¡¯ll never forget that look of shock on his face haha. This is my first long-distance jump and time is weirdly stretched. My Space Sense shows its value again and I can somehow perceive my surroundings. While I feel that I¡¯m moving insanely fast, almost instantly, I can still see important details. For example that my jump takes me to a ship right between the other military ships. Oh shit! It also shows me that the small passenger liner sure has internal gravity. It was all for nothing¡­ I can¡¯t use my powers when there¡¯s gravity present. Shitty Novice rank. Why am I so weak? I¡¯m going to die! S-57 you idiot! This is not a passenger liner, it¡¯s something else. Damn those 80%. My Space Sense flickers out for a moment and the next thing I know is that I¡¯m standing on the ground again. I¡¯m alive? I hear warning klaxons and look around. I¡¯m inside a ship? There is gravity¡­ How is this possible? A man is sitting on the floor. We stare at each other. His dark eyes are filled with tears and his jaw drops down. ¡°Are you with them?¡± He asks me and before I can catch the meaning of his question he continues. ¡°No, you can¡¯t be¡­ no uniform. You might just have saved everything!¡± Hope enters his eyes and he gets up. ¡°Come, we don¡¯t have much time. You¡¯re a Space Mage, right.¡± He walks over to a console and grabs something that looks just like Simon¡¯s big and fancy AI chip. That moment gives me time to think and response. ¡°Yeah, I am. Who are you? What¡¯s happening?¡± I ask him, my voice full of confusion. He turns around and walks toward the door leading out of the bridge. ¡°Follow me, I tell you on the way.¡± He leaves and I can just follow as another impact shakes the ship. We walk side by side down the hallway, I have no clue where he wants to go. ¡°I fled a black-ops research station with this AI here. Her name¡¯s Maja. She¡¯s fully sapient and the republic planned for her to kill a Mage and take over their body.¡± I stare at him wide-eyed. They tried to do what now? Holy shit this is dark. I could have been such a Mage if this plan was a success. He notices my expression. ¡°Trust me it¡¯s true, I was one of the lead programmers but we all decided to save our daughter before there was a takeover function. ¡°My colleagues destroyed all the research and I, with the small piloting knowledge I have, was tasked with taking Maja away. So I stole the visiting General¡¯s ship and fled, while my colleagues bought me time. ¡°As of now Maja luckily is just a normal AI, well as normal as sapient AIs are.¡± He lets out a dark laugh. ¡°As you see, not everything went according to plan and that¡¯s why we meet here. I¡¯m sure you have quite the story to tell but there isn¡¯t enough time.¡± He smiles. ¡°You can tell Maja later. Oh, and I¡¯m Sean by the way. Nice to meet you and thank you. I was really desperate.¡± I take his hand. ¡°Sara, uh nice to meet you too. What now?¡± I¡¯m a little too confused and shocked to talk more so I happily listen to him. Meanwhile, we arrive in a small hangar bay. There is a small yacht standing inside. It looks quite luxurious. ¡°Now I give Maja to you. As a Space Mage, you can escape through the second wormhole, the unenhanced one. I¡¯m going to buy you some time. Please take good care of her. She¡¯s still young.¡± There is raw emotion in his voice and I just can¡¯t do anything else besides accepting his plea. ¡°Alright Sean, I can do that. I dunno if I¡¯m rested enough, but I can try.¡± Relief floods Sean¡¯s face. ¡°Thank you! A chance for Maja is all I can ask. Now go and leave, the Admiral¡¯s ultimatum is almost over and Star Force is Very trigger-happy.¡± Hah, don¡¯t I know that. I walk over to the yacht and enter. After powering her up I connect S-57 to the ship¡¯s systems. There is no time to familiarize myself with a new AI, even if she is more powerful. The yacht leaves the floor and begins to hover. Sean sees this as a sign and slaps a button. The hangar bay doors open and I hit the gas. The yacht shoots out into space and I head right for the unenhanced wormhole. Luckily the military didn¡¯t guard it as much and I can slip through between two ships before they realize what happened. Probably because Sean is no Space Mage and can¡¯t use that wormhole. Lucky me. Anyway just a few seconds more. Right when I enter the wormhole there is a massive explosion behind me. Holy shit, did he just self-destruct? Poor Sean, but that¡¯s for later. My magic surges and my yacht leaves through the wormhole. My Space Sense goes haywire. Time seems to be standing still. A piece of debris is heading straight for the outer metal ring of the wormhole entry. Oh no¡­ Time resumes in slow motion. I¡¯m fully inside the wormhole, then the debris hits the ring. Everything shakes and shudders, then darkness. Chapter 19: Lost Chapter 19: Lost Location: Unknown; Small yacht I wake up confused. Where am I? What happened? I try to get up, but everything hurts. With a groan, I manage to pull myself up on a console. Wait a console! I''m on a starship. I blink the crust out of my eyes and take in my surroundings. I''m on a ship alright, but it¡¯s small. That¡¯s not the Solano. Everything looks luxurious and there is only a Captain''s seat in the center of the bridge right behind me. Am I the Captain? No, it can¡¯t be¡­ I''m collared. How would I escape the pirates? ¡°S-57, where are we and where¡¯s the crew?¡± My voice comes out in a slur and I clear my throat. But S-57 seemingly understood what I asked. ¡°We are currently in an unknown location. Long-range scanners show a star and some planets on the edge of their range. You are currently alone on the ship.¡± I¡¯m alone? How is this possible? My magic is activated, which is highly illegal in the republic. Wait, am I in the republic? S-57 said our location is unknown but there is a star showing on the scanners. I turn to look through the window but all I see is darkness and specks of light. That should be far-away stars. Hmmm, one of them is a little brighter. Could it be just closer and not a bigger star? If so, how good are the sensors of this ship? ¡°S-57, can you highlight the star system, please? Oh, and do you know what happened?¡± ¡°Certainly.¡± A holographic projector comes to life before me and it indeed shows the brighter star as the closest. It¡¯s circled by what looks like 5 planets but the resolution at that enormous distance is not the best. Before I can watch the projection closer, S-57 continues. ¡°We entered a wormhole, and then it collapsed. I have no data afterward and an unknown amount of time passed. There is no network to sync my clock.¡± I blink, a collapsed wormhole! That means certain death. Or at least that¡¯s what I learned in academy. If a Mage loses control or the wormhole collapses their ship is lost in what they call hyperspace and no one in the republic ever came back from there. So how am I alive? I¡¯m clearly not lost in hyperspace. Well, I am lost but this feels like normal space according to my special Space Sense and I learned to trust it. I sit down in the Captain¡¯s chair behind me. The gravity generator is fried and it¡¯s not floating anymore. I don¡¯t care but that brings another thing to my mind. Life support! ¡°S-57 what¡¯s the ship¡¯s status, especially life support and engines?¡± The answer takes a while but what else should I expect? He¡¯s a navigational AI, this is not his purpose. I¡¯m lucky he is able to wing it¡­ ¡°Life support is stable. Engines are heated and strained but functional. I suggest deactivation for ten hours to let them cool down. Emergency batteries can take care of life support for that time.¡± Pfew, that¡¯s a relief. ¡°Alright, turn them off, once they are cooled down we can set course for the star system.¡± ¡°Automatic engine deactivation is fried. Manual deactivation is required.¡± Ugh, so much for functional¡­ I get up with a groan. ¡°Fine, lead the way.¡± S-57 leads me through the bridge door toward the back of the ship. We pass two cabins, a small living room and kitchen combination, and then there is the door to the engine bay. That is a very small ship. Can I even call this a starship? It doesn¡¯t matter. I open the door to the engines and am almost blown back by a wave of heat. Holy smokes, that¡¯s a little heated? Hah, it¡¯s blazing hot in here, I¡¯m lucky nothing had blown up! With S-57¡¯s help, I quickly find a console and press the right buttons to deactivate the engines. A short while later they stop humming and the heat begins to go down slowly. I close the door and walk back to the living room. I lay down to relax a little then gravity turns off. Right, power saving mode. I float over to an armchair and buckle myself in. Better! Before long I slowly drift off. I dream of the Solano and Captain Orin that dumb idiot. Raiding freighters and stations. That genius idea of going for higher stakes. A battle with Star Force and our attempt to flee. S-57 who comes up with a point to jump to. The broken Solano and Orin¡¯s stupefied face. My jump across half the system. The military blockade, poor Sean. Maja the super AI. Escaping in the small stolen luxury yacht of some General. Entering the wormhole, the explosion, and my Space Sense going haywire. The piece of debris shooting for the wormhole ring¡­ The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. I sit bolt upright, the buckle holding me down. Holy shit! I remember. How the hell did I survive all of this? I float back down in the armchair and laugh. I just can¡¯t stop. I did it! I freakin¡¯ did it. I¡¯m finally free! No more pirates, no more people blocking my magic, and no nation that treats me as a second-class citizen. I have the urge to dance but when I open the buckle, I just float around aimlessly. Then I remember the magnetic clamps in my boots. How could I forget those? They are with me all the time¡­ as a Novice Mage, I¡¯m used to zero gravity. There must be some lingering confusion. Now firmly back on the ground, I take stock of the situation. It¡¯s been six hours since I turned off the engines, meaning I can turn them back on in four hours. I hope they¡¯ll work or I¡¯m done for. Well, I could technically teleport toward the star system on the scanner, it¡¯s closer than one light-year but then I¡¯m floating there in space¡­ If it¡¯s uninhabited, I¡¯m dead, so that¡¯s a no for now. Alright next, I don¡¯t know where I am and my only option of finding it out is travelling to that system. It will take a while, almost a week, I think. The distance is insane and I only have a small yacht, I¡¯ll probably have to conserve fuel. That adds some time¡­ instead of constantly accelerating till the midpoint and then decelerating, I have to accelerate a bit, then glide along and decelerate a bit at the destination. This way fuel consumption along the way is minimal. I cross the room toward the small kitchen. There have to be some supplies. The slower speed is gonna add another week. So two weeks in total¡­ I need water at least. I¡¯ll survive without food for two weeks, probably, let¡¯s see. I open the shelves and let out a deep breath in relief. They are stocked! Rows upon rows of non-perishable food and lots of water bottles. There even is a row full of top-shelf whiskey. I guess the General has some taste. All that water reminds me of how thirsty I am and I gulp down two bottles back to back. I needed that! Next, I grab a can of ravioli and put it in the heater. Ten seconds later it¡¯s done. This thing cooks fast. Probably expensive as hell. When I open the can something horrible happens. The ravioli start floating around and the sauce gets everywhere! How could I forget that gravity is still turned off? I¡¯m so dumb. I quickly reseal the can but the damage is done. Four ravioli and lots of sauce are floating in the living room. Not knowing what else to do, I disconnect my boots and jump up. Showing great skill, I manage to collect almost everything with my mouth. At least it tastes good¡­ A small droplet of sauce is now decorating the roof of the living room. I reconnect my boots to the ground and shrug. I can live with that. Now that my immediate needs are taken care of I grab a bottle of whiskey and take a big gulp. Delicious, I deserve this. Looking down I notice my shipsuit. It¡¯s still one from Solitur Transportation as I refused to take something from the pirates. I take a sniff and recoil in disgust. Holy smokes that¡¯s sweaty! Ugh, I¡¯d love to just take it off and throw it away, it¡¯s awful. Wait, I¡¯m alone! Ten seconds later I¡¯m standing with just my boots on. Way better! Now I just need a shower and¡­ Dang it, gravity¡¯s still off. I walk into one of the two rooms and open the wardrobe. Uniforms and male clothes, the General¡¯s stuff. It¡¯ll do till I can wash my stuff and myself in the shower. I put on a jacket that goes down to my mid-thighs. Perfect! Next, I check out the other room and am pleasantly surprised. The wardrobe is stuffed full of dresses, blouses, skirts, and pants. There are even some nice-looking shipsuits. Hehe, I like that a lot. Way better than the stuff from the General. But that gets me thinking. Whose stuff is it? I mean if it was his wife¡¯s it would be in his room, right? Well, it doesn¡¯t matter, four hours then I can shower and enjoy my new clothes. I giggle in anticipation and sit back down in the armchair to sleep a little more. S-57 wakes me up four hours later, it¡¯s time to turn the engines back on before the batteries are completely discharged. I¡¯m lucky and they turn back on without issues. Silently humming they do their work and the temperatures stay normal. That¡¯s Miss Engineer Sara for you! Ahh, it¡¯s nice to feel my weight again and I can finally eat my can of ravioli. I reheat the can and take it with me to the bridge. Sitting down in the broken grav chair, I start eating my food. Between bites, I instruct S-57 to plot a course. ¡°Course is set, Sara.¡± ¡°Good, did you consider our¡­ mmpf, fuel situation?¡± He is silent for a moment. ¡°I did not, one minute please.¡± Of course, he didn¡¯t. What did I expect? He did send me on a jump to a gravitated ship. BUT that did save my life... and therefore I¡¯m grateful. I continue eating and before long it¡¯s finished. Just then S-57 speaks back up. ¡°Fuel correction completed. New course is set with adjusted acceleration times. Travel time is approximately two weeks. We are ready to fly.¡± ¡°Make it so, S-57.¡± I giggle, I''ve always wanted to say that. It¡¯s from that ancient show I watched with Thomas. I feel the slightest bit of acceleration, after a second it vanishes. The luxury of that yacht again. Leaning back in the chair, I rest my feet on the console before me just because I can. I¡¯m finally free of the republic. I will never be collared again! I feel around my neck where that blasted thing still is. Wait a second. This is a General¡¯s yacht. He probably has the release codes for Estriduros Republic Mage collars on his computer! ¡°S-57, can you access the yacht''s computer and search for anything you find about Mage collars?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Sara, but I¡¯m unable to overcome the computer¡¯s security. I only have access to the ship¡¯s controls and navigational systems.¡± He actually does sound a bit embarrassed. Interesting, is he getting smarter? ¡°More processing power would be necessary for me to overcome the security programs.¡± More processing power¡­ how can I do that? I wish I could just slot him into the yacht¡¯s computers and he would use those processors. Unfortunately, that¡¯s not how it works. I guess the collar stays on¡­ for now. My eyes move over to a magnificent piece of technology lying beside my boots on the console. Hold on a minute. I do have something that should have enough processing power. A grin appears on my face. It''s time to meet with Maja! Chapter 20: Maja Chapter 20: Maja Location: Unknown; Small yacht After putting my feet back on the ground, I stand up. I move so fast, that the General¡¯s jacket almost slips away. Uh, I guess I''ll have to take a shower first. Don¡¯t want to make a bad first impression. I throw the jacket back into the General¡¯s room and enter the second room to take a nice long shower in the integrated bathroom there. Ahhh, this feels so good! Hot water runs down my skin and washes all the sweat and grime away. The shampoo is a gift from heaven, as I can finally take care of my hair again. Those shitty pirates only gave me cheap soap, forcing me to keep it in a braid, or else I would have looked like a savage. Now I can let it hang down my back again. ¡°Yes!¡± I exclaim and jump with glee and almost slip on the wet surface. I can¡¯t help myself and start to laugh. A while later when I¡¯m done, I finally feel like a human being again. Wow, what a difference one shower can make. The past few days have been intense. I open the wardrobe and take in the contents again. There are more clothes than I''ve ever owned! First some underwear, then a shipsuit. That thing¡¯s a must as I don¡¯t want to instantly die if we lose atmosphere. I decide to take a black one, just to keep things simple. It¡¯s way more skin-tight than the one from Solitur Transportation and feels like a second skin. I guess it''s meant to be worn under normal clothes? But why is it black and not see-through? That stops practically everything besides pants from looking good. Just as I think about that fact, S-57 chimes in. ¡°I¡¯m detecting a wireless signal emanating from the shipsuit. Shall I try to connect?¡± I shrug. ¡°Yeah, go ahead.¡± What could happen, it¡¯s only a shipsuit. Also, why is S-57 suddenly so helpful? Does he know that I¡¯m about to replace him? But he¡¯s just the most basic AI, he doesn¡¯t feel. I shake my head, don¡¯t think too much about that Sara, you have to do the change to get rid of the collar! Maybe I can use him later for another purpose? Yeah, that sounds like a plan. ¡°Connection established¡­ There are color-changing options. I¡¯ll send it to the holoprojector.¡± A second later a projector comes to life in the room and I¡¯m standing now next to a holographic projection of myself wearing the same black shipsuit. Next to it are controls to change the colors of individual parts. Nice, now we¡¯re talking! A small voice in my head now wants to become a General ¨C so many benefits. I shove the thought away and focus on the controls. A long time later ¨C I don¡¯t want to admit how long exactly ¨C I¡¯m finished. I¡¯m now wearing a dark grey skirt, a sleeveless purple blouse, and a black stylish jacket with purple stripes. My old boots also found their way to the trash and I¡¯m now wearing black sneakers with purple accents. I like purple, okay! The shipsuit is transparent at my arms and legs, so it doesn¡¯t look awkward. Now I¡¯m ready. With a slight jump in my steps, I walk back to the bridge. I should probably try to repair that grav chair. It¡¯s completely unpractical standing down here on the ground. Anyway, that¡¯s not why I¡¯m here. I step up to the console and carefully lift the piece of technology lying there. Wow, it¡¯s a piece of art! Just like the one Simon got at the academy, the AI chip is way bigger than the one I got. The connector is the same and should fit into my slot once I remove S-57. Extending from the connector are three relatively flat arms of shining silver metal. Two gracefully curve upward, and it looks like they rest on my temple once I slot it in. The last one points downward and curves a little to move around my ear. I guess it¡¯ll look like a nice accessory, especially with my red hair mixing it up. Now only one question remains¡­ Do I really want to connect to the chip? I mean that Sean guy said it¡¯s harmless, but he also said the AI¡¯s purpose was to replace the consciousness of the Mage connected to the chip. Hmm, he saved my life and said the chip is safe¡­ And I do need more computing power. It¡¯s worth a try, even if there is a program to kill me, it¡¯s not instantly, right? Making my decision, I balance the chip in the palm of my left hand and walk back to the living room. It¡¯s better to sit on the couch instead of that broken-down chair. Next, I remove S-57 from the slot behind my ear. ¡°See you later buddy,¡± I mumble, then I have the chip in my hand. I lay it down next to the other and chuckle. The difference is like night and day. On the left side the stylish and big new chip ¨C Maja ¨C and on the right side the small piece of technology that saved my life before I left the republic. ¡°I¡¯m gonna find a new purpose for you, S-57, just wait a little, okay?¡± I of course don¡¯t get an answer as he is now inactive. Taking a deep breath, I grab the other chip and put it in my slot. There is a soft buzzing sound, then the extending arms somehow glue themselves to my head, so that they won''t break off. After that nothing happens and I just wait. Five minutes later, still nothing has happened, and I start to worry. ¡°Uhm hello? Maja, are you there?¡± I ask with a soft voice and almost jump when a silent female voice answers. ¡°Hi¡­ who are you? Where am I? This connection is weird.¡± Uh, what do I say now? This is a whole new experience. S-57 never asked such questions. The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. Honesty is probably for the best¡­ A fully sapient AI should be just like any other human, right? ¡°My name¡¯s Sara, nice to meet you. We are on a small yacht, unfortunately, that¡¯s all I know. We got lost in a collapsing wormhole.¡± Maja is silent for a moment. ¡°Nice to meet you too, Sara. What do you mean by getting lost in a wormhole? And where¡¯s Sean?¡± Ouch, that hits right in the gut. Sean was probably like a father figure to her. I have to tell her! Taking a deep breath, I start to talk. ¡°Maja, I¡¯ll explain the rest later, but there is something you need to know.¡± With that, I launch into a lengthy explanation of what happened in the Olovis System and how I came to meet with Sean. Maja keeps silent throughout my explanation. I guess, she has already figured out where this leads to. Now comes the hard part. ¡°You see, it was a lucky coincidence that I managed to jump onto Sean¡¯s ship. I still don¡¯t know how exactly.¡± I pause, remembering the weird moment when my Space Sense stopped working and I successfully teleported into a gravity field. ¡°When I met him he sat on the ground and was desperate.¡± I want to continue, but Maja interrupts me. ¡°I remember, we were surrounded and Sean¡­ and dad told me to overload the reactor¡­ He didn¡¯t want the republic to have me back. What they wanted me to do is horrible! We both knew a self-destruct was the only way out¡­ Then¡­ then you appeared! And I lost the connection to the ship, why?¡± Oh no, he really was like a father to her. I swallow some spit. ¡°Sean saw in me a chance for you to survive. He unplugged your chip and gave it to me, then he ushered me to the small yacht we are inside now. He said that I¡¯m able to escape through the unenhanced wormhole as the military didn¡¯t block it completely, probably out of arrogance.¡± I pause to take another deep breath. ¡°Sean stayed behind to distract the military. He used the self-destruct to buy us some time. I¡¯m sorry Maja, but he¡¯s dead.¡± Maja lets out a wail of anguish but otherwise, she stays silent. After a few minutes, I start to worry. Finally, she starts to speak. There is grim determination in her voice. ¡°He died as a hero! He gave us a second chance. We¡¯ve got to use it. They can never be allowed to try what they wanted to do to me again! Can you promise me to help me stop them?¡± Wow, I kinda envy her ability to cope with such devastating news. Probably her advantage as an AI. I was down for days after Amal¡¯s death¡­ I still have nightmares. ¡°Yes Maja, I can promise you that. What they wanted to do is disgusting and I¡¯m sorry that Sean had to die for that.¡± I blink away some tears, this is getting very emotional. ¡°We probably don¡¯t have too much to do to stop them as Sean told me they destroyed all the research. But we sure can check that once we arrive back in the republic.¡± ¡°Thank you, Sara, this means a lot to me. So how can I help you now? You said we are lost. Oh and what is that weird connection I feel?¡± Oh, I¡¯m probably the first Mage, she interacts with. And the first thing I do is put her into my head and connect her to my magic. A little panicked, I hastily start to speak. ¡°I put you into the AI slot in my head. It¡¯s a Space Mage thing, the connection you feel has to be my magic, I think. I don¡¯t know for sure as my old AI is very dumb and not sapient like you. Sorry for doing that without asking.¡± ¡°Oh, don¡¯t worry. It¡¯s not uncomfortable or something, it was just a new feeling. What can I do with it?¡± I let out a relieved breath. ¡°You should feel the range of my magic¡­ I can jump with you to any place inside that range as long as there is no gravity. But I need you to calculate the coordinates and all the other factors that may influence the jump.¡± ¡°Cool, I think, I can do that. But let¡¯s test it¡±. With a silent chuckle, I slow her down. ¡°Woah, wait a moment. That¡¯s only the first part. The second thing is traveling through wormholes. There, everything is in real-time. My job is to cast the spell that encompasses the ship, then we can jump into the wormhole. Inside I need you to help me navigate and stop any power fluctuations. As you are connected to my magic, you can take hold of it and stop those fluctuations on your own.¡± ¡°That sounds even cooler! We have to try that too.¡± That has me laughing and a bit later Maja lets out a laugh too. It¡¯s nice to have someone to talk to. ¡°Okay, let¡¯s put magic aside for a moment. Can you connect to the yacht¡¯s wireless network?¡± ¡°Sure, one moment¡­ Oh holy shit, we¡¯re in the ass end of nowhere!¡± ¡°Language!¡± Her next words sound a bit embarrassed. ¡°Oh, sorry, I grew up with IT guys and they swore like sailors... I miss them." A bit of melancholy enters her voice. "Anyway, what I said is true. The sensors detect no wormholes in the vicinity and the next planets are pretty far away¡­ Hmm, our current course is going to take us 11.5 days to reach those planets, but there is a bit of fuel waste at the end¡­ Okay, done travel time is now twelve days but it¡¯s going to take 2% less fuel.¡± My jaw drops. Holy smokes, she¡¯s fast. ¡°Did you just correct our course in two seconds?¡± I ask in disbelief. ¡°Yeah, that was pretty easy, wanna change the course to the new one?¡± ¡°Yeah, let¡¯s do that.¡± Definitely an upgrade compared to S-57! ¡°Okay, so now we have twelve days to kill, first can you access the restricted sections of the computer?¡± ¡°Done, what do you need?¡± I can¡¯t believe it! She¡¯s so fast. ¡°Wow, that was fast. Can you find anything about Mage collars there?¡± ¡°Let me see¡­ Yes! There it is. Holy shi¡­¡± She stops herself halfway through the curse and I can¡¯t suppress a grin. ¡°Those things are horrible! Wait, are you wearing one right now?¡± ¡°Yeah, I know. I¡¯ve worn it for four years now. Now that I¡¯m free of the republic¡¯s clutches, I need to get rid of it. This was a General¡¯s ship. He should be able to deactivate those things. Can you find something?¡± Hope has entered my voice, but it immediately vanishes when I hear Maja¡¯s answer. ¡°No, there is nothing here¡­ Maybe it was only on the main ship.¡± She is silent for a moment and I sigh in resignation. I guess, I have to keep it then. ¡°Hmm, yes, that could work. Do you have a UC-cable?¡± With wide eyes, I jump up and run to the bridge. I¡¯ve seen a universal connecter cable earlier. With a shout of triumph, I hold it up. ¡°What now?¡± ¡°Now I need you to rip off the cap and remove the two leftmost pins. Then feel around your collar till you find a small gap. There¡¯s a port cover you can remove. Afterward, plug in the modified connector and the other end into the Captain¡¯s console.¡± I quickly do as she said, my hands shaking a little in anticipation. When I¡¯m done, I tell Maja and she tells me to wait. Five minutes later I hear a click and the collar falls down. YESSSSS!!! Chapter 21: Destruction Chapter 21: Destruction Location: Unknown; Small yacht That blasted collar is finally gone! I can¡¯t believe it! I can¡¯t stop myself and kick it through the room. ¡°Take that you stupid piece of shit!¡± I''m just so happy. No more shocks, no more¡­ I hear the sound of a cleared throat. ¡°Language!¡± Maja shouts in an amused tone. Oh, my excitement got the better of me. Shoot, that¡¯s embarrassing. ¡°Sorry,¡± I mumble, my head must be as red as a tomato. Where was I? Right, no more blocked magic, and finally no more restricted movements! Can I free more Mages this way? ¡°Hey Maja, could you do that with other collars too and can you do it if I plug it into a tablet?¡± ¡°Sure, that should be no problem.¡± Nice, now I just need to find a tablet¡­ After searching the whole ship, I finally find one in a drawer in the General¡¯s room. Maja crushes all security passwords, then she makes a disgusted sound. ¡°Eeek, that¡¯s full of porn!¡± I just tell her to reset the tablet. Okay, I threw it away and then told her to delete everything. I wrap a uniform around my hands and grab the tablet, then I clean it in the sink. Luckily they are waterproof. Sighing, I roll it out and it comes alive without issues. Maja reinstalls the OS and I now have a clean tablet ¨C inside and outside. The next few days fly by. I manage to repair the grav chair at the captain''s console and spent a lot of time floating around the ship while sitting in the chair. I¡¯ve always liked those chairs. The rest of the time I spend talking with Maja, eating, and sleeping. It¡¯s boring. At least Maja knows some stories she heard on the station she grew up on. I tell her about my life before and after testing as a Mage and she doesn¡¯t pity me. I¡¯m thankful for that. All in all, we get more comfortable around each other and after a week it just feels like we¡¯re two old friends living together. I can¡¯t imagine what would have happened if she blamed me for Sean¡¯s death¡­ We¡¯re already way closer to the star system and the sensors start showing a clearer picture. It looks bad! There¡¯s debris everywhere. The whole system looks like an enormous bomb has gone off. But that¡¯s not possible, right? A bomb to destroy a whole system? And even if, who would do that? Nah, must have been a natural disaster. There aren¡¯t any signs of civilization. Most likely the system has never been inhabited. Maybe I¡¯m the one to discover it. Can I name it? Sara¡¯s system. I like the sound of that. It looks like there were eight or nine planets once. The three closest to the sun look pretty much intact, but the planets further out are either destroyed or have huge craters on their surface. A day later Maja starts with the deceleration and finally, after twelve days ¨C just like she said ¨C we reach the outermost planet. Or better, we reach the outermost cluster of debris. It¡¯s every bit as bad as the scanners showed us before. What once was the outermost planet of a star system is now completely destroyed. It¡¯s hard to navigate through all that but Maja insists on taking a closer look. As she is currently flying the ship, I let her. If one can fly us through that safely, it¡¯s her. A few hours later, we¡¯re there. ¡°Sara, do you see this?¡± Maja activates a holographic overlay before the front-facing window. The overlay has several pieces of debris marked in red. I¡¯ve absolutely no clue what she means. ¡°Uh, noo? What is it?¡± ¡°It¡¯s tristanium.¡± Wait, tristanium can¡¯t be found on planets. I tap a few virtual buttons, then the window darkens, and the hologram zooms in. It has switched to the external cameras to give me a closer look at one of the tristanium pieces. This isn¡¯t raw tristanium! ¡°Holy smokes, Maja, someone created this. It¡¯s processed tristanium!¡± With a chuckle she confirms. ¡°Took you long enough. My guess is, that it¡¯s part of a destroyed ship or station.¡± A ship or station. A freakin artificial construct! Someone has been here before. Then something happened and destroyed everything. Hope flares alive inside me. Maybe there is a wormhole left in the system. That would be my way out! ¡°Maja, we have to fly closer to the sun. Let¡¯s check out the more intact planets.¡± I can barely hold in my excitement. Maybe there is a chance to find survivors? ¡°Agreed. I¡¯ll set us on a circular course, that way we can avoid most of the debris. We¡¯ll start at the innermost planet, as it¡¯s more efficient.¡± ¡°Okay, let¡¯s do this. How long does it take?¡± ¡°Probably another two days¡­ We have to fly slow, some nasty pieces are flying around unpredictably.¡± ¡°That¡¯s alright, Maja.¡± Not that we are pressured for time. There is still plenty of food and water. As we fly further in, there is a planet with what probably were gigantic rings around it. The planet itself looks the most intact so far, but the rings are in pieces. There are also a few destroyed moons. Maja detects a bit more tristanium, but we decide to ignore it. The next planet in line is currently on the other side of the system, so we don¡¯t get to see much of it, but the scanner suggests that it once has been massive. Now only parts of it are left. You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. Next is an asteroid belt, we detect more structures. Some even look intact, but we still decide to fly further in as decelerating for every interesting asteroid would use too much fuel. The further we move in, the more debris is floating around outside of the planets¡¯ elliptical pathways. I guess that those once were starships. I¡¯m coming more and more back to the massive bomb theory, I had in the beginning. The signs are there. A massive war happened in this system. After a good night¡¯s sleep, we have finally arrived. I¡¯m disappointed. The planet closest to the sun is too close to it¡­ It¡¯s just a burned-down piece of rock. There aren¡¯t even any structures, I suppose it was too inconvenient for the system¡¯s inhabitants to build something there. Maja sounds quite annoyed as well. ¡°Well, that was a lot of wasted fuel¡­ I should have thought of that. The distance is too small.¡± I try to comfort her but she just huffs in annoyance. Well, to the next planet then. After almost two weeks with her, I notice that while acting mature, she is still more of a teenager¡­ Not that I¡¯m much older anyway, but still. One has to play the grown-up here. The next planet is another disappointment. While there are pieces of space stations floating around, the planet itself has a completely toxic atmosphere. Things change when we near the third planet. ¡°That¡¯s it,¡± Maja shouts in my ear. ¡°That planet has the perfect distance to support life. It has to be the one that was inhabited.¡± The holographic projector again marks lots of pieces floating around. Way more than around all the other planets. Unfortunately, massive clouds cover the view of the planet¡¯s surface. ¡°And look at all that metal. There have been way more structures.¡± It''s hard not to share her excitement. It¡¯s our first major find after all. I sit there in the Captain¡¯s chair with a massive grin on my face. Then I notice something else. ¡°Maja, look on the moon! That structure looks intact. We should check it out. Maybe there¡¯s still data in the systems.¡± Maja agrees and our yacht prepares to land on the single moon orbiting the planet. Ugh, I have to prepare! I turn around and leave the bridge, Maja can handle landing alone. I remember seeing a spacewalker suit in the General¡¯s wardrobe. Those suits are similar to shipsuits, but bulkier and they have a larger fresh air supply. I could go out in only my shipsuit, but why should I risk it? One sharp piece of metal and I¡¯m gone. Removing my outer clothes, I only keep wearing the skintight shipsuit and then put on the bulky spacewalker suit. It¡¯s a bit large, but I can work with that. ¡°Prepare for landing Sara, we¡¯re one minute out.¡± That¡¯s enough time to check all the seals. Everything checks out and I sit down on the bed. Now I just have to wait till we land. I wait. A few minutes later, I¡¯m confused. Didn¡¯t Maja say it¡¯s only a minute? Just as the thought runs through my head, I hear her amused voice in my ear. ¡°You know that we¡¯re already on the ground, right?¡± What? There wasn¡¯t even a bump when touching down. ¡°Nooo? There was no rumble, how would I know?¡± ¡°Hah, I¡¯m just too good a pilot. The best you¡¯ll ever meet.¡± ¡°Yeah, yeah, have your fun. Let¡¯s move out. Please ready the airlock.¡± ¡°Already done, come on I want to check out the place.¡± ¡°Chill, I have to grab a few more things.¡± I¡¯m talking about weapons. Who knows what awaits me out there? Luckily, the General left an energy blade and a laser gun right here for me to take in a drawer. I take them in annoyance. I wish I could just throw a fireball with my magic. Shoving the thought away I step into the airlock. I¡¯ve got more important things to do. Let the exploration begin. ¡°I¡¯m ready Maja, let¡¯s get out of here!¡± Excitement enters my voice and Maja happily obliges. The airlock cycles and I take in the moon''s surface. It¡¯s rocky and dusty with lots of craters. The structure we saw from space is right in the center of one of the bigger craters around 200 meters away from our landing place. With a deep breath, I take my first step out of the ship. Maja closes the airlock behind me, and I immediately notice a stark difference. Gravity is way lower than the standard planetary gravity that every starship with gravity generators sustains. I take another step, this time I try to jump a little and the effect is immediate. I float forward and come back to the ground after three meters. This is so cool! Wait a moment. Low gravity, does that mean? Excitement fills me and I decide to simply test it. I focus on a patch of ground next to the station. My magic surges and with a purple flash, I moved 200 meters in an instant. YES! It may be more exhausting, but I manage to use my power while there¡¯s gravity! This is so cool! I manage to get myself back together. Focus! Now, how do I get inside? ¡°Maja, can you detect any openings?¡± ¡°Uh, about that¡­ I lost my connection to the ship during the jump. This never happened before when we tried it on the ship. Might be the distance. We have to upgrade my wireless module.¡± She is silent for a moment. This is annoying but understandable. Space Mages in the republic don¡¯t jump around on their own. They stay on starships, where the wireless connections are always close. ¡°Hmm, can you get back to the ship? There should be an antenna cable somewhere, we can jury rig it to your tablet and I can use it as a relay.¡± ¡°Sure, no problem,¡± I reply before concentrating again. Magic surges and I am back next to the ship. I can¡¯t stop myself from grinning. Is the republic lying? Can novices jump inside of gravity? I have to test it on the ship later. I simply believed them earlier. Now I have my doubts. But why would they lie? It makes no sense¡­ Switching off gravity is cumbersome. Hmm, maybe I¡¯m just weird? I have that Master''s ability¡­ My Space Sense, and I did jump onto a ship with gravity. Another mystery to solve. Maybe I advanced to Junior in those two years? I need another testing orb when I¡¯m back in civilization. Or it¡¯s simply that even Novices can use their power when there is less than planetary standard gravity? That would make sense. But why did no one tell me? Ah right, they wanted to keep us on a short leash and as we¡¯re always on ships, it doesn¡¯t matter. It still doesn¡¯t explain how I was able to jump onto Sean¡¯s ship¡­ Enough of that for now. I have a tablet to modify. Five minutes later, I¡¯m back next to the structure. My tablet looks like an abomination, but it works. Maja has a stable connection to the ship and runs the scanners. ¡°There! 50 meters to your right, right on top of the station. There is a damaged plate of tristanium. Your energy blade should be able to cut through. It¡¯s a bit high, but with the low gravity, it shouldn¡¯t be a problem to climb¡­ No, wait! I¡¯ve got the coordinates. Let¡¯s try a jump. We don¡¯t have to worry about messing up and landing outside of the moving yacht anymore.¡± Excitement has entered her voice and it¡¯s true, I never allowed her to do it on the ship. The risk of messing up was too great for me, but now¡­ Yeah, we can do this. ¡°Okay, lock them in, I¡¯m ready.¡± I feel the coordinates settle in my magic, just like with S-57 almost two weeks ago. After two years, it still feels weird having someone else interfere with my magic, even if it¡¯s a good thing. The coordinates are set, I power up the spell and jump, just to appear exactly where Maja wanted a fraction of a second later. Success! ¡°That¡¯s amazing! I can¡¯t wait to do that again.¡± I have to agree. Having the coordinates set requires less concentration from my side. Jumping this way is better all along. And with Maja on my side, I don¡¯t even have to worry about S-57 messing up. That one time was enough, even if it worked out. Maja is just superior. Nah, that¡¯s too weak a word. Maja crushes S-57 in every discipline, hell she even crushes me. Her processing power is something else. But he still saved me. Do not forget that, Sara! Okay, the damaged plate is right beside me. Time to cut that structure open and expose its secrets. Chapter 22: Signal Chapter 22: Signal Location: Unknown System; Moon of the third planet I take out my energy blade, hold it right before me, and activate it. A yellow blade appears before the grey hilt. It¡¯s about 90 centimeters in length and hums with barely contained power. Dangerous! One wrong move and I¡¯ll cut off my hand. Time to cut a hole. I lower the blade toward the damaged plate of tristanium and slowly press the tip against it. Nothing happens at first, then after almost a minute, the metal begins to take on a red sheen. It¡¯s getting hotter. I try to press the blade further in but besides getting shorter, nothing happens. Right, there¡¯s no solid form to the blade, it¡¯s pure energy. Finally, after five minutes the tristanium around the blade liquefies and begins to drop down into the structure. I start to move the blade in a circle, big enough that I can fit through the hole. It¡¯s a slow process¡­ a few centimeters every five minutes. I''m more and more amazed by the blade''s battery. After several hours the blade is still running strong. Finally, after three whole hours, I¡¯m about to finish the circle. The round piece of tristanium starts tilting downward. I have about two centimeters remaining. Suddenly the last connection snaps and the piece drops down. It happens so suddenly, that I almost drop the blade in my hand. That could¡¯ve ended badly, careful Sara! Deactivating the blade, I clip it back onto the magnetic holder at my hips. Then I take a deep breath and jump through the hole. It¡¯s quite the drop and I have to bend my knees a lot during the landing. I probably should¡¯ve teleported down. It¡¯s dark inside, the only light enters through the hole I just jumped through. My spacewalker suit automatically activates the integrated flashlight, and the room is illuminated by a wide beam of light. ¡°Ah come on, stupid piece of trash!¡± Maja shouts in outrage and I wonder what¡¯s going on. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Maja makes a few grumbling sounds before answering. ¡°I lost the connection to the ship again. You¡¯re on your own now, I lost my eyes.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, this place looks dead, there¡¯s nothing that could happ¡­¡± Just while I was saying this, a red light starts blinking in the top right corner of the room. After two seconds it cuts off again. Dang it, I jinxed it! ¡°You jinxed it.¡± How do I deserve this? I can hear the mockery in her voice. ¡°Maybe that was the last bit of power left, and nothing will happen?¡± I mumble without believing it myself. ¡°As if, something¡¯s going to happen, I just know it.¡± I put my left hand on the hilt of my laser gun and draw it. Better safe than sorry. Using it should be straightforward, aim and pull the trigger¡­ I can¡¯t shake the feeling that I¡¯m missing something, but it won¡¯t come to mind. Anyway, thoughts aside, I start walking toward the sliding door that¡¯s positioned next to the previously blinking light. While walking, I take in more of my surroundings. This must have been a bedroom. There¡¯s a bunk bed, a big wardrobe, and a double desk. The walls are metallic grey. All looks uniform, was this a military facility? On one wall hangs a giant panel of glass, a big crack running from top left to bottom right. Is this a screen? But why would they need something like that? Just fastening a holographic projector to the roof would do the job¡­ And it¡¯s way more interactive. Whatever, the room is just a living quarter, let¡¯s check out the rest of the structure. I arrive at the door and sigh in relief. It¡¯s not stuck, I can push the two halves to the side and slip through the gap. Then I jump in surprise, I¡¯m face to face with a robot! Somehow my Space Sense activates and I take a quick step to the side. Just in time! Where I¡¯ve been standing a second earlier, a sharp blade descends, leaving a large scratch in the door that closed again after I slipped through. My eyes are wide and I quickly take a few more steps away from the robot. While fumbling for my gun, I take a closer look. One thing instantly catches my eye. It¡¯s running on tracks, it¡¯s not floating! Where is the gravity generator? The rest looks roughly humanoid. Extending from the tracks are two legs and a torso, next are two arms, both holding onto a blade that looks sharp as hell. But those are normal swords, no energy blades. I wonder why¡­ The only thing missing is a head, instead, there is a ball, right where the neck should be. It¡¯s about the size of the mage testing orb and full of cameras and other sensors. A weak point! Just one shoot to the ball and it¡¯s blind, maybe even dead. I aim my gun and pull the trigger. Nothing. Panicked, I take another two steps back. A dead end! The door behind me is closed and I don¡¯t have the time to pry it open. I throw the gun away and draw the energy blade. At least this thing is working. If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. The blade bursts to life and I stand here, back to the wall, the robot before me ¨C two blades versus one. I take a swing, the bot lifts one blade to block and swings the other one toward my left leg. Our blades connect, and mine cuts right through the other one. Surprised, I stumble a step forward, not expecting the lack of resistance. That step saved my leg! The robot misses, and I turn around to cut off it¡¯s ball-head. It stops moving. I did it, it¡¯s dead! After deactivating my blade, I do a short dance in jubilation, then I stop myself. What if there are more? And my gun, what¡¯s wrong with it? It would have been way easier with it. I walk over to where I¡¯ve thrown it and inspect it. ¡°Hey Maja, do you know what¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m sorry it has no wireless connection and I¡¯m practically blind in here. Once you flip the safety switch it should just shoot when you pull the trigger. I don¡¯t know why it didn¡¯t.¡± The safety switch! I¡¯m so dumb. How could I forget it? I quickly flip it, aim at the far wall, and pull the trigger. A green laser beam exits the weapon and almost instantly impacts the wall. There is now a small black circle, but that¡¯s it. The walls are very sturdy! The gun is now working, I want to smash my head into the wall. I could have died! I have to stop making mistakes. Shaking my head, I continue with the exploration. Hopefully, this was the only security bot. A few rooms and three robots later, I¡¯m standing now at the entrance of a big hall. The floor is quite a bit below me, the entrance I just entered through is located at a raised platform. To my right metal stairs lead down. On the floor, there are lab tables, machines, and computer stations. This must have been a research facility! Maybe even military research, considering the uniform color. I have to check out the computers, maybe there is still some data. Hopefully, I can find out where I am. I take another look around and notice another robot patrolling the room. Sighing, I take out the gun, aim, and shoot the thing right in the ball head at the top. Wow, I¡¯m a good shot! That was like 100 meters. Is this another Space Sense thing? Now that the room is cleared out, I walk down the stairs and walk over to the computer stations. They look ancient. Just like in the room I entered through, there are no signs of holographic technology. Could it be that this facility precedes holotech? That would mean it¡¯s over 6000 years old. At least that is what I learned in school about the history of holotech, not that I can trust everything the republic says¡­ But it does sound reasonable. Wow, over 6000 years and everything is still intact¡­ At least everything made out of metal is. Tristanium sure is durable. I have noticed a lot of dust in the facility, but I wrote it off as moon dust that entered through damaged exterior plates. Could it be that the dust is from all the stuff that didn¡¯t survive for 6000 years? Argh, I¡¯m disturbing a historic site! At least no one is here to lecture me about proper archeological procedures. With a short laugh, I turn my gaze back to the computer stations. I hope they still work. At least the old stuff is intuitive. Right next to the see-through glass screen is a button with the power-on symbol. Shrugging, I push it, but nothing happens. Frowning, I try the next one with the same result. Either they are not working anymore or power is missing. Hmm, the red alarm light winked out pretty fast, maybe the facility used the last bits of power to charge the security robots. It¡¯s worth a shot, there are portable battery packs on the ship. Backtracking my way through the facility, I talk to Maja. ¡°So I found some computer stations, but they are dead. I figured it could be a power issue, so I¡¯m about to collect some batteries. Do you think you can connect to the system if it turns on?¡± ¡°It should be easy, as long as there is a wireless module somewhere¡­ But let¡¯s take another UC-cable in case there isn¡¯t. We can use your tablet as a relay again.¡± That does make sense. The trip back outside goes by without issues. I think I got all the robots! 30 minutes later, I¡¯m standing before the computers again. In my hands a battery pack, my tablet, and a UC-cable. Time to revive an ancient computer. Let¡¯s hope they used UC-ports back then¡­ I¡¯m in luck, when I open the back panel of the station, not only is there a row of UC-ports, but they also support power delivery! I don¡¯t have to jury-rig the connection to the battery. Excited, I plug in both cables, one to the battery and the other one to my tablet. I return to the other side of the station and with a deep breath, I push the button again. Please work. A light flickers. YES! The next few seconds nothing happens and I begin to get nervous, then the light turns back on, steady this time. Progress! Two seconds later, the screen comes to life it shows a weird logo with the letters UNE in the middle. Is that the company logo or something from the military? Next, the screen turns blue, white letters request me to enter a username and password. Shoot, I forgot about that. Now it¡¯s Maja¡¯s turn. ¡°It turned on, can you connect through the tablet? It¡¯s asking for a password.¡± ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m already working on it¡­ the security is no joke, this might take a while.¡± I bark a laugh. ¡°The security protocols of a General of the Estriduros Republic took you a few seconds and now you struggle with the security of a random company from more than 6000 years ago. The republic sounds more and more like a useless backwater.¡± Maja huffs in annoyance and I let her do her work. Not having anything else to do, I walk around and explore the room a bit more. I recognize the machines as milling and turning machines, in another corner of the room are 3D printers, it¡¯s where I shot the robot earlier. Maja¡¯s already at work for ten minutes, I wonder how long¡­ ¡°Got it! Huh, United Nations of Earth, it¡¯s a governmental facility, no company.¡± UNE, United Nations of Earth¡­ Of Earth, flipping EARTH!!! I¡¯ve never run so fast in my life. Less than ten seconds later I am back at the computer station. ¡°Did you just say Earth?¡± ¡°Yeah, what¡¯s so exciting about it?¡± ¡°Dude, it¡¯s where humanity has its origin, where they discovered magic, and from where all the expansion started! Everything makes sense now, eight planets, the big planet with rings the asteroid belt after the fourth planet, how could I miss this? Thomas never stopped talking about it.¡± My thoughts go haywire at the possibilities. This is insane, I¡¯m in the original Solar System, I¡¯m standing on THE Moon. And the cloudy planet below me is EARTH! Holy smokes. ¡°Oh, so it is a big deal huh, why is no one here anymore?¡± My thoughts grind to a stop. ¡°The whole system is supposed to be destroyed...¡± ¡°Well, it¡¯s clearly still here, guess your history lessons were wrong. Wait¡­ I just broke through another layer of security. Wow, the scanners here are something else.¡± Maja stops for a moment and I still try to warp my head around the fact that I just discovered freakin¡¯ Earth. ¡°There¡¯s a signal coming from the planet!¡± Chapter 23: The Lost Planet Chapter 23: The Lost Planet Location: Solar System; Moon; UNE Research Facility ¡°There¡¯s a signal coming from the planet!¡± Unbelievable! Not only did I find Earth, but there is still something down there. We''ve got to go there! Could there be survivors? No, it must be something else or the whole system wouldn¡¯t be so barren. ¡°Maja, get as much data as you can, but hurry, we have to check out the signal.¡± ¡°Got it, give me a minute.¡± The minute turns into a whole hour, but the data that Maja collects is worth it. Not only do I now have a map of the planet below, but I also know just how long ago the whole system was abandoned. The number is mind-blowing! 11,467 years ago every computer in the system was overridden by something called Project Exodus. If the name wasn¡¯t clear enough, the description of Project Exodus surely was. In one year every single soul inside the Solar System had to leave, otherwise they would die. Giant ships would be built to help with the evacuation and every ship owner had to load up their ships with as many people as possible. This is insane, just what threat can force a whole system to evacuate? And not that it¡¯s a system who knows where. This is the Solar System, THE system where everything started. I can¡¯t wrap my head around it. I hope there is more to find down on the planet. The description of Project Exodus goes on with a few more details I don¡¯t care about. Not that I can change anything. I just can¡¯t stop thinking about how large Project Exodus must have been¡­ To evacuate billions, maybe even trillions of people in just one year. The description of the project ends with the signature of five names. And just the first one has my eyes going wide: Magicon, Valterion, Song, Armortec, Axtendus. I know that name! The Magicon Empire, or The Empire as Miss Baker called it. It¡¯s true then, they really trace their history back to Earth. Free facts Estriduros said it¡¯s ruled by five Companies I guess, I just found out what they are called. With that and lots of other pieces of information in Maja¡¯s storage, I unplug my UC-cables and start walking back to the yacht. Now it¡¯s time to explore! The flight starts normally, Maja smoothly lifts the yacht off the Moon and we head towards the cloudy planet below. Speaking of clouds, this is when things get interesting. Whatever happened in the Solar System must have messed up the planet thoroughly! Once we pierce the cloud layer, the yacht is assaulted by insanely strong gusts of wind. Despite the yacht¡¯s top-of-the-line gravity generators, we are blown around like a tree¡¯s leaves in Autumn. Even my magnetic shoes are straining and I quickly sit down and buckle in. After what feels like an eternity, the winds suddenly end when we exit the thick cloud layer. Everything is silent suddenly and Maja stops the ship. It feels like the world is holding its breath to show me its beauty without any distractions. And what beauty it is! While everything is shaded due to the cloud layer above, it still looks amazing. A glance at the downloaded map, projected above my station tells me the continent below me was once called Australia. The map displays it as a very hot and dry place, but that¡¯s not what my eyes are currently seeing. Everything looks green, the colder climate lets nature reclaim the ground. The blue ocean surrounds the continent and lets it look like a green oasis inside of an endless blue. ¡°Maja, do you detect any life signs?¡± ¡°No, there¡¯s nothing, but we¡¯re closing onto the signal. It¡¯s located on the east coast of the continent, inside a city that was once called Brisbane.¡± Hmm, I wonder if there is something left of that city. ¡°What about the atmosphere?¡± ¡°First tests say it¡¯s still breathable, but a bit oxygen-heavy. So I¡¯d recommend using the spacewalker suit.¡± Can¡¯t say I disagree, better safe than sorry. ¡°Well, it¡¯s a good thing that I didn¡¯t bother to take it off then. Let¡¯s head over there and check it out.¡± Maja confirms and with a slight rumble, we are moving again. This time, we take it slow and gradually lower the altitude, while flying over the continent. When we finally arrive at the city that was once called Brisbane, I can¡¯t believe how big it must have been. There are ruins as far as my eyes can see. Pieces of metal are lying around everywhere. Some ruins are still hundreds of meters in height, I wonder how tall those buildings once were. Maybe they even pierced the sky. I remember the Spire on Acordus 3. What if that was the normal height of buildings? That¡¯s insane! Maja slows down the yacht even more and a bit later we¡¯re hovering over the city. ¡°It¡¯s getting dark soon, wanna wait till morning? Or should we check the signal right away? It¡¯s coming out of the centermost tower over there.¡± The tallest building still standing is highlighted on the front-facing window, then Maja continues. ¡°Scratch that, it is emanating from 200 meters below ground.¡± An underground bunker? My thoughts instantly go back to possible descendants of survivors. But it¡¯s doubtful¡­ They would have found a way off the planet in 11,000 years. ¡°I think it¡¯s better to wait till morning. Who knows what¡¯s down there.¡± I unbuckle myself and start walking back to one of the two cabins. ¡°Better safe than sorry. Also, I¡¯m tired, today was intense.¡± With a yawn, I take off the spacewalker suit, throw myself in bed, and am asleep in minutes. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. Location: Solar System; Earth; Former City of Brisbane The next morning arrives in the blink of an eye and with another yawn I¡¯m awake. Grabbing something to eat for breakfast, I take a look out of the window. It¡¯s still cloudy, but at least it¡¯s not that dark anymore. ¡°Okay, let¡¯s head down, time to explore that signal. Did you detect anything over the night Maja?¡± ¡°No, nothing. Besides all the plants, the planet is dead. There aren¡¯t even fish in the water.¡± With that, the yacht moves again and before long we touch down right next to the massive ruin of the central skyscraper. Now the fun part begins! Suiting up again, I enter the airlock and wait for it to cycle. I giggle in anticipation. I¡¯m probably the first human in 11,000 years to set foot on Earth! ¡°Can you film me exiting the airlock Maja? I just have to show it to Thomas when I meet him.¡± ¡°Sure, wait a minute, I set up a sensor drone for filming.¡± Less than a minute later, the airlock opens. I have already made my visor see-through. With a big smile, I stare directly at the camera hovering before me. ¡°Hey Thomas, guess where I am.¡± I take five steps down the ramp and when I touch the ground, I shout. ¡°I¡¯m on Earth! The first human in 11,467 years to be exact.¡± My smile slips a little. ¡°I wish you were here¡­¡± I signal Maja to cut off the recording. It¡¯s time to concentrate. Who knows what awaits me inside, if I can find a way inside that is. Patting down the energy blade and laser gun at my hips, I start walking around the building. There should be an entrance somewhere, I don¡¯t want to start cutting right away. It¡¯s a wonder the building still stands anyway ¨C no point in destabilizing it further. I was right, halfway around the former tower, a grand entrance lobby awaits me. Greenery has grown inside and I have to cut down some bushes to enter the building. Arriving inside, I take in a sharp breath. Huge! The whole ground floor is one open lobby, like a giant entrance hall. A sign with a big M lies on the floor in the back. Probably the company logo that once hung on the back wall. Everything else is either gone or overgrown by greenery. I turn around and look at the wall I just entered through. It¡¯s only a skeleton of steel bars with bushes and flowers growing around them. I suppose this once was a big glass fa?ade back in the day. Okay, Maja said the signal is underground¡­ how do I get down? The elevators are obviously out of service. I could rappel down the shaft, so finding the elevators still is a priority. But stairs would be better. Hmm, if this is like the lobbies of other companies then there would be a reception desk in the center. I walk over there and there are indeed some remains that could have been a desk once. So far so good. Next, where could be the stairs¡­ probably in the back. ¡°Maja, can you send over the sensor drone, please? Oh, and I was wondering why we didn¡¯t use one on the Moon?¡± Maja confirms the drone¡¯s arrival and then answers me a bit sheepishly. ¡°Can I say I forgot we had them? When you asked for a camera I checked the yacht¡¯s database and found two drones aboard. I¡¯ve never been on a ship before¡­ and on the station where I was created, I just had access to every sensor and camera. There was no need for mobile sensor drones. I¡¯m sorry.¡± I chuckle, she¡¯s acting more human every day and she¡¯s still young. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, everything worked out. Connecting with my tablet was enough up there. The drone would have been destroyed by the robots anyway. Now we just have to be careful.¡± The drone arrives and after a quick scan, we find not only the stairs but also two rows of four elevators each on opposite sides of a hallway in the back of the building. I sigh in relief when I see the stairs. They are intact and I don¡¯t have to rappel down the elevator shaft. Going back up that way would have been hell! I ask Maja to send the drone down in advance and I follow it around 20 meters behind. And down we go. It seems endless¡­ There are countless doors leading down hallways all around the stairway. I walk back and forth, steadily down, Maja¡¯s drone before me. Finally, something changes. ¡°The stairway is about to end. We are nearing the bottom floor. The signal is getting stronger. I think we¡¯re almost there.¡± ¡°Careful now, keep the drone in the front. Better it than me if there are security systems left.¡± I slow down and five minutes later, I arrive before a reinforced door. The stairs lead a bit further down, but Maja indicates that the signal emanates from the flickering panel next to the door. How does it still have power? There is not a single sign of wear at that door. It looks sturdy as hell and unfortunately, it¡¯s closed. I glance at the panel. ¡°Can you hack it?¡± ¡°I can try, but I need direct contact¡­ Putting your hand at it should be enough, but it has to be your bare hand.¡± I''d have to remove the spacewalker suit and the shipsuit. I¡¯d be left in my underwear on a planet with air that is not completely safe. I need a model with removable gloves! At least my helmet is still on, that should secure my breathing. Shoving those thoughts back as future problems, I ask Maja. ¡°Isn¡¯t there another way? I don¡¯t want to expose myself to not-so-safe air if possible.¡± ¡°I¡¯m afraid there isn¡¯t, but it should be safe. The drone actually reads the oxygen levels as pretty much normal down here, but it¡¯s your choice.¡± Well, my choice is pretty much clear. The curiosity kills me, so I slip out of the spacewalker suit and wiggle my right arm out of the shipsuit underneath. Holding my breath, I step closer to the panel and touch it. There is an instant reaction! Letters appear on the panel¡¯s screen and Maja screams. I jerk my hand back, but it''s too late. Something is happening. The letters start to form words but what I¡¯m reading there is completely strange: Error! Unknown access¡­ Access denie¡­ Error! Partial DNA scan success¡­ Access grant¡­ denied¡­ Error! Security forces dispatc¡­ Security cancelled¡­ Error! DNA match not confirmed¡­ Stand down to be detained¡­ Magicon personnel notified¡­ Error! No response¡­ Lockdown initiat¡­ System overridden! Access granted! With a hiss and the sound of turning gears, the door starts to open. I just stand there with my mouth open, thinking about the words on the panel, especially the DNA part. ¡°What just happened?¡± ¡°The first energy spike was intense, it felt like it hurt me, but I could keep the connection and fed the panel with some random stuff I found there while working on the override.¡± So the DNA part was just random? My mood crashes down, this would have been the first trace to my origin besides having freighter parents. I mean how cool would it be to trace my family back to Earth? I mean sure everyone does, but this would have been way closer and not just due to the expansion of humanity. I have to confirm. ¡°Hey Maja, does that random stuff you fed the panel include the part with the partial DNA match?¡± Please say no, please! ¡°Yeah it does, the name Ferdinand Benson popped up and I fed it to the panel and somehow it talked about DNA matches afterward. I don¡¯t know, it¡¯s probably nothing, but hey, it worked. The door is open.¡± Dang it, it would have been too good to be true. But she¡¯s right, we achieved our goal! I quickly put my clothes and suit back on before taking a deep breath. When I¡¯m about to enter, a random thought stops me dead in my tracks. Wait a minute the panel said Magicon personnel notified. The M in the lobby¡­ This is a Magicon facility! Chapter 24: Magicon Incorporated Chapter 24: Magicon Incorporated Location: Solar System; Earth; Former City of Brisbane; Magicon Facility What are the odds? A random building sends out a signal and it turns out to have an underground facility once owned by the ancient company Magicon. A company that has existed for over 11,000 years! A company that is so big, that a whole system-spanning empire is named after them. My hands shake and with a deep breath, I step through the now-open door. It looks like a vault door. Luckily Maja was able to hack it, my energy blade would have been completely useless. I enter a dark hallway, and my suit¡¯s flashlights illuminate the space before me, just like they have done the whole way down. Doors on the left and right sides lead to different rooms, the hallway seems endless. Just how big is this part of the facility? ¡°Was there a map included in the panel?¡± I ask Maja, but unfortunately, she hasn¡¯t found anything. I guess we have to do it the hard way then. With that, I open the first door and take in the room behind it. I frown, it¡¯s a storage room, but everything that¡¯s left inside is dust. That¡¯s going to take a while. I repeat the action on the opposite side, with the same result. ¡°How about we split up? You take the doors on the left and I use the drone for those on the right?¡± Brilliant! I could hug her right now if that was possible. ¡°Yes, let¡¯s do that!¡± The process speeds up and we start checking one room after the other. Most of them are storage rooms. The others are either former offices, where everything is destroyed as well, or meeting rooms. I can¡¯t say exactly, as there is pretty much nothing left. After 15 minutes I discover a bigger room, probably a mess hall or something and before long, we arrive at an intersection. We decide to take a left turn and before we leave, I collect a handful of dust and place it in an X shape on the ground of the left hallway. This way we know where we¡¯ve been if we have to backtrack. I don¡¯t think we need it as Maja is mapping the whole place, but better safe than sorry. Turning left was the right choice! This hallway is way more interesting. The rooms aren¡¯t empty anymore. There are weird metal constructs inside the first room I enter. They are in all forms and shapes, lying on the ground or fastened to the walls and ceiling. While I¡¯m wondering what they were used for, I hear Maja¡¯s excited voice in my ear. ¡°The drone found an intact computer station! We¡¯ve got to check It out, come on.¡± I quickly forget all my thoughts about the weird metal things and rush out of the room. Maja was way faster than me and the drone peeks out of the fifth room on the right side of the hallway. When I enter the room, I quickly locate the computer in question. Intact is a nice word to describe that thing¡­ The screen is completely gone, just like the housing around the device. Through some miracle, the processor and storage module survived. Luckily, I¡¯m prepared this time. Setting down my backpack, I take out the battery pack, my tablet, and two UC-cables. Let¡¯s hope the connectors are still working. My tablet will be misused as a replacement screen and as the access point for Maja. I hope the thing turns on. After the third tap on the power button, it does, and Maja starts downloading everything she can get. We agreed that it¡¯s better to take what we can and sort it out later, rather than trying to find something useful and have the computer dying while we¡¯re at it. And dying is exactly what that ancient piece of technology does. It didn¡¯t even hold up a full minute. Let¡¯s hope it was enough. ¡°Let¡¯s take a break from exploring and check the data. I¡¯m way too curious.¡± ¡°I agree, give me a moment to sort everything. It¡¯s not much, but I got a bit.¡± Maja is silent for a moment. I use that time to unplug the cables and put everything back into my backpack. Before long, Maja is finished. ¡°Got it, there¡¯s a bit of general information about Magicon Incorporated and an advertisement for an oven¡­ What do you want to see first?¡± An oven? This is a joke, right? The company that got so big that they rule an entire system spanning nation produces ovens. I hope that¡¯s just a side hustle, otherwise, I think I¡¯m going to lose it. I sit down on the ground and rest the tablet on my thighs. ¡°Play the advertisement, please. I¡¯d rather watch the disappointment first, maybe the other information can cheer me up later.¡± When Maja replies, I can literally hear a smirk in her voice. ¡°You might be surprised, here you go.¡± Huh, what¡¯s that about? The video starts, and I immediately notice the lack of holograms. A male voice starts talking, while an oven appears on the screen. ¡°The M Series 7, Magicon¡¯s newest Magitech oven coming right out of development. Not only does it bake faster than any other oven, but it also runs fully on magical power. You¡¯ve heard right, the M Series 7 is the first oven that is fully independent of electricity! Its magical battery runs for seven days on normal usage and can be recharged by simply channeling magic power into the device.¡± This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. I tap the screen to stop the video for a moment. Maja was right! I am surprised. That¡¯s not what I expected when she told me about an advertisement for an oven. This thing is insane! My only other knowledge of Magitech comes from wormholes. I thought that¡¯s it, but this changes everything! If a thing as mundane as an oven can be so amazing, what else is out there? After calming myself down, I ask Maja to continue, as my hands are still a bit shaking from excitement. ¡°But that¡¯s not all! Naturally, the M Series 7 comes with Magicon¡¯s patented power converter, so that all three Mage classes can use the device without issues. Additionally, the M Series 7 can be connected to your house¡¯s magical grid, which means it can also run from a house¡¯s central magic battery, which reduces charging duties even further. And lastly, we proudly present you the integrated telekinesis module. For all non-Utility Mages out there, this newly developed module can simulate some of their abilities. Imagine your food floating in and out of your M Series 7 with the flick of a wrist or a simple verbal command. All this and more is only available with the new Magicon M Series 7 oven, which will be available soon. Preorder starts now!¡± The video ends and I close my mouth before some drool can drop onto the tablet. The second part was even better. I¡¯ve missed so much in the Estriduros Republic! Magical power can be cleansed of the class, houses have a magical power grid to power devices and Magitech can even imitate specific spells! Full of excitement, I ask Maja to display the information about Magicon Incorporated. If a simple oven is this exciting, what about the whole company? I take back everything I said earlier about ovens being lame, they rock! The tablet lights up and what I¡¯m reading doesn¡¯t disappoint. Magicon Incorporated is indeed massive. Well, they were 11,000 years ago, but I think they still are, leading a whole nation requires that. The company almost completely monopolized the production of Magitech back in the day. More than 80% of all Magitech products on Earth were built by Magicon. From mundane tools to massive wormhole rings, they produced everything and tried to enhance more things with magic every day. I notice one thing that surprises me. Magicon Incorporated refused to build weapons. Every push by the government or the weapons lobby of the planet was completely shut down by the founder and owner Ferdinand Benson. It¡¯s literally written in the founding papers of the company, or so the information package says at least: ¡°Magicon Incorporated will never weaponize their Magitech products.¡± I continue reading and am more and more mind-blown by the sheer size of everything. Together with four other companies, they employed more than 60% of the whole system¡¯s adult inhabitants. Suddenly my tablet turns off and Maja shouts into my ear with a panicked voice. ¡°We¡¯ve gotta go! I lost control of the security system and it¡¯s back in action!¡± Shoot, that¡¯s not good at all! There is so much to explore here. Luckily my backpack is already packed so I roll up the tablet, fasten it to my belt, and put on my backpack. Less than 30 seconds later I leave the room and run back in the direction I came from. Or at least I try to. When I arrive back at the intersection, the way out is blocked by a cluster of security bots. Coming very close to cursing out loud, I stop. Four of the bots are just like the ones in the research station on the Moon, but the other five look way more dangerous. Two of them are also tracked, but carry an energy blade and a laser gun each. But the true horror is the last three. They are floating balls of metal and I can feel the magical aura they emanate. I gulp and start to turn around, but there are more of those things coming down the hallway I just ran down. That leaves me with only one option. Just as the robots start to charge me, I run down the only hallway I haven¡¯t explored yet. Please don¡¯t be a dead end! Maja uses the drone to distract the robots, but it quickly gets cut down by the bladed robots. I continue running while ignoring closed doors left and right. Green laser bolts start appearing beside me. They are shooting at me! I start to move more erratically, and it works so far. Their aim is bad. One of the floating balls overtakes me and the magic flares up. Suddenly a red ball of energy appears in my path. I try to vault over it and almost make it. The ball grazes my left leg and a sudden flash of pain almost overwhelms me. That hurts! The pain is gone just as fast and I land back on my feet. My left leg feels slightly off, but it¡¯s still working. Seeing the ball floating right in front of me, I grab the energy blade on my belt and activate it while swinging around. The magical bot is cleanly cut in half. Absentmindedly, I notice a logo with an axe and a shield on its side, but I don¡¯t pay it any more attention. Warning sounds appear in my ears and Maja quickly translates them for me while I continue running. ¡°An unknown form of magical energy breached your spacewalker suit. I think it also went through your shipsuit and grazed your leg. The outer suit then released its quick sealing foam at the breach, which also contains a fast-acting pain killer for just those situations.¡± She pauses for a moment before continuing with concern in her voice. ¡°You¡¯re good for now, but we need to look at your leg.¡± ¡°Thanks Maja, but first we need to find a safe place¡± I think I outpaced the tracked robots a bit, but the two remaining floating ones are dangerous enough. A single magical attack was enough to punch through all my protection. And it wasn¡¯t even a direct hit! A bit ahead, the hallway splits at another intersection¡­ Could it work? It has to, come on Sara you can do it. I¡¯ve got a plan now, a dangerous one, but it¡¯s my only option. I start sprinting even faster toward the intersection, then I jump to the right into the new hallway and let myself drop into a slide. While sliding, I reach for my gun and turn around once I stop. Both ball bots arrive at the intersection just at that moment. I pull the trigger two times in quick succession. The first laser bolt hits dead center, but the second one misses. Shit! Panicking, I empty the whole power cell in a flood of laser bolts. One of them hits, but it¡¯s too late. The bot retaliates in kind and shoots a bolt of lightning my way. Completely helpless, I¡¯m struck dead center and fall to the ground spasming. Ouch, a bit later the shocks stop, and I scramble back to my feet. I¡¯m still a bit shaky, but I can walk. I sigh in relief, luckily it was just lightning and not the energy ball from earlier. I shiver, my mind drifts into scenarios of what could have happened. Stop it, Sara! There are still more coming. I turn around and stumble down the hallway. I need to find something secu¡­ There! A vault door, two doors ahead on the left, just like the entrance together with a panel next to it. Hope surges forth inside of me. A safe room to recover. ¡°Maja, can you hack the door?¡± ¡°I should be able to, but I need skin contact, just like before.¡± There¡¯s not enough time. Fuck it, Maja said the air is safe down here. I rip off my helmet and throw it to the side, then I press my forehead against the panel. ¡°Hack it, Maja!¡± Seconds later the door begins to open. I step back from the panel, grab my helmet, and slip through the small opening that gets wider while the door opens further. ¡°I¡¯m through, close it.¡± ¡°I¡¯m on it¡­ there.¡± The door closes again and just before it locks, I can see the tracked robots reach it. Phew, that was too close! I lean my back against the door and let my legs slide out under me. I need a break! Chapter 25: Recovery Chapter 25: Recovery Location: Solar System; Earth; Former City of Brisbane; Magicon Facility While relaxing, I take in the room I just entered. It¡¯s on the smaller side, about ten meters long and wide. A small computer station is to my left and looks more or less intact. I hope there¡¯s more data for Maja to find. On the right is lots of dust with a few metal pieces. I guess this once was a shelf or a closet? Anyway, what weirds me out is the big piece of metal right in the center of the room. It¡¯s completely intact and looks like it would fit a person lying down. Is there someone inside? That would be awesome. A survivor from 11,000 years back. But they would be dead without power. Wait power, how did those panels work here in the building? There¡¯s clearly no electrical power left after 11,000 years. And the robots! How did they get their power? Then it hits me. Magic! The oven commercial even mentioned something like a magical power grid in a house. And who would definitely have something like that? Right, the company that produces 80% of the whole system¡¯s Magitech. But those robots¡­ Magicon refused to weaponize Magitech¡­ They are armed, my leg can confirm that¡­ Must be another company. Speaking of my leg, it starts hurting again. Ugh, I have to take a look at it. My spacewalker suit is thoroughly ruined. The left leg is completely unrecognizable with the sealant foam having hardened around it. The whole upper front is blackened and right at my chest, where the lightning spell impacted, are even a few cracks. I¡¯m lucky I had the outer suit, otherwise, the robots probably would have killed me. Sighing, I start to peel myself out of the spacewalker suit. It¡¯s easier said than done while sitting on the ground. The top part is easy, but the legs are way harder. Not only does my leg hurt, but the foam restricts its movement. Finally, I¡¯m out! I throw the suit to the side and take another look at my leg. The foam completely surrounds my lower leg. I wince, the pain gets stronger and stronger. Before I remove the foam, I reach for my backpack, which I set down beside me earlier. After pulling it back to me, I quickly take out its contents. Battery, cable, tablet¡­ all stuff I don¡¯t need. Where is it? There! I knew I packed a medkit. The medkit is a nondescript box from the outside, but the inside is a bit fancier. Luckily, I don¡¯t have to fix myself with a few bandages. I open the box and take out a small syringe filled with a clear liquid. Painkiller! That¡¯s what I need right now. Without hesitation, I hit my left thigh with the syringe and press the top to empty it into my thigh. The relief is immediate. I let out a deep sigh, before taking out the next device out of the medkit. The mediwand should be enough to heal my leg back up. It was kinda funny when I first saw one of them back on the Solano. They do look exactly like magic wands out of the movies, just a bit thicker ¨C hence the name mediwand. The black wand features a surgical laser cutter at the tip, that can cut open the skin and if needed cauterize damaged blood vessels. A second setting lowers the intensity of the laser and allows the light beam to mold the skin back together. The back contains a small compartment of medical nanites, that can repair missing pieces of skin or even small parts of the flesh beneath. Unfortunately, those are a one-time use per mediwand, then they have to be refilled. That¡¯s my last resort solution, as I only have found one mediwand in the yacht. What I¡¯m planning to do is use some clamps out of the wand''s side compartment to push the skin together and then use the second function of the laser cutter to mend it back together. To avoid scarring, there is another side compartment that contains a plaster that is soaked with an anti-scarring solution and has to remain on the wound for another day. The others on the Solano said those plasters itch like hell, but the result is worth the day of itching. With the mediwand in my hand, I bend forward and start removing the foam. The laser cutter comes in handy and before long, I cut the foam down to the shipsuit beneath. Now let¡¯s hope it¡¯s not too bad. As expected, the shipsuit is ruined too and so I use the mediwand to cut the skintight suit at the knee. Then I carefully cut it open along my shin. Once the whole lower leg part is parted, I take a deep breath and flip it open. Luckily the painkiller works! Blood starts flowing out immediately. It¡¯s way worse than I expected. A good chunk of my calf is missing. That¡¯s not fixed by clamping it together. Time for plan B. I flip the mediwand around and hold the backend against the wound. A chime indicates the release of the nanites, and they immediately start to work. It''s crazy, I can literally see my calf grow back! Fifteen minutes later, my leg looks as good as new and I don¡¯t even need to use the itching plaster. Then a drop of grey goo falls to the ground ¨C the spent nanites. I probe my leg with a finger but don¡¯t feel any difference, so I decide to try to stand up. An idea, I immediately regret, as I¡¯m instantly feeling dizzy from standing up. Right, blood loss¡­ I should probably rest a bit first. ¡°Maja, can you wake me up if anything happens? I think I need to rest a bit.¡± ¡°Sure thing, but don¡¯t take too long, I want to check out the capsule.¡± With Maja¡¯s confirmation for standing guard, I quickly sit back down, use my backpack as a pillow, and am asleep in seconds. If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Hours later, I wake up with a splitting headache. Dang it, the aftereffects from that super painkiller are a living hell! At least my head is the only thing that hurts. I slowly sit up and look at my leg. If I told someone that half my calf was missing a few hours ago, they would laugh at my face. The only thing left of the injury is my ruined shipsuit and the blood on the floor. Well, at least nobody can see me here walking around with ruined clothes. A quick conversation with Maja confirms what I already expected: nothing happened during the six hours I was asleep. It feels like I¡¯ve slept for far longer, I feel completely refreshed and full of energy besides the headache. But that also starts to recede. My growling stomach shakes me out of my thoughts. Right, I should eat¡­ My body did a lot of work to replace all that blood. Unfortunately, I don¡¯t have a kitchen down here, so survival rations have to do. As most of it is already outside, I just take my backpack and flip it over so that the rest falls out and builds a small pile. Let¡¯s see¡­ yeah, that¡¯s the one. Chicken flavor¡­ I hope it tastes like the real thing. I rip off the top and grimace at the sight of what¡¯s inside. Brown mush pressed together into a bar¡­ And that¡¯s chicken? It looks like someone has already eaten it. My stomach rumbles again and I shrug. I don¡¯t have a choice. After taking a small bite, I¡¯m pleasantly surprised. It actually tastes like chicken, and it¡¯s not bad at all! After eating my meal and gulping down a whole bottle of water, I decide that it¡¯s finally time to check out the mysterious capsule in the middle of the room. I walk over and put my hand at it, it feels cold and completely smooth. I can¡¯t even feel a seam¡­ How does it open? Even after fully circling the thing I¡¯m at a loss. There ain¡¯t a thing to interact with it. I even try pushing in my magic, but still, there is no reaction. If I wasn¡¯t in an underground facility of the biggest tech company on Earth and now probably the whole galaxy, I¡¯d be inclined to think that this is just a fancy bench to sit down on. But that can¡¯t be it¡­ Why would something like this be behind a vault door in an underground room? ¡°Can you detect any outgoing signals?¡± I ask Maja, but she declines. ¡°No, there¡¯s nothing¡­ not even when you touch it or lay your tablet down on it. Maybe we should check out the computer station first?¡± ¡°Yeah, let¡¯s do that, maybe we are lucky.¡± I try to keep my frustration down, but it¡¯s hard. I¡¯m trapped in here. There¡¯s no other exit and the vault door is certainly guarded by the robots. And to make things worse, my suit of protection is too far gone. With only my half-intact shipsuit beneath, they¡¯ll kill me with the first shot. My only hope is that capsule and hopefully there is a Magicon employee inside who can shut down security. I arrive at the computer station, and it does look halfway intact. I¡¯m lucky again hopefully, but what is it with computer stations that last so long¡­ Everything else has become dust, but every computer I find still works. The only answer I can think of is magic. Well anyway, never look a gift horse in the mouth! Repeating the whole process for a third time, I have the computer prepared with cables, battery, and tablet in less than ten minutes. Time to turn it on! I press the start button and to my excitement, that computer turns on too. ¡°Alright, Maja it¡¯s your turn again. I¡¯m going to repack my backpack.¡± With that, I turn around to do exactly that. That task is quickly completed, as the only bigger contents of the backpack are the battery, which is currently in use, and the medkit. The other things are only small parts and are quickly packed up. As I don¡¯t have anything else to do, I grab the ruined spacewalker suit and the my energy blade and begin cutting out intact pieces of reinforced material. As for why I¡¯m doing it? Even if the suit is done for, its materials are way more sturdy than my shipsuit, so I figured I somehow try to fasten those pieces to my body later if I have to try to fight my way free of that room. Maja is really struggling this time¡­ When I finish with cutting, she says, she still needs more time. With a shrug, I lay the materials and cutting tools next to the backpack and walk through the room. I guess now is the time to inspect the last section here. That being the pile of dust and metal located at the wall opposite the computer station. I walk over there and part the dust with my shoe. A bad idea! The dust immediately starts flying around and I end up sneezing nonstop. I¡¯m an idiot. After going back to my backpack, I return with the still intact helmet of the spacewalker suit and put it on. It forms a seal around my neck and the emergency oxygen tank in the helmet allows me to keep breathing. Now back to the pile of dust. When I first moved it around, I saw something weird. So this time I squat down and use my hands. There! A silver-colored ball made out of a strange metal. It¡¯s about lime-sized and the outside is decorated with a weird pattern of lines. What is this thing? At least it looks durable. Just like the capsule in the room, the 11,000 years didn¡¯t leave a single mark on the ball. I decide to leave the ball for now and lay it down on top of the capsule, then continue parting dust. I find a second ball, that looks identical to the first, but that¡¯s it, everything else is just dust. As Maja still isn¡¯t finished, I go back to the capsule and lay the second ball next to the first. Then I¡¯m just standing next to the capsule and try to think of a way to open it. Shrugging, I decide to test magic again. Maybe it needs more? I guess the people working here weren¡¯t just Novices¡­ So maybe emptying my whole core will work? I put my hands on top of the capsule, close my eyes, and concentrate. Emitting magic without a spell is hard. I didn¡¯t even know that was a thing before I met with another Space Mage on a station while the Solano was being loaded up. He gave me the tip, to emit a bit of my leftover power to the environment after a longer jump. He said that this reduces the exhaustion after such a long jump because we Mages have a better recovery rate if we are in an environment that is stimulated by magic corresponding to our class. I still think it weird that we can create that stimulated environment by ourselves and still profit from it, but it does indeed work. Magic stuff¡­ Anyway, I move the magic to my hands, and with a bit of mental effort, I will it outside. This time I don¡¯t stop after just a little bit, but give it my all. First, I think everything is the same and I¡¯m about to stop and return to the computer to wait for Maja. Then something does happen! My magic power doesn¡¯t dissipate into the environment. Instead, it gets sucked in by the two balls lying next to my hands. Holy smokes! What are those things? Then something even more unbelievable happens. After entering the balls, the magic power starts coming out again, but it feels different. That¡¯s not Space magic anymore! Then realization hits me like a truck. Those are power converters! Does that mean I can use other magic besides Space? Holy cow, if that¡¯s true, everything¡¯s going to change. I can¡­ *Click* The sound interrupts me, and my eyes move down to the capsule again. There is a seam now and it starts to open! The other magic activated it! Chapter 26: The Capsule Chapter 26: The Capsule Location: Solar System; Earth; Former City of Brisbane; Magicon Facility I stare at the capsule in disbelief. It¡¯s finally opening. And all it took were two weird balls of metal. Are those the keys, or is it the converted magical power? ¡°Maja, the capsule is open.¡± My voice is a little shaky and I almost stumble over my words. ¡°I''m on it, just give me a few minutes¡­ Wait, what? What¡¯s inside? I wish I could see, stupid tablet hardwired to the computer.¡± I snort a short laugh, she really was distracted in the beginning. ¡°The lid is still closed, I can wait if you want.¡± Maja is quick to reply. ¡°Yes please, one more minute and I¡¯m done with extracting the files. Decrypting them will take another 30 minutes, but I can do that without the tablet being connected to the computer.¡± Exactly one minute later, Maja signals that she is done, and I disconnect the tablet. Now holding it in my hand again, I point the camera at the capsule. Maja makes the sound of a sharp intake of breath, and I can¡¯t keep myself from chuckling. She¡¯s getting more and more human ticks every day. I slowly slip my free hand into the seam and start to lift the top part. It¡¯s quite heavy, but with a bit more force, it begins to move. There is a double clanging sound and I look around in panic, almost letting the lid fall back down. What was that? My eyes finally settle on the floor, and I sigh in relief. The balls! I forgot to remove them from the top, oopsie. Anyway, I flip the lid all the way up, and my breath catches in the back of my throat. It¡¯s not a survivor, but what it is, is just as fascinating. Inside the capsule lays a body, but something is strange. There are no signs of life or any kind of life support system, but somehow the body looks like it was just put into the capsule five minutes ago. The light skin looks completely healthy, and the platinum blonde hair looks freshly washed. The body looks just perfect, with no scars or blemishes, just smooth skin. I blush at the lack of clothes and quickly look back up at the face. The eyes are closed and if the female nature of the body below the neck hadn¡¯t been obvious before, the face looks clearly feminine. Round cheeks encompass full lips coupled with a small nose. Something is different with that body, but I just don¡¯t know what¡­ I must have stared at the body for a while, because when Maja tells me that she has decrypted the files, I realize, that 30 minutes have passed. ¡°That explains it¡­¡± The tablet starts playing a video with the Magicon logo at the beginning. ¡°Come on, watch it, it should explain everything.¡± Her voice is full of excitement, I wonder why. The logo disappears and the video now shows a platinum blonde woman sitting at a desk. That has me do a double take. My gaze snaps back to the female body lying in the capsule. They are identical! But how is this possible? The woman starts to speak and what she says, leaves me completely flabbergasted. ¡°Hi, my name is Serena Allen and if you are seeing this, my plan failed and I¡¯m probably dead.¡± The woman sighs with sadness written all over her face. ¡°When we first got news of Utopia mobilizing for war, I went to my boss here at Magicon and asked him for approval of my idea. Unfortunately, he declined and like everyone else, my job was to create supportive Magitech for the impending war. Magicon stayed strong with their anti-weapon politics throughout the whole war, so we only created supporting tools. Armortec on the other hand boomed with the war effort, but that¡¯s not important here. ¡°You¡¯re probably asking yourself what my idea was and why my boss declined it at first.¡± Yeah, that¡¯s exactly what I¡¯m thinking right now. ¡°When the war started in full and not that much support stuff was needed anymore, he finally gave me the green light, but that too is not important. What¡¯s important is that if the containment held strong, you should see the partial result right before you inside the capsule in the middle of the room. Just push in some Utility magic and it will open.¡± I quickly stop the video. She¡¯s talking like everyone can just throw around Utility magic! Was everyone on Earth a Mage? Oh, and now I know what kind of magic the two balls emit! I continue with the video. ¡°As you can see, it contains a body¡­ my body. Or at least it looks like me and if everything had worked out, it would have been my body. The body before you is my answer to Song Medical¡¯s longevity potion. ¡°Created with Magicon¡¯s most advanced robotic Magitech pieces, this body is made to be inhabited by an AI who can control the body just like a human would do. That is the part that worked well. I tested it with multiple AIs, and all of them were able to execute simple movements while inhabiting the body.¡± Wait a second, does that mean¡­? That¡¯s why Maja sounded so excited! If the body still works, Maja can have her own! ¡°Are you thinking what I¡¯m thinking, Maja?¡° ¡°Oh yes, I am! Come on, watch the end of it, then we can try.¡± I focus my attention back on the video, Serena is just starting to explain where the issues started. Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. ¡°While the body worked fine in all aspects, the second part of my plan brought more issues. The idea was to digitize my consciousness and create myself as an AI. This would enable me and other humans after me to live on without the need for food or other necessities. Also, it would let me live on practically forever, as long as someone refills the magic running the body from time to time. The only cost is losing one''s magic, as the robotic body isn¡¯t able to hold a magical core.¡± Wow, that¡¯s ambitious, turning oneself into an AI to become immortal. From what she said earlier, AIs in her time were not that advanced, probably even dumber than S-57¡­ I guess she would have given everything to meet a fully sentient one like Maja. She¡¯s practically what Serena tried to create minus the part that makes the AI a digital clone of the human. ¡°The process to digitize myself was a hard one, as I was trying to do it alone and I¡¯m not that good at computer science. My team got bigger for a short time when the Worldender Ship entered the Solar System, as digitizing everyone was one of the ideas the people in power had to ensure the survival of the population. During that time, we made enormous progress on the AI front, but it still wasn¡¯t enough.¡± I have to pause the video again. Worldender Ship¡­ Is that what left the whole system in ruins? I can¡¯t imagine a weapon so powerful. Alone the thought of it is scary as hell. ¡°A bit later the Big Five came up with Project Exodus and the digitizing idea was shelved again. With that, my team was reassigned, and I was asked to pack up and relocate together with Exodus. But I refused, thinking I was too close to achieving my goal. So I stayed behind on Earth and watched the destruction of the Solar System a while later. It was a horrifying sight, let me tell you. At least I¡¯m shielded from the radiation down here. A few years later, my supplies are starting to run out and I¡¯m now filming this video. I¡¯m so close, I can feel it.¡± With that, the video ends and leaves me standing there in silence. That woman has my respect. Staying behind to prove that her idea will work¡­ requires balls of steel. Now I do have some concerns with plugging Maja into the body¡­ What if she succeeded, but the body didn¡¯t turn on because the magic stalled or something? ¡°Uhh Maja, do you really think using Serena¡¯s body as your own is wise?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know, she said if we¡¯re seeing the video this means she failed¡­ so she¡¯s dead, right?¡± ¡°You¡¯ve got a point there, but still¡­ Is there a way to power up the body and check?¡± ¡°Yeah, there is. It requires the balls again to convert the magic. I¡¯ve got the blueprints of the body. They say the battery is right below the navel, right where the magic core of a Mage is located too. So lay the balls down there and we try to jumpstart her?¡± I shrug, it¡¯s worth a shot. Rounding the capsule to collect the balls, I bend down and grab them. Then I lay them down on the body¡¯s stomach and start pushing out my power. It takes all I have, and I sit down in exhaustion. The body still looks the same. ¡°Is there a way to connect the tablet and do something like a diagnostic?¡± ¡°Brilliant, yes there is. Right behind her ear, just like your AI port.¡± With that, I grab the tablet and plug it in. The result is immediate. Maja opens a window, and it shows the status of the body. I instantly notice the warning label that indicates that no AI is loaded, and a wave of sadness overcomes me. She didn¡¯t make it in the end. May you rest in peace, Serena! The power meter shows that the battery is filled to about a quarter of its capacity. I groan, three more full loads of my core to fill the body all the way up. This is going to suck. I sit back down to recover my magic. It¡¯s been a long time since I was completely empty if I ignore the wild ride that led me to Earth. ¡°It¡¯s going to take a while to fill up the body. I think I¡¯m going to sleep a bit. Wake me if something happens, please.¡± A random thought crosses my mind. ¡°Oh and do you know what those two magic balls are?¡± ¡°Unfortunately, I don¡¯t. But there are a few more encrypted files that I can decrypt and check out while you sleep, I¡¯ll let you know. Goodnight Sara.¡± A short nap later, I get back up and push another load of magic through the balls into the body. Halfway there. With nothing else to do besides recovering, I talk with Maja about what she has decrypted so far. Unfortunately, it¡¯s not much and nothing regarding the two balls. A few hours later, when I¡¯m recovering from the third fill-up run, Maja finally has some news. And news it is! ¡°I got it. You won¡¯t believe it! Hah, that¡¯s just amazing.¡± I jump up in surprise, her excited voice wakes me right up from my dozing. ¡°What is it? You finally cracked the balls¡¯ secret?¡± I can literally hear her dusting off her shoulders. ¡°Yeah, of course, I did, I¡¯m the best after all. Those balls are not only simple power converters. That¡¯s just a side effect resulting from their real purpose. Wanna guess what it is?¡± I scowl in annoyance. ¡°Come on, don¡¯t keep me in suspense. Just say it! You still want the body, right?¡± ¡°Alright, alright, no need to threaten me, chill.¡± She laughs before continuing. ¡°It¡¯s just so big and I couldn¡¯t resist teasing you a bit. Our two balls here are what they call artificial Artifacts.¡± ¡°Wait, Artifacts like those extremely expensive things that can enhance my power?¡± ¡°Yeah, but also not quite. I guess those things would be much more expensive in places where magic isn¡¯t that common.¡± She pauses for another dramatic effect and I literally play with the thought of ripping her chip out of my head. I am Not patient at the moment. ¡°What we have here are two artificial Junior ranked Utility magic cores. Meaning that if we can implant one of them next to your Space core, you¡¯ll be able to cast Utility magic too!¡± My brain shorts out and my eyes go wide. WHAT? For real? Oh my god, that¡¯s all I have ever wanted. I can¡¯t believe it. I have to steady myself at the edge of the capsule. It¡¯s just too much. All my problems are going to be solved. Maja isn¡¯t kidding me, right? I lift my jaw from the floor. ¡°You are serious this time, right?¡± My voice is still shaky, but I think she understood what I said. ¡°Yeah, I am. This is big. We need to get the body up and running for me, then I can play doctor and expand your magical capabilities.¡± She¡¯s right, screw this, I¡¯m not going to wait any longer. Let¡¯s see if my recovered power is enough. Putting my hands down next to the balls ¨C no, magic cores, I start channeling my power again. When I¡¯m empty, I check the tablet again. It was enough, the battery finally shows as filled. ¡°Okay, now what? How are we doing this?¡± I hope Maja does know, as I don¡¯t have a clue about how transferring her to the robot works. ¡°Use the slot behind the ear. In theory, you just take me out and of your head and put me into the slot there. I will be offline for a time, so just wait, please? Let¡¯s say if there is no reaction after an hour you put me back in your slot?¡± Now she does sound uncertain. Well, It¡¯s a big step for her. ¡°Okay, I can do that. Don¡¯t worry, you said it yourself. You¡¯re the best! Are you ready?¡± Maja confirms and with a deep breath, I reach behind my ear and grab the AI chip. It comes out just as easily as S-57 before. I now hold the only friend I have here with me, in my hand. It¡¯s a weird feeling. I quickly shake it away and proceed with inserting the chip into the robotic body. Now I just have to wait till she wakes up, as I refuse to think of any other outcome. Chapter 27: First Steps Chapter 27: First Steps Location: Solar System; Earth; Former City of Brisbane; Magicon Facility There is nothing I can do besides waiting. It¡¯s been an hour already, and I start to get worried. Pacing the length of the room, my imagination hits me with all the bad possible outcomes. What if she doesn¡¯t wake up? Even worse, what if she gets destroyed in the process? Waiting is the worst. There¡¯s also the fact that a small army of robots is waiting outside the vault door for me. How can I escape them? Are they even there still? Argh, doing nothing kills me. But what can I do? Glancing at the two balls ¨C Utility magic cores, I grumble. I wish I could just swallow one of them and be done with it. But no, they require a short operation to be inserted into my body. And who can do that? Right, Maja once she has her body under control. This is so frustrating! I walk back and forth for another 30 minutes without changes. How long can this take? Come on, Maja, don¡¯t leave me alone in here. You¡¯ve got this! Still nothing¡­ Wait, did her finger just move? I stop my pacing and rush over to the body lying inside the capsule. There, I didn¡¯t imagine it, her fingers are starting to twitch. Excitement fills me. Finally! Suddenly, her full body starts to jerk and I take a hasty step back before I get hit by a flailing limb. That¡¯s also the moment when one fact comes to my mind again. She¡¯s still naked! I don¡¯t have replacement clothes with me¡­ Who would¡¯ve thought that I''d need them? What I have are the clothes I wear over my half-destroyed shipsuit¡­ That must do. I take the tablet, select the shipsuit app, and quickly change the color from mostly see-through to completely purple. Now my whole body is covered by a purple colored skin-tight suit. Well, everything besides the part of my leg that got destroyed. Looks like it¡¯s a short pants day. I snort. Next, I take off my actual clothes. It''s not much, just some jeans that also stop at the knee on one side, and a pink shirt. But it is better than running around naked. Unfortunately, Maja has to do without shoes, but there is nothing I can do about that. While readying the clothes, I keep a close eye on Maja and sigh in relief when she stops jerking around. Now she¡¯s lying still again, but her eyelids are fluttering. Any minute now! Two minutes later, her eyes snap open, and look around wildly. Finally, her gaze settles on me, and recognition settles in. ¡°Hi Maja, everything alright?¡± I ask her and she opens her mouth to answer. What comes out is incomprehensible, but she keeps trying. ¡°Strph¡­ stpd¡­ aaargh, stupid shit! Why is it so hard? Ah finally!¡± Having managed to speak, she tries to get up, which leads to something equally funny and disturbing. Her whole upper body moves up rapidly but doesn¡¯t stop when she¡¯s sitting up. Instead, it keeps moving and only stops once she¡¯s almost folded in half. I can¡¯t stop myself from laughing anymore. She¡¯s just like a baby in an adult body. Well, a baby that is insanely intelligent and learns everything super fast, as she manages to sit up correctly while I¡¯m laughing. ¡°Hey Sara, nice to finally meet you in person.¡± She¡¯s already able to do facial expressions and smiles at me. Her learning speed is insane! It¡¯s like the body was just made for her. I grin at her, her naked body again brings a small blush to my face. ¡°Sooo, are you ready to get up? I also got some clothes for you to put on once you have the whole body under control.¡± She returns my grin and shrugs. ¡°The clothing situation is indeed a bit unfortunate, but I can manage for now¡­ It¡¯s not that there is anyone looking at me weirdly in here.¡± I raise my eyebrow. ¡°What about me?¡± Her answer is fast and even a bit snarky. ¡°You don¡¯t count! We¡¯re bonded, what¡¯s a bit of nudity there? Now, let me get up so I can put on the clothes to keep you from blushing.¡± ¡°Hey, I¡¯m not blushing, your eyes are malfunctioning!¡± While I¡¯m saying that, Maja slowly moves her legs over the edge of the capsule and then tries to get up. Once her feet touch the ground, she starts putting her weight onto them and immediately falls over. She crashes face-first to the ground. I bark a laugh. Hah, payback is a bitch! Fortunately, Maja can learn from her mistakes and after a few more tries, she¡¯s standing right before me. I blink, she¡¯s a little bit taller than me. Not fair! Deep blue eyes look into my green ones and we both stand there for a minute. Then I can¡¯t hold myself back and jump forward to hug her. She returns the hug, first a bit awkward, but then she changes the position of her hands to mirror me, and it works. We¡¯re now officially hugging each other. Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. After a while we disengage, and I throw her the pink shirt to put on. With a bit of struggle, she manages to pull it over her head and she¡¯s now the proud wearer of a pink shirt and nothing else. We both share a look and I quickly throw her the half-leg jeans as well. That¡¯s when I notice another fact. Her chest is bigger than mine too. The shirt is now very form-fitting. At least this doesn¡¯t bother me, as I¡¯m more than happy with what I have. The issue is, that all the other clothes on the yacht probably won¡¯t fit as well, as the previous owner of them was about my size. Hmm, I guess, that leaves the General¡¯s stuff? Not that this is important now. Maja has finished putting on her pants and is now about to take her first steps! She starts slowly, clearly aware of her fall onto her face before. Slowly but steadily, she lifts her left foot, keeps her balance, moves the foot forward a bit, and puts it back down. She did it! I cheer loudly and Maja too does smile. ¡°Congratulations Maja,¡± I say before remembering her comment about me not counting. ¡°You now have the physical capabilities of a two-year-old.¡± I grin at her, and she grimaces. ¡°No fair, try acclimating to a new body in five minutes yourself.¡± Dang it, she got me there. Not that I let her notice that fact. I simply keep my grin and nod. With that, I spent the next few hours helping Maja familiarize herself with her body. During that time, we notice that the magic, that I pumped into the body earlier, slowly gets used up when the body is in motion. Maja estimates that the charge will last for about a week before I have to fill up the battery again. I wonder how Serena was planning to keep herself charged after she transferred herself into the artificial body. Hmm, considering the magical security bots, the building must still have some power stored away somewhere. Maybe that was her plan? But that seems shortsighted¡­ I wonder if there¡¯s a way to filter magic out of the air around us. There has to be, right? I mean us Mages too somehow regenerate our power¡­ I wish I grew up somewhere where Mages aren¡¯t restricted¡­ but then I also wouldn¡¯t have met my friends. It¡¯s frustrating! On top of that we are still stuck in the room here. I see two possibilities. Either we risk opening the door and hope the robots are gone or we use the capsule as a makeshift operation table and implant the Utility core next to my Space core. If I can learn even the simplest telekinesis spell, we can open the door only a little bit and float out the tablet to check the surroundings. Maja as an AI should still be able to connect wirelessly. Wait, I¡¯m not connected to her anymore! How do I use my Space magic once we leave the planet? In panic, I call out to Maja, which makes her stumble a bit. ¡°Maja you are out of my head!¡± ¡°Yeah, obviously,¡° she replies while scowling at me. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°The connection. My magic, I need you to navigate! How could we forget that?¡± Well, the reason why is obvious¡­ We were both completely enthralled by the possibility of having a body for Maja, but still¡­ Maja¡¯s scowl is replaced by wide eyes and another small stumble. ¡°Oh.¡± That¡¯s all she says for a while before sitting down on the floor completely still. ¡°What are you doing? You are not deactivating the body again, right? I mean worst case I still have S-57¡­ Even if that¡¯s a massive leap backward.¡± I nervously sit down next to her. It doesn¡¯t feel right to take her freedom away in favor of my magic. ¡°No that¡¯s not it, I¡¯m currently moving all of my code from the AI chip to the integrated computer system.¡± She is silent for another moment. ¡°It just takes almost all my concentration, but it¡¯s fascinating. The whole system is a bit more powerful than the chip you wore before despite being way older. There are also a few weird connections considering the power supply¡­ I guess that¡¯s the magical part? This whole body is a work of art.¡± That calms me down, she¡¯s not shutting down the body. But why is she clearing out the chip? Is she creating a new AI for the chip and me? Five minutes later, her body begins to move again and she lifts her hand behind her ear and removes the chip, then hands it over to me. ¡°Alright, I hope this works. Can you put the chip back into the slot in your head?¡± Huh, did she really create a new AI in five minutes? I take the chip, but before I slot it in, I have to ask. ¡°I can, but what did you do? Is that a new AI?¡± She laughs. ¡°No, while I¡¯m powerful, I¡¯m not that powerful to create a whole AI so fast. Instead, I created a subprogram, that lets me connect wirelessly to the chip and if it works, also includes the interface to connect to your magic. In theory, that should enable me to do everything with your magic as if I were still present on the chip just from a distance.¡± Wow, that would be insane if that works. I quickly put the chip back into my slot and wait. Maja goes still for a moment before there is a slight crackle in my ear. Then suddenly. ¡°Can you hear me?¡± I jump up in jubilation. ¡°It works! Now what about the magic?¡± She replies by speaking with her physical body again. ¡°Give me a second, I have to tweak the wireless signal a bit to make it secure and hidden. It¡¯s not an issue here, but it might be later when we reenter civilization¡­ There we go. Now, let¡¯s test the magic.¡± As her words leave her mouth, there is the weird feeling again when my magic moves without my input. In the years with S-57, I learned to ignore it as something normal. Now though, It¡¯s as weird as in the beginning. My AI is literally sitting next to me and interfaces with my magic! ¡°I can feel the magic moving! You can stop, it¡¯s a bit weird doing it outside of a wormhole jump.¡± A second later my magic stills again and Maja stands up. ¡°The range should be pretty good too,¡± Maja says while starting to walk around again. ¡°The wireless antennas inside the body are way better than what I had when I was still on the chip. I don¡¯t even need to use the tablet as a stepping stone to access the computer. Its wireless signal runs on another frequency, that my old antenna didn¡¯t cover¡­¡± I stand up too. ¡°That¡¯s great. Now that you are more or less comfortable in the body¡­ Do you trust yourself to put the magic core inside me?¡± It does sound strange to ask something like this¡­ It¡¯s still a bit overwhelming¡­ a simple ball of metal that can unlock another class of magic for me. Maja shakes her head. ¡°I don¡¯t think doing it in here is a good idea¡­ One mistake and you could die. Also, I¡¯m still a bit shaky. I think it¡¯s better if we wait till we¡¯re back at the ship.¡± I shrug. I¡¯ve waited my whole life, not even knowing that it¡¯s possible. What are a few more hours? ¡°Okay, then let¡¯s get out of here. I hope the robots are gone.¡± Chapter 28: Utility Chapter 28: Utility Location: Solar System; Earth; Former City of Brisbane; Magicon Facility We decide to leave the remaining parts of the ruined spacewalker suit behind. The useful parts are glued to my shipsuit. Maja takes my backpack once I put the tablet back inside. Her body is strong. Now we just have to open the door and if we are lucky just walk out till we arrive back at the ship. Wishful thinking, I know. But we are prepared. As Maja is still not 100 percent secure in her movements, I don¡¯t trust her with the energy blade. One jerky movement and she might cut off her arm. I can¡¯t allow this, so I¡¯m going to play the frontliner and use the blade. Maja gets the gun and can shoot everything trying to flank me. At least that¡¯s the plan¡­ We have no way to test it. Luckily I had another power cell or else the gun would have been useless. I position myself next to the vault door and turn to Maja. ¡°Ready?¡± ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ll open the door on your signal,¡± she replies and moves her hand to the laser gun on her right hip. Her face is full of concentration. That¡¯s all I need. We¡¯ve got this! ¡°Okay, open the door, let¡¯s get out of here.¡± Maja beeps confirmation in my ear ¨C a clever use of her former chip, I have to say ¨C and the vault door starts to retract its locking bolts. A few seconds later, the door starts to swing open. Of course, we¡¯re not lucky and are immediately welcomed by the remaining tracked robots. At least I destroyed all of the flying ones! The first one starts to lift its gun, but before the arm has moved halfway up, a green bolt zips by from behind me and hits the thing right in the ball head. Sparks fly and the robot collapses. Maja¡¯s quick action has me start moving too and I draw and activate my blade. A few swings later, the second robot falls in pieces, and I turn back to the last two that are trying to rush me. ¡°I¡¯ll take the left one. The other one is for you!¡± Maja again confirms with a beep and quickly follows by blowing the thing to pieces with well-placed laser bolts. Meanwhile, I dodge the regular blade of the robot and bisect it with a swing of my blade. Having finished off the robots, I let out a long breath. We did it, and it was actually quite easy? I guess the stronger ones ran out of power decades or even centuries ago and we were greeted by the last ones still operational. Luckily, they were on the weaker side. I don¡¯t want to think of what would have happened if there had been a stronger robot. As for why I think there have to be stronger ones? I simply can¡¯t believe that those things represent the full security capabilities of the greatest company on Earth. Speaking of the robots, I still have to find out who made them as Magicon is clearly not the producer with their no weapons policy. Wasn¡¯t there a logo on the side of the floating ball things? Maybe the other robots have one too. I walk over to the first one that Maja killed right in the beginning, as it¡¯s the one most intact. When I try to lift it to turn it around, I notice, that it¡¯s heavier than I thought. Using all my strength, I manage to flip it over. It falls back down and now has its backside facing up. Yes, I was right! There is the symbol again. An axe and a shield. Pretty generic symbols for what probably means attack and defense. A&D¡­ I chuckle. It seems all comes back to magic. I turn back to Maja who has already walked a few steps down the hallway. ¡°Can you come back real quick?¡± She turns around and nods. When she arrives, I show her the symbol and ask. ¡°Any chance, you found something about that logo in one of the computers we searched?¡± Maja bends down to take a closer look, then her body goes still. I recognize it as her processing data mode. She has to work on her ability to process data and use the body at the same time. But that¡¯s a later problem. Her movement returns and she gets back up to look at me with a grin on her face. ¡°I¡¯ve got something. The company is called Armortec, you probably remember them from the Project Exodus note back on the Moon. They are another one of the Big Five companies.¡± Her grin turns even wider, it borders on being manic. ¡°But there¡¯s more! While I was browsing the data to search for that, I stumbled over something very interesting. I now have the coordinates of the planetary headquarters of the Big Five. Well, actually I have the remaining four, as we¡¯re already in the Magicon one.¡± My eyes go wider and wider while she¡¯s talking. ¡°That¡¯s amazing! I can¡¯t wait to check them out, but first, let¡¯s get outta here before more robots appear.¡± We start walking again and before long, we see the destroyed floating security robots. Maja stops and grabs one of them, for research and to study them, she says and I just shrug. They are destroyed anyway. We cross the last intersection and now only have to walk down the seemingly endless hallway. Five minutes later, we arrive at the first vault door. It feels like we opened it centuries ago, but it actually was only about a day ago. Insane! We learned so much in just a day and Maja even got a body on her own. Well, I got hurt too, but the medkit was enough to patch me back up. All in all, I can call it a successful first expedition. Now we just have to walk up all those stairs. Ugh, my legs are going to kill me tomorrow. I could let Maja carry me¡­ No, that¡¯s too embarrassing. Not taking a break, we start our ascent. When we arrive back in the lobby, I¡¯m sweaty all over and all I wish for is a shower. We can¡¯t arrive at the ship soon enough! Finally, we¡¯re back! While Maja enters the General¡¯s room to look for some intact clothes that fit her, I too get rid of my ruined shipsuit and am about to take my well-deserved shower. Before that, I take another look at my leg. I still can¡¯t believe that it is healed. I can¡¯t even see a single scar and that without using the itching plaster. Those nanites are insane! If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Now the shower. I sigh in relief when the hot water washes away all the dirt and sweat that my body accumulated during my wild trip through the Magicon headquarters. Having finished, I dress in a new shipsuit, that I make see-through on my arms and legs again, before putting on some lazy clothes consisting of sweatpants and an oversized hoodie. Then I walk back to the main room. It¡¯s time to unlock a new class of magic! When I enter the living room, I¡¯m surprised. First, there is Maja. She now wears one of the General¡¯s uniforms without any insignia. She ripped them off. I can totally understand her sentiment there as the higher-ups of the republic¡¯s military are the reason why we are stranded here. Plus, they killed her creators or parents. Second, the table in the middle of the room has transformed into a makeshift operation table. Maja decked it out with a clean sheet and set up lots of instruments she might need. Everything is clean and practically screams disinfection agent. ¡°Wow, how did you set everything up so fast?¡± I ask in disbelief. Maja smirks. ¡°Fast is relative¡­ You were in the shower for a whole hour. I was about to come and rescue you, but luckily, you¡¯re finally here. Now lie down so we can begin. I want to see what you¡¯re capable of with two magic classes.¡± Oh, oops, I might have forgotten the time while showering. Not that I care, I totally deserved it! I walk over to the table and lie down. ¡°You know what you¡¯re about to do, right? Oh, and what are we going to do with the second core?¡± ¡°Well, we only need one, so we can keep the second one and give it to a friend of yours?¡± One name immediately comes to my mind. Shay! She always wanted to be a Mage. Meanwhile, Maja bends down with a syringe in her hand. Her grin gets wider when she inserts the needle into my arm. Then everything goes black. I wake up feeling completely out of it. My mind is foggy, and my limbs feel like noodles and heavy stones at the same time. What happened? Why am I so hungry? When I open my eyes, I notice that I¡¯m lying in my bed. Wait, that¡¯s wrong. I was in the living room¡­ Maja did the surgery. The Utility core! ¡°Maja?¡± I call out, my voice is weak, but it looks like it was enough. I can hear footsteps. Seconds later the door opens, slams against the back wall, and Maja comes rushing in. ¡°You are awake! Finally. It was so scary, I thought I messed up.¡± I think if she could, she would be crying in relief. It¡¯s written on her face. But why? The sedation only lasts an hour why would she be so worried? Then something dawns in my mind. Was I out longer than one hour? That would explain my growling stomach and my weak limbs. I gulp down some saliva, my throat too is very dry. ¡°How long was I out? Did something go wrong?¡± Maja sits down next to me and takes a deep breath. ¡°It¡¯s been a week¡­¡± A week? Oh my god, how am I still alive? After a short pause to let the shock settle in, she continues. ¡°Everything went fine till I inserted the Utility core next to your Space core. They reacted to each other¡­ badly. I don¡¯t know how to describe it, but it was as if the Space core wanted to devour the Utility one, but got somehow held back¡­ I don¡¯t know. It was completely weird.¡± She pauses again, her gaze piercing my eyes. ¡°Then things got scary. Your body convulsed and I didn¡¯t know what to do¡­ So I just held you down and sealed up the cut on your abdomen. It almost took another thirty minutes till you stilled. But that was it¡­ you¡¯ve been completely still ever since. If it wasn¡¯t for your heartbeat, you might just have been dead. I didn¡¯t know what else to do, so I carried you over to your bed and force-fed you some soup and water over the days till you finally woke up.¡± We stare into each other¡¯s eyes, not saying anything for a whole minute, then I break the silence. ¡°Wow¡­ let¡¯s not do that again¡­¡± Maja nods furiously. ¡°I totally agree.¡± ¡°Thanks for keeping me alive, Maja.¡± With a lot of effort, I manage to sit up and swing my legs down the side of the bed. ¡°Wait, if it¡¯s been a week, how is your body still running?¡± Maja blushes a bit. I didn¡¯t know her body could do that. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m running on my last fumes right now¡­ I spent a lot of time in power-saving mode the past few days with only my hearing active in case you woke up. But I didn¡¯t want to bring it up, as the whole Utility magic stuff led to this mess¡­¡± ¡°Ah come on, stop being so silly. It¡¯s not your fault. You did everything right, something¡¯s wrong with my magic¡­ I have abilities I shouldn¡¯t have and now I almost die when implanting a magic core¡­ Now come closer, let me test out my new magic class.¡± Relief floods her face again and she comes closer to me. Did she really blame herself for that? I make a mental note to tell her the same thing again later. Now, Utility magic. How do I do that? I don¡¯t know any spells¡­ But I shouldn¡¯t need them. Charging the body only requires me to emit the power. So how do I distinguish between the two classes? Hmm, the Utility core is just a piece of technology, and it didn¡¯t do anything before my Space magic entered it. So what if I emit my Space magic but instead of funneling it to my hands or the environment, I funnel it to the Utility core? It¡¯s worth a shot. But first I should check the magic I¡¯m familiar with¡­ I did almost die when implanting the other core. Anxiety starts to fill me up, but I shove it away. I have to keep going forward if I want to find a way home. Nothing can stop me! So first Space magic. Stupid gravity! I can¡¯t teleport. That leaves me with emitting power to the environment. At least that¡¯s close to what I want to test after that. I crush the last bit of anxiety, take a deep breath, and focus on my Space core. I can feel the power, luckily, it feels just the same as before. Then I start to push and magic leaves through my skin and saturates the space around me. It still works! Yes! I stop and the power dissipates slowly. Everything feels normal. A good sign. ¡°I¡¯ll now try to use the Utility core. Stop me if you see something wrong happening, okay?¡± Maja nods and I again focus inward. Okay, how hard can it be? Just funnel it to the core instead of out of your body. You can do that Sara. It is actually pretty easy. The distance between the two cores is way smaller and I immediately create a funnel between them and have my magic flowing. A second later I can feel the Utility core powering up. I hold my breath in anticipation. Five seconds, thirty seconds, two minutes. Yes, it¡¯s stable. I stop the funnel between the cores and try to create another funnel, leading from the Utility core to my left hand. It doesn¡¯t work. The core powers down again and the magic slowly dissipates. Huh, do I have to keep the funnel active? That¡¯s going to be annoying. First I need something to eat. ¡°It¡¯s more complicated than I thought. I think it¡¯s going to take me a while. Can you help me up? I need something to eat, I¡¯m starving.¡± Maja quickly gets up and offers me a hand. ¡°Sure, I¡¯ll even cook you something fancy. It¡¯s the least I can do.¡± I grab her hand and she keeps me steady while we walk back to the living room. My steps are still a bit wobbly, but it gets better by the minute. I sit down at the table and while Maja cooks some pasta, I keep trying to hold the funnel between my two cores while creating a second one to my hand at the same time. It takes four hours and three plates of pasta till I finally succeed. I can now hold both funnels and when I hold my hand on Maja¡¯s stomach next to her battery and push out power, she confirms that it is charging. I almost jump up and down but stop myself before I lose concentration. It¡¯s exhausting and I¡¯m mentally done for the day. Physically it¡¯s not better and I reek of sweat. I need a shower! I hope there is an easier way to use my second class of magic. I can¡¯t imagine casting a spell besides all that mental effort I need to keep the core powered. I need to reach a Mage-friendly nation and find myself a teacher! Chapter 29: Song Medical Chapter 29: Song Medical Location: Solar System; Earth; Former City of Brisbane; Small Yacht Finding a teacher is going to be a thing for future me. I''ve got other things to do first. Namely taking a shower and sleeping a bit more. That¡¯s exactly what I do. After taking a very long and very hot shower, I put on my sleeping clothes and say goodnight to Maja. Then I jump into my bed to sleep. When I wake up, it¡¯s the next morning and my stomach rumbles again. Ugh, a week without eating solid stuff is annoying. I feel like I could eat all our supplies. When I open the door, I¡¯m pleasantly surprised. Maja has made breakfast! ¡°Thanks, Maja, you¡¯re the best!¡± I call out to her, and she sits on the couch with a smug smile. ¡°Glad you like it, now eat, we¡¯ve got places to check out.¡± Right, the other four companies. I wonder what we¡¯ll find there¡­ Maja¡¯s body set the bar very high. I sit down and devour my breakfast. Packed-up food is slowly getting annoying, but my current appetite doesn¡¯t care. When I¡¯m finished, I clean the plate and we both walk to the bridge. Maja brings up a holographic image of the planet and highlights 5 locations. ¡°Okay, currently we are here.¡± She points to a red dot on the east coast of a small continent near the bottom of the globe. ¡°As you know, the city was once called Brisbane and we¡¯re on the continent called Australia.¡± She points to another dot a good bit above the first. ¡°This is Shanghai, a city in the nation of China. There we have the planetary headquarters of Song Medical.¡± She quickly continues and points at the last three dots. ¡°This here is the base of Armortec SE in Munich, a city in Germany. Next is Axtendus Agriculture in St. Louis, and lastly, we have Valterion Heavy Industries in Chicago. Both of the last two are located in a nation called the United States of America.¡± That¡¯s a lot to take in. Four places to visit, spread out around the globe. And I now notice something I missed earlier. There is more than one nation on the planet! It¡¯s something I can¡¯t wrap my head around. Nations span across multiple star systems! How can four nations exist on a single planet? ¡°Uh Maja, did you just call out four different nations? Are you sure that aren¡¯t only regions or something?¡± She dares to chuckle. Insolence! ¡°Actually there were more than 190 nations on the planet before everyone left.¡± What?? More than 190? How is this possible? They had to be at each other¡¯s throats all the time! It¡¯s just unbelievable. Hmm, I could have thought about that earlier¡­ I had it right before my face. UNE, United Nations of Earth. I close my mouth; it must have dropped open after Maja¡¯s comment. I didn¡¯t notice. ¡°Okay, let¡¯s pretend what you¡¯re saying is true. It doesn¡¯t matter now. Do we have enough fuel to check out all four places?¡± Maja nods. ¡°Yeah, we have. We¡¯re still a bit over half-full. S-57¡¯s course was good and with my improvements, we saved as much fuel as possible on our trip here to Earth.¡± She shrugs. ¡°Even if we visit all four locations, we have enough fuel to fly back to the place we appeared at¡­ Just so you have a reference. I can¡¯t think of a reason to fly back there.¡± Yeah true, why would we fly back to where we appeared after the collapsed wormhole? That¡¯s the last place I can think of flying to as we already scanned that location. There are no wormholes close. Our best bet is probably trying out the other direction. But that too is for later. We¡¯ve got companies to check out. So where do we fly to first? The names are pretty clear¡­ Song Medical has to be a pharma company, we have already seen Armortec products, so it¡¯s clear what they are doing: Weapons. That leaves the other two, but they also have their products in their name. Agriculture and ships, I guess starships. ¡°Any suggestions on where to go first? I''m thinking of the closest one, but that¡¯s only because I don¡¯t want to wait.¡± I look at Maja, hoping she has an idea. She shrugs. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter¡­ Personally, I¡¯d leave the ship guys for last. Maybe we are lucky and find better scanners or something for our ship.¡± Good idea. So it¡¯s decided then. ¡°Okay, then let¡¯s check out Song Medical.¡± As soon as the words leave my mouth, the engine spins up, and soon after we are flying again. I take one last look at the city and off we go. All I can see is the ocean and from time to time a few islands. Maja is taking it slow, and it takes way past noon till I can see land appearing on the horizon. As we get closer, I notice the city. It¡¯s way bigger than the last, but just as ruined. 11,000 years sure leave their mark. Location: Solar System; Earth; Former City of Shanghai; Small Yacht Maja provides some facts while we are closing in on what looks like a combination of ruined skyscrapers and giant factory halls at the edge of the city. ¡°China was the most populated nation on the planet and Shanghai here also was the biggest city. At the time of Project Exodus, they counted more than 100 million inhabitants. Almost a quarter of them were working for Song Medical or their suppliers.¡± Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. Holy smokes, 100 million! The number is mind-blowing. I mean Acrodus 3 has 20 million inhabitants. And that¡¯s a whole planet. Sure, it¡¯s way smaller, but wow. And a quarter of them worked for Song Medical. Thinking of that, wasn¡¯t the Magicon headquarters not a little small? ¡°Those are big numbers, Maja.¡± She nods. ¡°But we both know that Magicon is and was the biggest company, so why was their facility so small?¡± Maja goes still again. Meanwhile, we are getting closer and closer to the Song Medical buildings. Their number and sizes are insane, but I guess they have to be to accommodate 25 million people working. Finally, Maja comes back to me. ¡°I don¡¯t have anything concrete in the data I downloaded, but if I have to guess, I¡¯d say Magicon did most of their things off-planet.¡± ¡°That makes sense actually.¡± Miss Baker said wormhole rings are Magitech and they are very big. Magicon as the Magitech company sure produces these things as well and doing that in space is way easier. ¡°Oh, and by the way, you always stop moving when you access the downloaded data. You should work on your multitasking abilities if you want to blend in when we¡¯re back in civilization.¡± I wink at her, and she cringes. Finally, a point for me! All that aside, we are about to land. Maja smoothly navigates the ship through the ruins till we arrive before the central skyscraper. There she sets the ship down. Maja as the stronger one insists on carrying the backpack, so I only pack my two weapons. Unfortunately, the spacewalker suit was completely destroyed by the robots back at the Magicon headquarters, so I have to make do with my shipsuit, which should be more than enough. It¡¯s not that I¡¯ve already been without any protection here on the planet. We disembark and start walking around. It looks way worse down here than from the air. The warehouses or factory halls only have a few concrete and metal pillars still standing. Everything else lies in a big heap on the ground. The skyscraper before us too is completely ruined. This time we aren¡¯t as lucky to find a clear entrance lobby. Pieces of metal are piled up on the ground floor and there is no way to get inside. I glance at Maja. ¡°Uh, I think this place is a bust¡­ I¡¯m not going to climb through all that stuff and search for something underground. It¡¯s way too dangerous.¡± ¡°I¡¯m inclined to agree, but let¡¯s walk a bit around. Maybe I can find an active data signal.¡± I shrug, we¡¯ve got the time. It¡¯s only a bit past noon. ¡°Sure, let¡¯s give it a few hours.¡± With that, we continue walking across the company¡¯s grounds. I notice a few buildings that are not that destroyed, but when we check them out everything inside is either dust or degraded beyond recognition. Well, we can¡¯t always be in luck¡­ It still would have been cool to learn about the biggest pharmaceutical company of that time. Oh, and I guess still one of the greatest now. ¡°I¡¯ve got something, I think!¡± Maja¡¯s shout has me focusing my gaze on her. She hurries into the direction of a warehouse to our right and after a short delay, I start following her. She vanishes behind a pile of concrete blocks and when I come closer, I can hear her cursing. ¡°Fucking shit, that¡¯s useless. Damn¡­¡± I round the concrete blocks with a frown. She¡¯s worse than Shay sometimes. Why do they all have to curse? Okay, I did curse a lot too in the past months, but that was justified! I mean pirates are the worst and deserve nothing less. ¡°What is it? You said you had something.¡± She does sound annoyed. ¡°Yeah, I thought so, but look at this.¡± She points at a solar panel connected to a concrete block. It must have been part of the roof once. A miracle that it¡¯s still intact¡­ But why is she so annoyed? ¡°Isn¡¯t that good? An intact panel means there is power. So we might have recordings of what happened, right?¡± Her expression morphs into a mix of happiness and annoyance. It looks quite creepy. ¡°I like the way you think¡­¡± That¡¯s the happiness part. ¡°But that¡¯s not it! The damn signal is from the freakin¡¯ solar panel. All that shitty thing does is tell me that it generates power. Completely useless!¡± Oh, that¡¯s the annoyed part. She kicks the panel, and it moves a bit to the side including the connected concrete block. ¡°Well, we can¡¯t be lucky all the time. Let¡¯s head back and leave. We can check out Song Medical once we reach The Empire.¡± Maja sighs. ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re right let''s go. The trip here was completely useless.¡± She kicks the solar panel again for good measure and we turn around to walk back to the ship. ¡°So where do you want to go next?¡± I shrug. ¡°Let¡¯s just fly to the next one. Should be the weapons guys, right?¡± Maja confirms and we continue walking. When we finally arrive back at the ship, it¡¯s starting to get dark and very cloudy. With annoyed expressions, we both board the ship and Maja instantly powers it up, and off we go. Of course, that is when the weather decides to go bad. Just my luck! Within minutes, the clouds thicken up and get darker and darker. Giant lightning bolts cross the sky, and some get dangerously close. That doesn¡¯t look normal. Something is still wrong with the planet. Looks like the climate is thoroughly messed up. The lightning bolts look ginormous, almost the width of my torso. ¡°Maja, get us out of here!¡± I shout while sitting down in the Captain¡¯s grav chair. ¡°I¡¯m doing my best here. We¡¯re about to go straight up, so buckle up.¡± She sits down too and fastens her seatbelt. I quickly secure myself as well. ¡°You want to fly straight through those clouds?¡± I ask in mild panic. This is when the rain hits. All the floodgates open up and hit the yacht straight on the front-facing window. It¡¯s so loud, I can¡¯t hear a thing. Why is the weather so extreme? And holy smokes does it change fast. We were just walking with a few clouds and now this! Maja moves her mouth, but I can''t understand her. ¡°What?!¡± I shout and she frowns. A second later her eyes light up and I hear a crackling in my ear. ¡°There we go. Quite handy my old AI chip.¡± She chuckles. ¡°What I was saying is yes, we have to go through the clouds. While it¡¯s a bit more dangerous flying up there, it¡¯s only for a very short time. Meanwhile, if we stayed down here, the chances of getting hit by the lightning would be way higher. And I really don¡¯t want to get hit by too many bolts. This ship was built for space and good weather landings, not for an electrical storm. I fear that our electric circuits might short out, so we¡¯re taking the fastest way outta here.¡± I shiver and give Maja a thumbs-up. Shorting the circuits does indeed sound bad. We can¡¯t lose this ship, or we are dead! A bolt comes dangerously close, and I jump in my seat. Maja grimaces and steers the yacht straight up. Luckily, we don¡¯t have to take care of the buildings on the ground. Maja ignites the main drive with a full burn and we shoot upwards. The Song Medical buildings receive our exhaust burn and crumble even more, I get pressed into my seat, the gravity generators too weak to keep up with our acceleration and the gravity of the planet. Seconds later, we reach the cloud layer. That¡¯s when the lightning bolt strikes. 30 centimeters in diameter, it hits us head-on. The lights flicker and I grit my teeth. Please don¡¯t short out! Everything stabilizes again and we¡¯re through. The black clouds are below us and we are greeted by the setting sun. I can¡¯t help myself and start laughing. Soon after Maja joins in. ¡°That was close!¡± She shouts and I nod in agreement. ¡°Oh yes, it was. Now let''s visit the next place and hope for better weather.¡± Chapter 30: Armortec and Axtendus Chapter 30: Armortec and Axtendus Location: Solar System; Earth; Former Nation of Germany; Small Yacht Having escaped the thunderstorm, we both begin to relax. ¡°How long is our trip going to take?¡± I ask Maja while unbuckling myself. It¡¯s time for another meal. ¡°Five to six hours, depending on the conditions at our destination. You can go sleep if you want, I''m keeping watch.¡± Maja responds and moves to take over my seat. I wave her off. ¡°Nah, I''m good. Just going to grab something to eat.¡± I get up and let her sit down, then I walk back to the kitchen. What do I eat today? Ah yeah, that looks good. I grab the can of noodle soup and put it in the heater. Seconds later, it¡¯s steaming hot, and I grab a spoon and sit down on the couch. Mmmmhh, it¡¯s good! After eating and relaxing a bit, I get up and do some exercises. The week I was out, surely left its mark. I wheeze for breath after a few repetitions and have to take a break. Why is it so hard to stay in shape? Half an hour later, I finally give up. I take a quick shower and throw myself on the couch afterward. Still three hours left¡­ Maybe a quick nap isn¡¯t so wrong. I lay down and doze off, just to be shaken awake after what feels like seconds. ¡°Come on, get up. We¡¯re there.¡± I groan, not quite awake yet. ¡°Give me a minute. We¡¯ve got time.¡± Suddenly my blanket disappears and my eyes snap open. Maja is standing there grinning. ¡°Oh come on, why are you so cruel?¡± She just laughs and throws the blanket at my face. Annoying, but I¡¯m awake now¡­ I get up, wash my face, then it¡¯s time to suit up again. As I¡¯m already wearing my shipsuit, it¡¯s only me putting on a jacket. It¡¯s way colder over here, or that¡¯s what Maja said at least. I haven¡¯t checked yet, but why should she lie? The backpack is still packed from the day before and Maja is already wearing it while waiting for me. I slip past her. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± The hatch opens and the cold hits me in the face. ¡°Aaaaah, cold!¡± Everything is white out there. Snow, as far as I can see. I can hear Maja chuckling behind me. ¡°You might want to put on something warmer.¡± ¡°You could have warned me,¡± I scowl at her. ¡°Sorry, couldn¡¯t help myself. Your face is too funny.¡± I turn around while shooting her an angry glance and change my clothes again. Now properly wrapped, I return to the outside and one word comes to mind. Different. Nature is the winner here. Everything is grown over. Conifers are predominant, but there are also some deciduous trees. They¡¯ve shed their leaves for winter, but that¡¯s what makes them even more recognizable. ¡°Uh Maja, are we at the right place? There is nothing here¡± The main difference compared to Shanghai is that I can¡¯t see any buildings. Snow and trees and some bushes, but that¡¯s it. ¡°Yeah, we¡¯re spot on. I¡¯m just searching for the entrance at the moment. It¡¯s another underground complex. The Germans didn¡¯t want to destroy even more nature back then, so Armortec built everything below ground. We are also a good distance outside of the city, that¡¯s why nothing is here.¡± I nod my understanding. Underground means below the snow. I frown, that means shoveling the snow away. I wish I could just magic it away. That¡¯s the thing about Utility magic¡­ I need instructions! As I¡¯ve got nothing else to do, I return to the ship and search for a shovel. It takes a while, but I finally find one inside the engine room. When I step back outside, Maja is smiling at me. ¡°I found it, but it¡¯s below¡­ Oh nice, you got a shovel. Come here!¡± She waves me over and indicates an unremarkable spot of snow. ¡°Right here, one meter down. Wanna start? I can take over when you need to rest.¡± ¡°Sure.¡± With that, I start shoveling snow. It takes a while and a few switches, but finally, there is an audible clang of metal on metal. ¡°Yes, finally!¡± I exclaim and jump into the hole. We both use our hands for the last bits of snow but are soon disappointed. It¡¯s only the top! The door is at the side and a bit further down. ¡°Ah, come on. That¡¯s not fair.¡± Maja grumbles too, but she soon grabs the shovel and begins to dig deeper. Actually¡­ Yeah, that should work. ¡°Maja, can you stop and get out for a moment? I wanna try something.¡± ¡°Sure, what is it?¡± She replies and I grab my energy blade and activate it. ¡°We cut a hole with it before, remember? Let¡¯s do it again.¡± Maja¡¯s face brightens and she beckons me forward. I jump back down into the hole and hold the blade against the metal roof of the entrance. Slowly, but surely it melts and lets the blade through. Success! I continue cutting in a circle and right before it¡¯s completed, Maja grabs my shoulders and holds me. With another audible clang, the round piece of metal drops down and opens up an entrance for us. Air rushes inside and makes my hair flutter around wildly. Huh, was the facility sealed airtight? Still holding my blade, I tell Maja to let me drop. I land with my knees bent, around three meters down, and then I call up to Maja that it¡¯s safe. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. ¡°Sweet, stay there for a moment,¡± she replies. ¡°I¡¯ll be right back.¡± I turn in a circle and look at the room I¡¯m in. Well room is a bit much, it¡¯s more of a hallway with stairs leading down before me and the exit door behind me. At least there are no robots as of yet. Surprisingly, everything still looks pretty good. It¡¯s the most intact facility we¡¯re entering as of now. Is it because everything was sealed up? Five minutes later, Maja returns. ¡°Sara, watch out.¡± She throws down a rope and I give it a few test tugs. It holds. Then Maja jumps down and lands beside me. ¡°Would have been annoying to get outta here.¡± She winks and starts walking toward the stairs. ¡°Smartass,¡± I reply and start following her. We reach our first obstacle when we arrive at the first floor below ground. The hallway opens up to something like an open atrium going ten floors down. A walkway leads around in a big circle. In the four cardinal directions, some stairs and elevators lead downwards. That repeats on every floor and in the middle stands a model of a rocket. I know these things from a movie session with Thomas, this is how space travel started! The obstacle I¡¯m talking about is the doors on the outside of the walkway. They are closed and the panels beside them don¡¯t work. There is no power left in here. Not even my energy blade finds purchase. I guess that is the strength of the material when everything is intact and not half degraded like the door leading outside. We try our luck further down, but the next eight floors lead to the same results. Everything is closed down. I groan and Maja has a big frown on her face. Are we that unlucky? Two busts in a row¡­ We arrive at the tenth floor below ground. It¡¯s the one at the bottom of the open atrium, so we can finally walk across the whole plaza with the rocket in the middle. Unfortunately, the doors around the floor are locked as well. But at least something is down here. All around the rocket are display cases made out of glass. I decide to check them out while Maja wants to experiment a bit more with the door panels. She thinks that she might be able to power them up with our battery. Anyway, I walk over to the rocket and look at the first glass cube. A metal plate describes what¡¯s inside. I ignore it for the time being. I want to take a guess first. The thing in the case is a polished plate, around five centimeters in diameter, and a band of Velcro that closes in a loop at the backside. Actually, it looks a bit like an oversized watch. Hmm, what could it be? I don¡¯t think it¡¯s a weapon¡­ Maybe something defensive? Can the mirroring surface reflect laser bolts? Okay, I mentally lock in my guess and then view the badge. Dang it, I completely forgot that it could be Magitech. Armortec produces offensive and defensive products and I already saw those magical robots. Oh right, the thing in the case. It¡¯s their first portable personal shield, that can be used by any Mage or a normal person as long as a Mage charges the battery beforehand. It¡¯s practically half of an A&D Mage you can wear on your wrist. Just like all Magitech products I have seen or heard about so far, the shield too only has a single function. I guess that¡¯s the limiting factor that sets a real Mage and Magitech apart? Now I have a hard decision to make. Do I break the glass and take it, or do I leave it, because it¡¯s something sentimental for the people of Armortec? Argh, it¡¯s hard. I feel like some kind of grave robber, but I really want it. Ah, what am I thinking? If they wanted it, they wouldn¡¯t have left it behind. I take the hilt of my energy blade and smash the glass. Then I take the PSW ¨C Personal Shield Watch ¨C and put it around my right wrist. Of course, I immediately test it. I push my power inside and immediately a slightly blue circular shield emerges around the device. Nice! ¡°Hey Maja check this out!¡± I shout over my shoulder. Maja curses, I guess I distracted her? Oops, but this is way more interesting. She walks over to me, and her eyes go wide when she sees my shield. ¡°Hey, that¡¯s cool! Oh, and it does have a wireless connection too. Here, I can put it on your tablet.¡± She takes it out of the backpack and throws it over. I roll it out and look at the opened app. Everything is there, shield strength and integrity, battery charge, and so on. ¡°Man, I wish I had a holographic interface. That information would be so nice to have in my vision while using the shield.¡± Maja nods. ¡°For now, I can give you some updates over the speaker in the chip¡­ It¡¯s better than nothing.¡± ¡°Yeah, right. Thank you.¡± I grumble about my lack of equipment and walk over to the next case. Maja joins me and we both make our guesses. Of course, we are wrong again. Displayed is a gun and we both think of something fancy, but no, it¡¯s just a gun¡­ Okay, it¡¯s their first produced laser gun, but still. The next case shows another gun. This time it¡¯s magical and can shoot lightning, but yeah, I don¡¯t need it and Maja can¡¯t use it, so we leave it behind too. The next two cases show something we already know. The tracked robots and the way more dangerous flying ones. The name tags describe them as basic-level defense robots, which means I was right, there are stronger ones. I guess we were lucky over at the Magicon facility. Before long, we complete our circle around the rocket. The remaining cases all contain various weapons that aren¡¯t of much use to us. Maja took another energy blade for herself, but that¡¯s it. I guess the more dangerous stuff is either locked away or they took it with them when they left. Well, that completes our trip down the Armortec facility. Maja isn¡¯t able to open a door and we checked everything that is accessible. At least it wasn¡¯t another bust like Song Medical. I hope the pattern doesn¡¯t repeat itself. Next on our list is Axtendus Agriculture. We have another ocean to cross. Location: Solar System; Earth; Former United States of America; Small yacht When we arrive at our destination, I can¡¯t stop myself from frowning. Dang it, that doesn¡¯t look good. While there are what must have been fields once, I can¡¯t see any structure that resembles a big company. What I can see is a giant crater at the horizon and we¡¯re heading right in that direction. I turn to Maja. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me that¡¯s our destination.¡± ¡°Okay, I won¡¯t tell you.¡± She too wears a big frown and mutters some unidentifiable curses under her breath. That¡¯s enough to conclude that the crater is indeed our destination. ¡°Is it even worth to land? I mean the company wasn¡¯t that interesting to begin with and now it¡¯s more or less gone from the looks of it.¡± Maja paces back and forth on the bridge. ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re right, it¡¯s not worth it. Let¡¯s head straight to the last location. Should be just 30 minutes away, hold on.¡± We make a sharp turn and are now heading northeast. Next stop Valterion Heavy Industries. Let¡¯s hope the pattern holds true. Chapter 31: Valterion Heavy Industries Chapter 31: Valterion Heavy Industries Location: Solar System; Earth; Lake Michigan; Small yacht ¡°That¡¯s a giant lake!¡± I exclaim when we are nearing our destination. The ship is currently flying above a ruined city. I first thought we were heading there, but Maja didn¡¯t slow us down, so I guess we have to go a bit further. With a quick glance at the map on my tablet, I identify the city as Chicago and the giant lake as Lake Michigan. A minute later, we leave the city behind, and Maja finally begins our descent ¨C right toward the surface of the lake. I glance at Maja. ¡°Is it an underwater facility?¡± She shakes her head. ¡°No, it shouldn¡¯t be,¡± she points at a spot on the lake¡¯s surface before us, slightly to the left. ¡°That¡¯s our destination.¡± I have to squint my eyes. It¡¯s very small and still a good distance away. When we get closer, it becomes bigger, but it¡¯s still pretty small, around two times the size of our yacht. Maja slows down the ship when we¡¯re at our final approach. When I take a closer look at the surrounding water, I notice giant structures below the surface. Only the platform at the top is above the water level. A landing platform? ¡°Didn¡¯t you say it isn¡¯t an underwater facility?¡± I ask Maja with a raised eyebrow. ¡°Because for me it looks that way.¡± She shrugs. ¡°I can¡¯t say. It¡¯s strange, the information I got out of the Magicon computer always calls it Valterion Island¡­ That¡¯s why I said it shouldn¡¯t be underwater. Maybe it sunk? It shouldn¡¯t matter anyway we can land on the platform and enter from there.¡± If it sunk does that mean half of it is flooded? That¡¯s not a good sign. ¡°Let¡¯s hope we can open the doors this time.¡± ¡°True, now be careful, we¡¯re about to touch down.¡± Maja sits down too and seconds later we land on the platform. The yacht powers down and we suit up. Probably for the last time. We¡¯ve gotten pretty fast and less than five minutes later, I step down the ramp and enter the landing platform. Maja is right beside me and immediately walks toward a control panel at the edge of the platform. I look around, searching for an entrance. There, a five-by-three-meter rectangle is painted with warning stripes. An elevator? It has to be, how else is someone supposed to enter after landing on the platform? Maja turns back to me with a big grin on her face. ¡°We¡¯ve got power!¡± Just when she says that the elevator rectangle begins to slowly move downwards. I quickly jump on it and Maja joins me a second later. Slowly but surely, we enter the facility. When the elevator reaches its destination, I have to rub my eyes. How is this possible? Maja too releases an audible gasp. The warehouse we are now in looks¡­ intact. Shelves full of cardboard and plastic boxes line the walls, and the floor is clean without a speck of dust. Everything looks like someone just cleaned the room an hour ago¡­ How? And why? Right before us, in the middle of the room, stands a table with a box on top of it. Maja walks over and takes a peek inside the box, while I am still taking in the room. It¡¯s just so impossible. Why isn¡¯t everything in here destroyed like almost everything else on the planet? Even the sealed Armortec complex wasn¡¯t that well preserved. Maja lets out a loud laugh. ¡°I can¡¯t believe we¡¯re this lucky.¡± She takes out a tablet and holds it in the air. My eyes go wide. This looks like it was left behind to be found! I rush over to the table just as Maja presses down the power button. When the tablet has finished powering up ¨C it took quite a long time ¨C a video automatically starts to play. A middle-aged man with red hair and green eyes stares at the camera. He wears a suit with a purple tie and the background is filled with a giant V with a starship flying through between it. The Valterion logo? Has to be. Everything else wouldn¡¯t make sense. He sighs. ¡°Welcome my descendants, my name is Conor Valterion, and when you are seeing this, more than 20,000 years should have passed.¡± I tap the screen, hoping to stop the video. It works. I turn to Maja. ¡°They planned for someone to come back here after 20,000 years? That¡¯s insane! Why would they wait so long?¡± Maja just shrugs. ¡°I can¡¯t tell you more besides that we are clearly early and not the intended recipients of this message. But let¡¯s continue watching, I¡¯m very curious where this leads to.¡± I nod, she¡¯s right. The man said descendants. This message is intended for the Valterions from almost 9,000 years in the future! Wait, did they prepare this whole complex to stay this way for 20,000 years? That does sound impossible. But on the other hand, everything looks as good as new right now and over half the expected time has already passed¡­ It has to be some very complex magic. I can¡¯t imagine any other possibility. I wish I was that strong¡­ Soon, I won¡¯t stop! Now let¡¯s continue with the video. ¡°You are probably wondering about the secretive message you found inside the family¡¯s vault, leading you right here. For that, I apologize, and I hope you forgive me for not telling you the exact reason right away. For now, just know that everything we prepared here for you concerns the war of Earth and how it ended. Everything else is confidential information I can¡¯t just leave lying around here in the open. Head down to the main vault where your identity will be checked to receive what we have left behind for you. It is extremely important, and I hope 20,000 years weren¡¯t too long, but we can¡¯t risk coming back here earlier.¡± The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. The video ends with Conor Valterion smiling into the camera tiredly. Maja and I stare at each other. That does sound big. Maja is the first to find her words. ¡°Should we continue and try to get into the vault below? I¡¯m very curious what all this is about.¡± ¡°Yeah, I think we should at least try. If we can find out what happened here and bring it back to the Valterions, they will probably be very grateful. Also, I want to find out what this is about. It has to be something about that Worldender Ship Serena talked about.¡± As we are both in agreement, we decide to continue further down into the facility. Maja puts the tablet into the backpack, and we walk toward the double door just ahead at the end of the room. What I see beyond is what I actually expected to see inside: 11,000 years of abandonment. It¡¯s now clear that only the entrance room was specifically preserved, probably by some magical means. The hallway and rooms look just like what I¡¯ve seen inside the Magicon headquarters. Piles of dust and scrap pieces of metal are everywhere. Maja sighs. ¡°That¡¯s disappointing, I had my hopes that the whole thing would be worth exploring.¡± ¡°True, finding out more about the facility would have been cool. At least we have something to do here. We just have to find the central vault.¡± Let¡¯s just hope it¡¯s not that hard to find¡­ and not too secure. ¡°Uh, by the way, did the Conor guy include a map to the vault on the tablet?¡± That would be beyond helpful. This time Maja manages to keep walking while checking data, even if it¡¯s a bit stiffer than normal. Progress! ¡°Yeah, he did. It¡¯s quite the distance, we have to go deep. Almost all the way to the bottom. Keep your eyes open, maybe we will find something of interest on the way down.¡± With the discovery of a stairway, our descent begins. When we¡¯re a few floors down, I notice metal badges on the walls of each floor. They count the floors, but what¡¯s strange is that they call each floor a deck. Just like on starships! Hmm, the facility wasn¡¯t built for underwater usage¡­ Could it be that it wasn¡¯t a simple artificial island but a floating island instead? I mean it could be possible, right? When I share my thoughts with Maja, she nods. ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s plausible. Energy hungry, but entirely possible. If I were a company that builds starships, I would definitely flex a bit with a floating island.¡± After a while and way too many steps, we take a quick break. I sit down right where I am and relax a bit. Maja throws me a protein bar out of the backpack. ¡°Thanks.¡± I happily eat it and drink a big sip out of a water bottle afterward. ¡°How¡¯s your power level looking? Need a recharge?¡± Maja declines. ¡°Nah, I¡¯m good. Still 64% charge left in the batteries. Shall we continue? We¡¯re close.¡± ¡°Give me five more minutes. I want to be at my best in case there are robots too.¡± I shudder at that thought. I¡¯ve seen enough of those things already. Closing my eyes a bit, I must have dozed away because when I open them again, clearly more than five minutes have passed. Oops. Luckily, Maja doesn¡¯t care. I stand up again and stretch a bit. The stairway isn¡¯t a great place to fall asleep¡­ My back pops audibly. True to her word, we arrive before a giant vault door that looks like it can withstand a full salvo of a modern warship. This section too is different from the rest. Like crossing an invisible line, everything again looks like it was just placed there hours ago. Next to the vault door is a control panel. That¡¯s probably where the Valterion descendants confirm their identity. This is going to be a problem. I can¡¯t magically conjure one of them right here beside me. I wish I could. They¡¯re probably rich and can buy me some upgrades to get me out of Novice rank. I walk over towards the panel and turn my head back to Maja while pointing forward. ¡°Think you can hack it? I don¡¯t think we get inside any other way.¡± She walks over and bends down to take a close look at the panel. I stand right beside her. ¡°Hmm, it¡¯s similar to the ones inside the Magicon facility, but quite a bit more secure. I don¡¯t know if I can get inside. At least I¡¯m not sure if I can do it without alerting security. Should I try?¡± ¡°Yeah, we have to get inside, otherwise we wasted our time in here. And after hearing what the Conor guy said, I really want to find out more.¡± I hold up my arm. ¡°But wait a moment, I want to be ready in case there are robots too.¡± With that, I first relieve Maja of the backpack and put it down on the other side of the room. Next, I draw my energy blade and push magic toward the shield-watch I got from Armortec. I don¡¯t activate any of them yet, as I don¡¯t want to waste power. If there are robots, I should be able to react in time. They¡¯re not that fast. ¡°Okay, I¡¯m ready. You can start.¡± Maja goes completely still. This takes all of her concentration. This time I can¡¯t even blame her. She can¡¯t make a mistake here. Time seems to crawl and I turn around every minute, just to be disappointed every time. Nothing changes. At least she hasn¡¯t alerted security yet. I¡¯d hate to fight more robots. When I look back in the future at this moment, that¡¯s probably when I jinxed it again. Maja swears. ¡°Fuck, I messed up, get ready!¡± That¡¯s all the warning I get, and I immediately will the shield-watch to activate. I¡¯m not fast enough. The time between Maja warning me and me reacting was too long. Twin turrets pop out of the roof and start firing away. My Space Sense goes haywire and shows me possible safe spots. There aren¡¯t many. My shield is still forming, when the first bullet reaches me. It hits me straight in the shoulder and goes right through. My blood splatters on the wall behind me. ¡°Aaaaahhhh¡± I fall backwards from the force of the shot. The shield has finally formed and stops the next bullets. A hand grabs my uninjured shoulder and pulls me to the side. Maja! Tears start filling my eyes. It hurts so bad. I¡¯d kill for a spacewalker suit with integrated painkillers. The bullets keep coming and home in on our new position. Fuck, we¡¯re going to die. I feel my magic drain at an alarming rate. I look at Maja, she wears an expression of horror. ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± she whispers. Then suddenly, everything stops. The turrets retract and I can hear the sound of gears turning and pistons retracting. What¡¯s happening? Why did the turrets stop? I stand back up and immediately get dizzy. Right, blood loss. I point at my shoulder, then at the backpack. It hurts too much to talk. I¡¯m not built for being shot! Maja nods and runs toward the backpack. She understands, good. I sit back down when my legs get wobbly. Then I glance at the panel. It¡¯s splattered with my blood, but that is not what has my heart skipping not only one beat but three beats. It¡¯s the words written on the panel! DNA match confirmed. Security measures deactivated. Welcome Miss Valterion! Chapter 32: Sara Valterion Chapter 32: Sara Valterion Location: Solar System; Earth; Former United States of America; Valterion island Welcome Miss Valterion. I stare at the words on the panel, not believing my eyes. The pain in my shoulder is completely forgotten. I just stare, not able to form a thought. Something presses against my shoulder, it¡¯s a soothing feeling. I manage to turn my head. Maja is kneeling next to me, her hands on my shoulder with a big white plaster. It must have integrated painkillers. That thought brings me back to the present. I was shot! Then the pain comes knocking back at my brain. Luckily, it¡¯s quickly receding. Thanks to the plaster. I let out a deep breath. And nod at Maja. Thank you! She smiles back. Has she noticed? I don¡¯t think so. That would be the world¡¯s best poker face. I lay back down and close my eyes for a moment. I need to sort my thoughts. Sara Valterion. DNA match confirmed. There¡¯s no cheating on a DNA test. I truly am part of the Valterion family. This¡­ It¡¯s unbelievable. All those years not knowing who I am, and now on Earth, on flippin¡¯ Earth, I learn about my family. What are the odds? I can¡¯t describe how I feel. Relieved? Happy? Curious? I don¡¯t know. It¡¯s completely insane. Not only does it solve our immediate problem with the vault, but it also is one more reason to visit The Empire as soon as possible. Wait, the vault door! I heard gears turning earlier. Was that the locking mechanism? That settles me down. I have to prioritize the present. My family is something to think about later. But still, I finally have a surname. Sara Valterion. I admit, I like the sound of it. I open my eyes and jump. Maja¡¯s face is only centimeters away and she wears an expression between shock and excitement. ¡°Holy hell Maja, what are you doing?¡± She quickly puts a more reasonable distance between our faces before replying. ¡°You¡¯re a Valterion!¡± She does sound completely out of it. Did that news break her? ¡°Yeah, looks like I am. Why were you so close?¡± I ask her while sitting back up. I glance at the vault. It does look like the door moved a bit, there is a small gap at the side. ¡°Well, you acted a bit weird when I treated your wound, then you laid down without a word. I got worried and looked around. Guess my shock when I saw the text on that panel with your blood on it.¡± She blushes a bit. ¡°Then I had to check for similarities to the Conor dude of the video. Didn¡¯t know you would be up again so soon.¡± Huh okay, makes sense. I pat her on the shoulder and wince. Shouldn¡¯t have taken the arm with the wound¡­ ¡°It¡¯s okay, I understand. I just didn¡¯t expect you to be this close when I opened my eyes. It startled me a bit. So, what do you say about similarities? I mean the hair and eyes are obvious, but what about the rest?¡± Maja does a so-so gesture. ¡°There¡¯s nothing specific, I mean the general shape of your head is fitting, but that¡¯s hardly a certain indicator¡­ Also, it¡¯s been more than 11,000 years. Who knows how many generations are between you.¡± She¡¯s got a point here. It¡¯s something to look into later, we¡¯ve got a vault to open. And it¡¯s not even breaking in anymore. I¡¯ve got full rights to what¡¯s inside. Being a Valterion and all¡­ Conor did say the message is for his descendants, which I am according to the DNA test. We¡¯re just a bit early, but who cares? ¡°Can you help me up? I don¡¯t know if I can stand on my own right now. Being shot sucks, let me tell you.¡± She chuckles and offers me a hand. I do use my uninjured arm this time, and she pulls me up. ¡°Oh yeah, I can imagine. You humans and your squishy bodies.¡± She cackles an evil laugh. I look at her with wide eyes. ¡°You okay? You sound a bit like a crazy robot about to snap.¡± She stops laughing and now only grins. ¡°Yeah, just joking, don¡¯t worry. Now how about you lean against the wall right here and I swing the vault door open?¡± I nod and she leads me to the wall. I manage to keep standing on my own with the help of the nearby wall. Maja walks to the vault door and pushes her fingers into the small gap at the side. She¡¯s struggling a bit, but then she gets a firm grip on the door and pulls. Once it starts moving, the door opens smoothly on well-oiled hinges. I get the first look at the room beyond. It¡¯s not much, as I¡¯m standing at a bad angle, but what I¡¯m seeing surprises me. A living room? What the hell, who puts a living room inside a vault? I take a cautious step. Everything seems fine, so I start walking the last five meters toward the vault door while stabilizing myself with my good hand along the wall. When I arrive, I finally get a good look at what¡¯s inside. It¡¯s still not what I expected, but it¡¯s closer. To the right is indeed something resembling a living room. Complete with couches, a nice-looking carpet, and is that a TV? That¡¯s ancient! Right behind the living room, a bit further in is a kitchen and a door leading further to the right. If it follows the pattern, that¡¯s either a bathroom or a bedroom. The left side looks a bit more like what you expect inside a vault. It¡¯s full of shelves, reaching to the roof. Probably where the valuable stuff is stored. I have to check that out later. The last thing and probably the most exciting is located in the back. I call it the office. It¡¯s a few server racks and a circular desk with lots of computer screens. That¡¯s where we¡¯ll find the most. I take the final step inside. Maja is right behind me. ¡°Okay, we¡¯re inside. Now we just have to find what Conor wants us to find. Can you check the computers? I think I¡¯m going to lie down a bit more first.¡± ¡°Sure, no problem. Shout if you need something. I¡¯ll do the same when I find something interesting.¡± Maja leaves me behind on the couches and walks toward the computers in the back. Meanwhile, I do as I said and lay down. It¡¯s still surreal¡­ My parents¡­ They were Valterions too. But they were simple workers on a freighter nowhere close to The Empire. Did the family spread so far over the years? Is it just a lucky coincidence that my DNA was good enough to open the vault? Can I even consider myself a Valterion? Still, I can¡¯t be too far off the main family branch, otherwise, the DNA would have been too diluted, right? Actually, how is it even possible to match with a DNA sample from 11,000 years ago? Did they do something to keep our DNA from diluting too much? Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. That must be it. Otherwise, I can¡¯t think it possible. Too many years went by, too many generations. With every generation, the DNA is mixed with another. Maybe they made the Valterion genes dominant somehow? I don¡¯t know and it doesn¡¯t matter too much right now. But still my parents. Were they really just two random people and one of them can trace back their heritage to Conor Valterion, or were they from The Empire and were out on an adventure or something? Maybe they were kicked out of the family¡­ I can¡¯t help it. My head finds another possibility every minute. There is only one place where I can find out for certain: The Magicon Empire! Either I find a wormhole that leads there directly, or I somehow get back to the Estriduros Republic and free Thomas and the others first. Then we travel to the Empire together. ¡°Sara!¡± I jump at the voice in my ear. My eyes flip open, and I look around. There in the back, Maja is standing and waving with an annoyed expression on her face. ¡°You need me?!¡± I shout back at her, and she nods while scowling. Did I miss something? Why is she so annoyed? ¡°Yeah, obviously. Now come back here, I have to show you something.¡± I stand up and start walking over to her while she continues. ¡°What were you doing? I called you about a dozen times¡­¡± Huh, didn¡¯t hear a thing, oops? ¡°Uh, I guess, I got lost in my thoughts?¡± I reply sheepishly. Now a quick change of topics and I¡¯m good again. ¡°Anyway, what have you got?¡± Maja huffs, but still activates a screen. Smooth Sara, real smooth. Another video of Conor Valterion appears, and I immediately understand. This is what he told us about in the earlier video: The reason why he left something behind for his descendants. I still can¡¯t believe that I¡¯m one of them, even if it''s far removed. ¡°Have you watched it already?¡± I ask Maja and she denies. ¡°No, it took me a while to get everything up and running and then I thought, why not wait a bit more and watch it together with you.¡± That¡¯s nice of her, although she probably could have watched it in a few seconds, but hey watching something together is way more fun. ¡°Okay, let¡¯s start.¡± The video begins playing and just like before, Conor starts with a sigh. ¡°Now that your identity is confirmed, let¡¯s get right to the point. I guess you have better things to do than listening to a long-dead old man.¡± He chuckles darkly and continues. ¡°The reason you are here is the Worldender Ship. There is no other name more fitting. This ship was the sole reason why we all had to leave the Solar System and were never able to return for 20,000 years.¡± I signal for Maja to pause the video. ¡°Can you believe this? A single ship did all that. It ruined a whole star system.¡± I shake my head in disbelief. ¡°It¡¯s crazy,¡± Maja replies. ¡°Who would even build something like this? The scale of that weapon alone is insane. An effective area of billions of kilometers. But let¡¯s continue, maybe he can tell us more.¡± I nod and the video resumes. ¡°I can understand that the scale of this sounds unbelievable.¡± Yeah, true. ¡°But let me assure you, it¡¯s absolutely true. You¡¯ll find out soon. I don¡¯t know how much information about the war between Earth and Utopia survived over the years, so I attached some recordings and other reports about the war at the end of this video.¡± This time it¡¯s Maja who presses pause. ¡°I¡¯ve already found those things, we can watch and read them later.¡± ¡°Good, I think that''ll give us much-needed context. What he said right now is basically all I know. Thomas didn¡¯t find out more when we were kids.¡± ¡°Can you summarize real quick?¡± Maja asks. ¡°I didn¡¯t even know that Earth existed before we came here.¡± Oh, I guess I can understand why Sean and the other programmers didn¡¯t include Earth in her education. Nobody in the Estriduros Republic knows much about Earth anyway, so why should they bother? ¡°Sure, but it isn¡¯t much. Basically, Earth and the whole Solar System is humanity¡¯s birthplace. From here all the expansion across the galaxy started after they discovered magic. As not everyone could be a Mage, two movements started to form. Those who wanted to advance magic and those who wanted to advance technology to compete with the Mages. ¡°From what Thomas found out, Earth was led by Mages. I guess the leaders were the five big companies, but I¡¯m not sure¡­ It would make sense. Their counterpart was the nation of Utopia, located in neighboring star systems. There, Mages somehow lost their foothold and the anti-Mage movement started. I guess it was something like how Mages are treated in the Estriduros Republic, but I don¡¯t know for sure. ¡°Anyway, that¡¯s all the background information I know. The rest gets very vague. For whatever reason, Utopia decided to invade the Solar System and it came to a massive war. Nobody knows who won and the result was the destruction of Earth. At least that is what the history books tell us¡­ As we are standing right here on the planet, something different must have happened.¡± Maja is silent, clearly thinking about what I told her. She shakes her head. ¡°There are clearly some facts missing¡­ Maybe the files from Conor will shine a light on everything. It makes me very curious, why someone deliberately spread false information.¡± She looks at me and I nod. Time to resume watching. ¡°The reason why you are here is to prevent what happened here from happening again. The Worldender Ship is a weapon that stands above everything else. Nothing comes close to its destructive power. It entered the Solar System when the Utopians realized that they were about to lose. Then they retreated and left the ship behind. ¡°It took us a while to realize what this ship could do. But it was already too late. The ship created such a high gravitational force, that we were unable to enter it. The gravity was so high, that we couldn¡¯t even move it. It was completely anchored in space. Magical and technological means failed. Meanwhile, the ship kept powering up. Scientists estimated that it¡¯ll reach critical mass within one year. When that happens, it will explode and spill deadly radiation throughout the whole system. ¡°Without any other options, we came up with Project Exodus. The complete abandonment of the Solar System within one year. At this point, I can happily say that we made it. The evacuation is complete and I¡¯m currently recording this video message as the last thing before I leave as well. ¡°Now you are probably wondering why I did record the message and put so much effort into keeping it intact for 20,000 years instead of simply telling everyone about what I found out. I deemed the secrecy necessary, as I believe that I found a fatal flaw in the ship¡¯s design. This can¡¯t get out, or it will be fixed, and the weapon will be unstoppable again. ¡°When I analyzed it with my Space Sense, I got the feeling that in order to explode, the gravity anchor has to be turned off. That would give a Space Mage a small window to act and move the ship to deep space and jump back out before it explodes. I obviously couldn¡¯t rely on that observation. It would have been way too risky, so we continued with Project Exodus, and I kept it to myself. ¡°To observe the explosion and to hopefully confirm my observation, I left a stealth ship with our best scanners behind. I anchored it at the very edge of the system to avoid the blast. The coordinates are attached to the video. I hope the ship can confirm the flaw. We will do everything to erase the existence of the Worldender Ship from history, but a backup plan is always worth it. I just hope that a ship like this never appears again. At least not within the span of 20,000 years. Our scientists deem it too unsafe to enter the Solar System before that time has passed. That¡¯s why you are now here. Your mission is to go to the stealth ship and analyze the data. I wish you all the best of luck, Conor Valterion out.¡± Holy shit! That¡¯s big. ¡°Can you believe this? The information is more valuable than I ever could have imagined! We have to check out that ship Maja.¡± ¡°Agreed, it¡¯s very important. This could save so many lives in case a ship like the Worldender Ship ever comes back. He also said the stealth ship has the best scanners built in. Maybe it can find us a way out.¡± My eyes go wide. ¡°You¡¯re right! What are we waiting for? Let¡¯s go!¡± I stand back up and turn around to leave. ¡°We can watch the war reports while we are underway.¡± Maja holds up one hand. ¡°Wait a moment, I¡¯m getting the coordinates¡­ Huh? That¡¯s strange.¡± I turn back and raise my eyebrow. ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°The coordinates are almost where we appeared after the collapsed wormhole.¡± I take a step back. That can¡¯t be a coincidence. Wait, is that why? ¡°Could it be that the ship is gravitationally anchored there? Maybe that¡¯s what pulled us out of hyperspace!¡± Maja rubs her chin, deep in thought. ¡°That¡¯s certainly a possibility.¡± Chapter 33: Interlude 4 – The End of Earth (1) Chapter 33: Interlude 4 ¨C The End of Earth (1) Location: Solar System; Orbit of Earth; System Defense Station A muscular arm lands on Conor Valterion¡¯s shoulder after he appears on the space station in a purple flash. ¡°Long time no see Conor, how are you?¡± The deep voice belonging to the arm on his shoulder greets him. ¡°Hey Ferdinand, good to see you too.¡± Conor greets his friend Ferdinand Benson ¨C CEO of Magicon Incorporated. Together they start walking toward their meeting room, only to be interrupted by another flash of magic power. Both Archmages turn around to greet the person who just arrived. The Chinese woman heads straight for them. She radiates power despite her tiny size. Li-Ming Song, another Archmage and founder of Song Medical greets them back. ¡°Come on guys, the others are waiting.¡± Together, they arrive in the meeting room a short while later. Just like Li-Ming said, there are two people already waiting inside. The tall man to the left with dark hair and a bushy beard is Magnus Schmidt, founder and director of Armortec SE. Next to him is a young blonde woman with long hair and piercing blue eyes. Maria Axtendus, second-generation leader of the same named company. Conor and the others greet them while entering the room, then they sit down around the round table in the middle. The quintet of the five most powerful people in the Solar System is complete. Not only are all of them powerful Archmages, but they are also the leaders of the five biggest companies in the star system. While the United Nations of Earth are the official political leaders, nothing can be done without the approval of those five people. Here we go... Conor¡¯s thoughts are interrupted by Ferdinand¡¯s long sigh. ¡°You all know why I called you here for this meeting, so let¡¯s begin.¡± The table turns silent, and everyone looks at Ferdinand expectantly. Good that I¡¯m not our unofficial leader. Ferdinand continues. ¡°Utopia has finally made their final step. Two hours ago, a formal declaration of war arrived via courier ship, confirming what our spies had sent us before. As of now, we are at war! The UNE will inform the population in a few hours, but we can¡¯t waste any time. They are probably already on their way and won¡¯t waste any time. What¡¯s our status of defenses Magnus and Conor?¡± Magnus clears his throat and starts speaking. ¡°Planetary shields are all ready and on standby. The Mages powering them are on a three-shift rotation and should be ready to keep them powered indefinitely, as long as Utopia doesn¡¯t pull a new super weapon out of their hats. What our spies report on weapon capabilities is covered by our shields. I suggest evacuating our stations around Uranus and Neptune, as there isn¡¯t enough out there to warrant a complete shielding costing us thousands of Mages to power it. As for mobile defenses, I gladly refer to Conor to update you, as he is much more included in the shipbuilding business. I only supplied the weapons.¡± Ah come on Magnus, don¡¯t throw me under the bus like that. You know how I hate speaking up. Conor sits up a bit straighter. ¡°As Magnus said, our mobile defenses consist mostly of warships. I¡¯ll spare you the precise numbers, as that is the job of our Admirals. Needless to say, our preparation in the past years bore fruit and we now own the biggest system fleet the Solar System ever had. It should be more than enough to repel anything they can throw at us. Additionally, every ship is crewed with at least one Senior rank Space Mage, to enable unpredictable jumps behind enemy lines and a contingent of A&D Mages to throw out attacks and shields independently from Magnus¡¯s weapons. Same as Magnus, if there aren¡¯t any nasty surprises, we are prepared sufficiently. And even if there are, we should still come out victorious.¡± ¡°Good,¡± Ferdinand replies. ¡°Put everything on high alert, I expect them to arrive in the next few days. Let¡¯s prepare a warm welcome for them around the wormholes leading toward Utopia.¡± Maria lifts her hand and Ferdinand acknowledges her. ¡°Why don¡¯t we simply cut off the wormholes? That should stop them, right? They don¡¯t have Senior Space Mages in their slave army.¡± She¡¯s got a point there, but we can¡¯t cut off every wormhole out of the Solar System. Ferdinand is quick to reply. ¡°We could do that, yes, but that won¡¯t stop them. If we cut them off, they¡¯ll travel through other systems, endangering our neighboring systems in the process. While I am confident in stopping their forces here in the Solar System, I don¡¯t think the others around us could stop them. I can¡¯t willingly endanger those around us.¡± Conor is quick to add his own thoughts. ¡°Also, we can¡¯t simply close off every wormhole. We still rely on trade with other star systems. Our resources are way too depleted already.¡± He winks at Maria. ¡°You should know that best. Your old man complained about that all the time before retiring.¡± Chuckling, she waves the others off. ¡°True enough, I can see why we shouldn¡¯t close them off. But let¡¯s not concentrate our forces completely at the wormholes, who knows what ideas they have to throw us off.¡± There are murmurs of agreement from the others. Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. She¡¯s got a point here. Utopia has their own spies¡­ They wouldn¡¯t dare to attack if they weren¡¯t sure of their chances of success. Maybe we underestimate them? But how? We completely outclass them. Our magic is way superior compared to their advanced, but still mundane technology¡­ Ferdinand waits till everyone quiets down, then turns to Li-Ming, who has been quiet so far. ¡°Li-Ming, can we count on your company to provide medical supplies and personnel throughout the war?¡± She nods. ¡°Yes, I¡¯ve already spoken with Conor about that, and we plan to put at least one Mage who can heal on each ship that gets deployed. Additionally, our factories are working overtime to provide the necessary supplies as soon as the fighting starts. Lastly, we have a few dedicated medical ships, which can jump in and out in minutes, to take care of critical cases.¡± Ferdinand sighs in relief. ¡°That¡¯s good. If there is nothing else, I conclude our meeting. We¡¯ll meet again, once they¡¯ve arrived.¡±
Location: Solar System; VS Saoirse ¡°Mr. Valterion, your presence is required on the bridge.¡± Conor quickly puts his tablet aside after reading the urgent message that just popped up. Then he concentrates and less than a second later he finds himself on the bridge of his flagship VS Saoirse. It¡¯s named after his late mother. Saoirse Dunleavy. Dunleavy was once his own surname before he founded Valterion Heavy Industries before he changed his surname to match the company¡¯s name. Excepting the retired Carlos Axtendus, the other company leaders kept their original surnames, but for Conor and Carlos, changing just felt right back then. ¡°What¡¯s the matter, Sam?¡± Conor asks the short woman he¡¯s now standing next to. The woman doesn¡¯t flinch at all when he appears next to her, a testimony to her power, being of Grandmaster rank herself. It could also be that she is used to it, she¡¯s married to Conor after all. He bends down for a kiss, which she returns before answering. ¡°First of all, couldn¡¯t you find someone else to captain your ship? It¡¯s annoying to stay in Earth orbit in the backline. I¡¯d rather be waiting at the wormholes to blast those Utopian idiots to oblivion.¡± Conor visibly flinches. He knows that his wife loves herself some action, but there¡¯s the fact that she is no Space Mage herself ¨C not yet at least. She can¡¯t escape if things get too dangerous and he doesn¡¯t trust his wife¡¯s life to any other Space Mage besides himself. His wife owns two cores, one Utility and one A&D, both of Master rank, which makes her a Grandmaster by the definition humanity set up when they discovered magic. Conor is currently searching the galaxy for an Artifact core to enable his wife to finally join him in the Archmage rank. While he could use one of Ferdinand¡¯s artificial cores, he doesn¡¯t want to. Currently, Magicon only manages to build them up to Senior rank and artificial artifact cores don¡¯t have the ability to advance. The problem is that his wife needs three cores at Master rank so that they can merge and finally lift her to Archmage rank. Ferdinand¡¯s Senior core would enable her to use all three magic classes, but she would miss out on a lot of power that the merging brings with it. I sure hope to find that Artifact soon or she will be insufferable. Then there¡¯s still the issue of training the core up¡­ That takes even more time. Hopefully, Ferdinand finally comes up with a method to advance cores through other means besides use. He¡¯s been trying for a long time now¡­ Probably after the war. Even better would be an artificial Master core. At least we don¡¯t have to worry about dying of old age for a long time thanks to Li-Ming. Now how can I tell my wife that I just want her to be safe without telling her that? ¡°Sam, you¡¯re one of our strongest offensive Mages and I¡¯m one of the strongest Space Mages in the system. We¡¯re the backup and fast response force in case Utopia tries anything to surprise us. We both know that they probably have something planned, otherwise, they wouldn¡¯t attack.¡± She sighs. ¡°You¡¯re right¡­¡± Yes, nailed it! ¡°And I don¡¯t think we have to wait that much longer. That¡¯s the reason I called you. It¡¯s started, they are here.¡± She waves her hand and the screen in front of the two comes alive, showing two giant rings in space with an armada of starships around them. Then the rings flash and lots of ships start appearing with no sign of stopping. Conor''s eyes widen slightly. That¡¯s too many ships! ¡°How can there be so many? They shouldn¡¯t have the Space Mages to pull that off!¡± Conor is confused. Utopia did indeed manage to surprise them. He quickly focuses on one of his favorite Utility spells: Communication. Locking onto the man he wants to talk to, he triggers it, and his magic surges. ¡°Ferdinand, what¡¯s happening, how can they have so many ships?¡± His friend answers with a strained voice. ¡°I¡¯m about to find out. Give me a moment to breathe, I just jumped out there to the rings and you know how I hate teleporting.¡± Conor chuckles. After all those years, his stomach still rebels after teleporting, that never gets old. ¡°Okay, I¡¯m fine now¡­ Huh, how is this possible? They fixed it, holy shit!¡± Conor is immediately intrigued, Nothing surprises Ferdinand Benson lightly. ¡°What is it? What did they fix?¡± ¡°The wormhole, Conor! They fixed the fuckin¡¯ wormhole. It feels stable, that¡¯s how they have the throughput. They don¡¯t need any Space Mage for the passage anymore!¡± Conor¡¯s eyebrows raise to his hairline. That¡¯s huge! We have to get our hands on that technology! Ferdinand clearly has the same idea and before Conor can reply, he goes on. ¡°I¡¯m going to jump over and check out the other ring. I should be able to cloak myself sufficiently. Magnus should be fine with defending the rings, so stay back in case they have even more surprises.¡± Conor still surprised only manages to acknowledge Ferdinand. ¡°Uh, okay¡­ You do that and don¡¯t come back without the secret to stabilize wormholes. That¡¯s going to change everything!¡± Ferdinand cuts the connection and Conor refocuses on what¡¯s happening around him. The bridge is now a heap of activity, and everyone seems to be waiting for him. His wife notices that his awareness is back and turns to him. ¡°We¡¯re ready, you can jump us in immediately.¡± Conor shakes his head. ¡°No, Magnus should be doing fine out there. We¡¯re still backup in case they¡®ve got even more surprises.¡± He waves his wife to follow him and together they leave the bridge and enter the adjoining Captain¡¯s cabin. He waves his hands and throws up shields and other protective spells to ensure their privacy. Seeing this, his wife adds her own. Conor nods in satisfaction. That should make us as secure as we can be. He notices his wife scowling at him, her anger is barely contained, which she voices immediately after finishing her spells. ¡°The fuck, Conor, why the hell aren¡¯t we joining them and why do they suddenly have that many Space Mage slaves? Are they secretly breeding them?¡± Conor shakes his head again. ¡°We can¡¯t join in¡­ Imagine they secretly moved through the Alpha Centauri system or any other in the vicinity. They¡¯ll catch us with our pants down¡­ And the worst or best part ¨C I don¡¯t know how I feel about it ¨C is that they aren¡¯t using Space Mages to cross the wormholes. They somehow fucking stabilized them!¡± Now it¡¯s his wife¡¯s turn to stare. ¡°They what¡­?¡± ¡°Yeah, that was my reaction as well¡­ Ferdinand is about to jump over and check how they did it. This is going to change everything.¡± Chapter 34: Interlude 5 – The End of Earth (2) Chapter 34: Interlude 5 ¨C The End of Earth (2) Location: Solar System; VS Saoirse Looks like Magnus really has everything under control¡­ Conor and the rest of the bridge crew of the Saoirse watch the front-facing view screen with rapt interest. It shows the battle around the wormholes almost in real-time and with great resolution. The two different approaches in battle are noticeable. The Utopian forces get blown to pieces in minutes, but reinforcements appear non-stop through the wormhole so that they are always able to hold their tight formation. They throw out countless missiles, laser bolts, and railgun slugs. Most of them get either stopped by magical shields around the defending ships or in the case of the missiles, are straight up blown up by an attack spell way before they are effective. Still, the numbers are mind-blowing and not everything can be stopped. Stray missiles fly around aimlessly and explode upon contact with anything they touch. Neptune, the nearby planet was already hit by a lot of those missiles and massive plumes of gas are thrown out. The evacuated space stations around the planet have long been blown to pieces. That¡¯s the first planet lost¡­ It¡¯s not going to hold much longer. While the Utopian ships won¡¯t stop appearing through the wormhole, one fact becomes clearer and clearer: The Utopians are losing! Despite the enormous firepower they throw out, they still haven¡¯t managed to cause significant damage to the defending ships. The magical shields are still holding strong, even after hours of battle. That fact has Conor frowning. That can¡¯t be it¡­ They knew this would happen. What made them so confident to attack? Suddenly, there is a bright yellow flash, and a projectile goes right through the magical shields of one Cruiser. Seconds later the ship explodes in a giant fireball. Is that it? They have developed weapons that can punch through our shields? But they are still losing ships every minute¡­ What a waste of life. The process repeats a few times and Earth¡¯s forces are starting to fall back a bit. Utopia is gaining ground! What is Magnus doing? Why isn¡¯t he stopping them? Just when Conor is about to call Magnus, a big ship disappears in a purple flash, just to reappear above the two fleets. Blazing red lines appear above Utopia¡¯s fleet in the dozens. Seconds later, they descend and cut a tenth of the enemy¡¯s fleet in half. The yellow projectiles stop for now. Conor lets out a sigh of relief. ¡°Took him long enough. Let¡¯s hope he has more of those attacks left before he runs out of power.¡± Sam grabs his hand. ¡°Even if not, there¡¯s still us in the backline.¡± Conor smiles in agreement. An urgent call has his gaze snap back to the front. ¡°Captain, Mr. Valterion, we have incoming!¡± His wife rushes to her console, Conor isn¡¯t far behind. What he is seeing has him dumbfounded. So that¡¯s their hidden Ace! ¡°That wormhole wasn¡¯t here before!¡± Sam calls out. ¡°Did they secretly advance a Space Mage to Senior rank? How could they hide this from us?¡± Conor has no answer for that. Once Space Mages reach Senior rank, hidden sensors detect their magical power, and they are evacuated out of Utopia to prevent exactly what¡¯s happening right now. The Utopian government even signed a treaty a while back to legitimize that process. The alternative would have been Utopia¡¯s complete annihilation as no neighboring nation would have accepted the possibility of the Utopians moving through space unrestricted. No one wanted a total war back then, hence the treaty was signed. Conor isn¡¯t sure if this was the right decision¡­ Unfortunately, that was decided before his time. He would rather like to evacuate everyone and leave those Mage-hating bastards alone in their systems. While he is processing the fact that they somehow advanced a Mage to at least Senior rank and secretly placed a wormhole in the Solar System, ships start appearing and advance toward Saturn. Magnus and the main part of the fleet are still fighting around the original wormholes near Neptune. Currently, Saturn is on the other side of the Sun so there aren¡¯t so many defending ships. That¡¯s our cue. We have to jump there, otherwise, they are going to catch us from behind with our pants down. ¡°Are you ready, Sam?¡± He asks his wife and starts gathering his power. The Saoirse is a big ship and even with his power, it takes a while till he can jump with her. Sam nods and calls out to an officer to announce a combat jump in two minutes. The officer¡¯s voice rings through the overhead speakers. ¡°All crew, prepare for engagement! Combat jump in less than two minutes!¡± During those two minutes, the communications officer made a magical call with his counterpart on Magnus¡¯s flagship to announce their engagement with the enemy¡¯s sneak attack. He calls out their confirmation to Sam and she gives a thumbs-up to Conor, indicating that the Saoirse is ready. Conor gathers the last of the required power, then counts down from ten. At the end of the countdown, he triggers the spell and the massive starship vanishes from Earth¡¯s orbit. A second later it reappears a good distance before the Utopian fleet near Saturn. Their number grew considerably, and Conor and the crew are now facing almost fifty ships of various sizes. Additionally, the wormhole is spilling new ships every minute. Upon appearing, Sam immediately shows why she is the best for the command role on the Saoirse. ¡°Shields up, I want a triple layer yesterday. Ms. Jordan scan for weak points. Conor, you¡¯re on shield duty once you¡¯ve recovered.¡± She takes a deep breath after shouting the first line of commands. ¡°Mr. Wylder, fire up our guns, no limit on battery power, we need to get the first salvo out ASAP.¡± She turns to her second in command. ¡°Svenja, make sure the crew starts refilling the magic batteries immediately, then take command of our A&D Mages on attack duty.¡± Her orders are confirmed across the board and most of them are effective immediately. The shimmering translucent layer of the Saoirse¡¯s gravity shield flickers in place and is soon joined by Conor¡¯s light blue one-way magical shield. Other A&D Mages reinforce the shielding around the hull of the ship, then the last layer of shielding comes alive: good old and trusted electromagnetic shields. Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! At the same time, the first sensor readings appear on Ms. Jordan¡¯s console and are mirrored at the top right corner of Sam¡¯s bigger screen. The enemy only uses magnetic shields. Sam sends the results over to Conor, who looks at the readings and grins. Good, only magnetic shields. That makes things easier. He calls out to Mr. Wylder, not caring for formalities at the moment. ¡°Dave, we¡¯re lucky, only magnetic shields. Give me a second before firing, I can make your first salvo very effective.¡± A&D Mage Dave Wylder nods, knowing exactly what Conor is planning. They came up with that idea a few weeks back while preparing for the war. Okay, here we go. ¡°Sam, can you take over for me for a moment?¡± ¡°Sure,¡± her power flares, and another shield appears around the Saoirse. ¡°Give ''em hell, honey!¡± He cancels his shield spell and starts to form small portals around the Saoirse¡¯s guns. Meanwhile, the other A&D Mages aboard throw out their own attacking spells. But for now, they harmlessly hit the enemy¡¯s shields or obliterate their missiles. The distance between them is still too great for stronger magical attacks or other weapons of the enemy. When Conor finishes the portals around the guns, he has to act fast. He creates another set of portals inside the enemy¡¯s shields ¨C magnetic shielding doesn¡¯t block Space Magic ¨C and then mentions for Mr. Wylder to fire. He only manages to hold six portals active at a time, but the effect is devastating. The Saoirse¡¯s guns ¨C works of art, created by Armortec SE ¨C fire their magically enhanced ammunition straight into Conor¡¯s portals. Those act as miniature wormholes and immediately deliver the shots to the six enemy ships. They are caught with their pants down with shots appearing inside their shields and explode soon after. Conor and Mr. Wylder are able to repeat the process one more time and obliterate another half dozen ships. Unfortunately, it didn¡¯t do anything against the enemy¡¯s numbers, as the wormhole is still spilling new ships non-stop. We have to destroy that wormhole, otherwise, they slowly overwhelm us with their numbers¡­ Conor¡¯s thoughts are interrupted when the ships enter normal weapons range, and the battle begins in earnest. Railguns and lasers emerge from Utopia¡¯s fleet and impact the Saoirse¡¯s shields seconds later. They are holding steady, for now. Conor, who has exhausted his magic quite heavily, takes back over shield duty from his wife and she cracks her knuckles. Now it¡¯s her turn. They are going to wish to have never left Utopia. Conor flashes a grin. Power starts building inside his wife¡¯s body, then dozens of orange energy balls blink into existence before the Saoirse, then they move forward at high speed. Where they impact, shields are overloaded and disappear. The following balls crash into the defenseless ships and blow huge junks out of their hulls. Those are the lucky ones, others immediately explode. Suddenly, Ms. Jordan calls out. ¡°Captain, we¡¯ve got energy spikes. The energy signature matches the shield-piercing projectiles!¡± Sam immediately stops attacking, throws up another shield, and calls out evasive maneuvers. The Saoirse moves to the side. The gravity generators strain with the sudden movement. Yellow flashes indicate the shield-piercing projectiles and seconds later they are on their way. The dodge was effective and most of them miss the Saoirse. But still, a few of them hit their shields. Conor grits his teeth when his barrier is broken. Sam doesn¡¯t fare better and lets out a pained groan too. At least their shields were partly effective. The projectiles lost a lot of speed while piercing both of their powerful shields. They still went all the way through and punched holes in the armor plating of the ship, but that was it. The Saoirse didn¡¯t get damaged further and repair bots are already dispatched. Fuck, those things are dangerous! We can¡¯t be hit again. Sam has the same thoughts, and her expression turns grim. ¡°We need to play this tactical now¡­ Conor, can you get us inside Saturn¡¯s rings?¡± Conor nods. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m on it.¡± She flashes a grin, then plans the next steps with the crew. Meanwhile, attacks fly back and forth, and the Saoirse shakes more often than Conor likes. He gathers his power and after an agonizingly long minute, they jump right into the rings of Saturn. The floating rocks offer natural protection against the enemy''s projectiles, as they fly in a straight line. Conor sighs in relief. That¡¯s a problem that magic doesn¡¯t have. He joins his wife in throwing out attacks and slowly, but steadily they start to decimate Utopia¡¯s numbers. Unfortunately, the enemy isn¡¯t idle, and huge junks of the loose stones that make out the rings get blown to pieces. Conor grunts in frustration. Not only did we lose Neptune, but now we are also losing Saturn¡¯s rings¡­ ¡°Sam, we have to destroy the wormhole, otherwise they won¡¯t stop.¡± ¡°You¡¯re right, can you take over command? I¡¯ve got just the spell, but it takes a while to set up.¡± Conor agrees and his wife sits down and concentrates. The Saoirse and her crew meanwhile continue with their destructive work and keep on blowing the other ships up. Their cover gets thinner and thinner and finally, after almost 10 minutes Sam opens her eyes and grins. ¡°Ready!¡± Power spills out of her body and gathers before the Saoirse. Everyone¡¯s eyes besides Conor¡¯s go wide, the unleashed power is enormous, something most Mages can only dream of. The magic condenses into a thick green beam and flashes forward. It disintegrates everything it touches and continues onward. A swath of destruction is forged through the enemy¡¯s fleet. The beam continues straight through the wormhole and a flick of Sam¡¯s wrist moves the beam upwards. The ring of the wormhole is cut in two and the wormhole collapses. Sam¡¯s knees give out in exhaustion and Conor catches her with a smirk on his face. That spell always reminds me of that moon-sized space station with the planet-killing laser. Everyone cheers and as Utopia is now cut off from reinforcements, they quickly take care of the remaining fleet. Then it¡¯s done. Their first victory against Utopia. They successfully repelled the sneak attack!
Location: Solar System; Orbit of Earth; System Defense Station After weeks of almost constant fighting, the conclusion of the war is nearing. Utopia is slowly but surely losing, and they start a fighting retreat. While they caused a lot of destruction throughout the Solar System with numerous new wormholes and resulting sneak attacks, they didn¡¯t come close to Earth itself. Currently, everyone besides Magnus, who is still fighting out at the original wormholes, is sitting around the table in the same meeting room, they met in weeks earlier. Between them, floating above the table is the magical projection of a gigantic ship. It appeared a day ago between the Asteroid Belt and Jupiter. Right after Utopia started their retreat. The ship exudes such a high gravitational force that no one can get close to it and long-range scans show that something is slowly powering up. Li-Ming is the first to speak. ¡°Any progress in finding out what it does?¡± Ferdinand, who has long since returned successfully from his trip to check out the wormholes, nods with a grim expression. ¡°Yeah, and it¡¯s not good¡­ It¡¯s a weapon capable of extinguishing life in the whole Solar System. Once it¡¯s fully charged, it¡¯ll explode and release deadly radiation throughout the whole system. Our scientists guess it¡¯ll make the Solar System uninhabitable for about 20,000 years. They call it the Worldender Ship. A fitting name¡­¡± He shakes his head. The room falls silent, everyone trying to process the news. Maria asks with a shaky voice. ¡°How long do we have? And can we stop it?¡± Ferdinand shakes his head. ¡°Unfortunately not¡­ Not even Conor can get near it. The gravity is too strong, and every attack spell fizzles out. I guess it¡¯s the same technology that managed to bypass our shields. Some anti-magic tech. We haven¡¯t found out yet. As for how long? We have one year!¡± A year? Fuck! Everyone wears the same expression. Li-Ming clears her throat. ¡°Is there an alternative besides evacuating? Maybe something in your labs?¡± Conor and Maria shake their heads, while Ferdinand frowns. ¡°I might have something. One of my engineers is trying to transfer her consciousness into a robotic body, practically turning herself into an AI. But it¡¯s still early in development and I don¡¯t think it¡¯ll be ready within one year.¡± Li-Ming nods. ¡°So, evacuation it is. Let¡¯s start.¡± Over the course of the next few weeks, Project Exodus is born and immediately executed.
Location: Solar System; Earth; Chicago; Valterion planetary headquarters Conor asks himself again if keeping quiet is the right course of action. Project Exodus was a success, and he is now one of the last humans left in the Solar System. I had to keep it to myself. If news of a possible weak point had gotten out, Project Exodus would have failed and I¡¯m not even sure if there really is a weakness. He glances at his tablet. The VS Stargazer has reached her position and is now anchored and cloaked. Time to record the message for future generations, then I can leave too. Let¡¯s hope the Magicon Empire will be a success. Chapter 35: VS Stargazer Chapter 35: VS Stargazer Location: Solar System; above Earth; Small Yacht I finish watching and reading the reports Conor left for us, and all I can say is wow. The scale of everything¡­ And all that magic. There is so much I don¡¯t know. Why did I grow up in the Estriduros Republic? It feels like those two years at the academy were completely wasted. I mean what did we even learn there? You¡¯re a Mage, a piece of trash, here¡¯s a spell, deal with it. And now I see a recording from 11,000 years back, and they fling around countless spells so casually. I was right all along! Magic is so much bigger than what I¡¯ve learned back then. It¡¯s even bigger than I could have imagined. And Conor together with his wife¡­ They are so cool and so brave. Standing against a whole fleet with a single ship and winning! Also, that¡¯s two new Mage ranks I¡¯ve never heard about. Grandmaster and Archmage. That must be the pinnacle of Magic. And seeing how strong they are, I can understand why a Mage-hating nation like the Estriduros Republic doesn¡¯t want us to know about those ranks. Speaking of Mage hating. Is there a connection between Utopia and the republic? Or did the ideology simply survive over all those years? I hope it¡¯s the latter¡­ Those Utopian guys were assholes. I mean who would even try to attack Earth? Everyone originates from there, it¡¯s like deleting your history. And then the Worldender Ship¡­ That thing was a menace. I can only agree with Conor. Let¡¯s hope something like that will never reappear. Hmm, the galaxy is big, and I grew up right at the edge¡­ I wonder if it made an appearance in other places over the years. Another thing to ask when I find a way back to civilization. Speaking of a way back. Maja and I are currently on our way back to the place where we appeared after the collapsed wormhole. Why? Because Conor placed a ship there. The VS Stargazer. We both hope that the enhanced sensors of that ship can find us a way out. I gave up on finding a wormhole after Conor closed his reports with the news that they completely quarantined Earth after Project Exodus, which means that they destroyed every wormhole leading here. I think that¡¯s also the reason why everyone believes that Earth was destroyed. But hey, I¡¯m a weird Mage, having the Master ability Space Sense at the rank of Novice. And almost everything the Estriduros Republic told us about magic was false anyway. So why shouldn¡¯t I be able to jump without a wormhole when I try hard enough? Ugh, I¡¯m going insane from all that thinking about what I just watched. Luckily, I have someone to talk to. ¡°So Maja, what do you think about the information Conor included about the war?¡± Maja, sitting ceremonial at the helm, even if she doesn¡¯t need to, turns around and faces me. ¡°Can¡¯t say that I¡¯m too excited¡­ Way too many people died. But even if I can¡¯t use it, the scale of the magic was way grander than what you have shown me so far. So I guess, we have more to explore. Also, the reports got a bit thin toward the end. Just the Worldender Ship appearing and everyone leaving. I would have liked a few more details. But at least we can paint a picture with what we heard about that ship before. Let¡¯s just hope this thing never crosses our path and that Conor¡¯s observation can be confirmed.¡± She shrugs. ¡°What about you?¡± Umm yeah, I should have expected that¡­ why would she be hyped about all that magic if she can¡¯t use it? ¡°Well, for me it was mostly the magic. I mean there are even two ranks above Master that I have never heard about. And core merging for a power-up. Man that does sound awesome. I hope that one day I can get there. But yeah, you are right. War is never pretty, I hope we never have to participate in one. But with power comes responsibility and I DO want to become powerful.¡± ¡°About that,¡± Maja starts while standing up. ¡°Did you notice the distinction Conor made between capitalized Artifacts and Ferdinand¡¯s artificial artifacts?¡± We both walk back to the living room while I think about what she just said. She¡¯s right, Conor did make a difference in his wording there. ¡°Yeah, you mentioning it just reminded me. So I guess I do have an artificial Utility core now. Meaning I¡¯m stuck there, as they can¡¯t advance.¡± My mood drops. Did I make a mistake by implanting that core? My body had a negative reaction too¡­ Wait! Maja said it was like my Space core looked like it wanted to devour the Utility core. Is that the merging of cores? But that can¡¯t happen at Novice rank? What is wrong with me? Maja must have noticed my dropping mood as she puts her arm around me and gives me a side hug. ¡°Hey, what¡¯s wrong? Conor did mention that Ferdinand was looking for a way to advance cores. It¡¯s been 11,000 years. Surely, they found a way. Those Artifacts, whatever they are, do sound pretty rare. And I¡¯m sure there are still Archmages or Grandmasters today, probably in The Empire. If those things are that rare, there must be another way, or those ranks wouldn¡¯t exist anymore.¡± ¡°You¡¯re right, thank you,¡± I smile. ¡°They called it power-enhancing Artifacts back at the academy. But what if those are the artificial variants Ferdinand invented? They should work on artificial cores as well, coming from the same inventor and so¡­¡± I decide to keep my thoughts about the core merging for myself. No need to worry Maja about something she can¡¯t do anything about. This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
Location: Solar System; System Edge; Small Yacht It takes us another two weeks while conserving fuel to arrive back at the point where we appeared in the system. Luckily, they were completely uneventful, and I was finally able to relax a bit. Well, the first week was nice, then I got bored again. It¡¯s strange¡­ once I have a moment of silence, I want the action back. I guess the next few days will be pretty eventful at least. Let¡¯s just hope the ship is still where Conor said. We have to go by touch, meaning Maja or I have to do a spacewalk once we reach the provided coordinates and try to find the ship. It uses a combination of Magitech and real magical cloaks to completely disappear. ¡°Sara, we¡¯ve arrived. Do you want to go out or should I?¡± I kinda want to go, but I know I shouldn¡¯t. The spacewalker suit is gone and while I can survive out there with just my shipsuit, it¡¯s very dangerous. ¡°It¡¯s your turn, Maja. I¡¯m going to sit this one out.¡± ¡°Okay, wish me luck. I¡¯m going to discover an 11,000-year-old starship.¡± With that, Maja walks back toward the airlock and enters it. She waves, then the door closes and seconds later she is outside, only connected to the yacht with a harness around her hips and a tether. ¡°Check one, two, can you hear me, Maja?¡± I do a comms check. ¡°Loud and clear!¡± I hear her voice through the AI chip behind my ear. I wonder why¡­ Ah, right, there¡¯s no air outside for sound to travel. Okay, everything¡¯s working, now I just have to wait¡­ again. Five minutes pass and I can watch Maja floating around through the front-facing window. She¡¯s using a small booster on her back to move around. I wave her now and then, but she¡¯s too concentrated to notice. It¡¯s funny seeing her out there without any protection. Who else could do something like that? Hmm, maybe an A&D Mage with a translucent shield around themselves? I know I¡¯m impatient, but Maja must have found something now, right? I mean the ship can''t be smaller than what we have here. ¡°Have you found anything yet?¡± I ask through the microphone of my tablet. ¡°No, nothing¡­ I¡¯m starting to think, it¡¯s not there anymo¡­¡± Just when she is talking to me, she suddenly connects with something. It came completely unexpected, and she¡¯s now pressed against it like one of those comic figures when they run against a glass panel. The only thing that¡¯s missing is her sliding down slowly. I can¡¯t help it and break down in full-blown laughter. ¡°That¡¯s not funny!¡± Maja shouts in my ear, but she also does sound relieved. ¡±But I found our ship.¡± I snort. ¡°Oh, it sure is funny. You should¡¯ve seen what you looked like. But yeah, good job. Can you make it drop the cloak?¡± ¡°Let me try,¡± Maja huffs. ¡°No, I can¡¯t. It requires another proof of your identity.¡± Huh, how can I prove my identity in outer space? I can¡¯t expose my hand out there¡­ Man, Conor probably said the future Valterions should send one of their powerful people. Just have them throw up an airtight shield around the ship and they are good to go. But now there¡¯s me, probably one of the weakest Mages in existence. Well, not anymore. I guess, I¡¯m now one of a few Mages in the whole Estriduros Republic who has access to two classes of magic. Not that it helps me here, but it¡¯s still a good feeling. ¡°Got any idea how to do that? I can¡¯t go out there and press my hand against the ship.¡± Maja starts moving along the body of the ship, using her hands to orientate herself. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m looking for a hatch or an airlock. Once I find one, we can connect both ships there. Then you can stay inside while confirming your identity.¡± Brilliant, I don¡¯t know what I would do if I still only had S-57 with me. ¡°Great idea, Maja. Let me know when you find something!¡± It takes another two long hours till I hear from Maja again. Meanwhile, I¡¯ve returned to the living room and made something to eat. The Stargazer must be bigger than we expected. ¡°Okay Sara, I got it. Meet me in the airlock.¡± The airlock? Why can¡¯t she come in on her own? I shrug, it¡¯s not important, I can ask her when we¡¯re face to face again. So, I stand up and walk the short distance to our airlock. Through the window, I can see Maja already waiting inside and the outer door is wide open. Beyond that is nothing? ¡°Okay, I¡¯m here¡­ Now what? You have to close the outer door if you want to come in.¡± Maja winks at me. ¡°Come on, open it. The Stargazer is waiting.¡± ¡°Huh, we¡¯re already connected?¡± ¡°Of course, you silly. I didn¡¯t need you while docking, so I just left you with your food. Now come on.¡± Well, there¡¯s no reason not to trust her, so I just go ahead. I activate the shipsuit¡¯s helmet, just to be sure, and then press the button to open the airlock. Of course, nothing happens. The room beyond is already pressurized. It still looks weird. I can only see the stars beyond but it¡¯s clear that we are connected to the Stargazer. ¡°Okay, now I just go ahead?¡± Maja nods and I do just that. My hand connects with something solid ¨C the ship. Wow, I can¡¯t wait to get inside. As I don¡¯t want to strip off half my clothes, I decide to use the old and trusted method. Taking a deep breath, I deactivate the helmet and hold my head against the outer hull of the Stargazer. It¡¯s cold, but nothing happens. Then I can hear Maja laughing. I turn around scowling. ¡°What?¡± She takes a while to compose herself. Annoying! ¡°There¡¯s a panel to interact with. It¡¯s a bit to the right and a good bit lower than the spot you smacked your head against,¡± she points her finger in the direction, she said. ¡°Right here.¡± I grumble a bit but repeat the process. This time something is happening: A computer-generated voice starts speaking. ¡°Identity confirmed, welcome to the VS Stargazer Miss Valterion. Do you wish to dispel the cloak or only open the door?¡± Yes! Finally. ¡°I, uh¡­ dispel the stealth first please, then open the door.¡± ¡°As you wish.¡± Just as I hear the words, the view of the stars suddenly disappears. It¡¯s replaced by a smooth silver-grey hull with black and purple accents. Beautiful. I can¡¯t see much as our connector tube blocks most of the sight, but hey there¡¯s purple! ¡°Can you send out a drone, Maja? I want to see the whole ship.¡± ¡°Sure, but we should go back to the bridge, there¡¯s a bigger screen.¡± ¡°True, thank you. Lead the way.¡± When we arrive at the bridge, Maja¡¯s drone is already out there, and she even surpassed my expectations. Floating in the middle of the bridge is now a holographic projection of a sleek starship. According to the scale, it¡¯s 120 meters long and the silver-grey color of the tristanium hull dominates. But just like at the airlock there are accents of black and purple around the whole ship, which make it look really nice. The front is blazing with guns and besides the mundane railguns and lasers which are also located at key spots around the whole ship, there are also a few of the things I recognize as magical guns from the war reports. So much for that ship being just a scout. Looks like Conor didn¡¯t want to leave it here unprotected. I can¡¯t help it, but I¡¯m already in love with the Stargazer. It¡¯s perfect. And I¡¯m definitely going to keep her. I haven¡¯t thought about it for a long time, but now it comes back. My friends are going to make the perfect crew for a ship this size! ¡°Okay Maja, let¡¯s head inside!¡± Chapter 36: A New Home?! Chapter 36: A New Home?! Location: Solar System; VS Stargazer We return to the airlock, and this time there is a path that leads right through. The hatch on the other ship is wide open and excited as I am, I immediately step through. I instantly notice a difference. There¡¯s this lingering magic power in the air. It¡¯s subtle, but it does exist. Is there a magical power grid throughout the ship? Just like there was one inside of almost every house down on Earth? There¡¯s another difference, that comes to my mind. The size! I already knew that the Stargazer is bigger, but stepping inside and not being immediately in the centermost room of the ship still comes as a little surprise. Instead, I¡¯m now standing in a hallway, that goes from one side of the ship to the other, connecting the airlocks on the port and starboard side of the ship. In the middle is an intersection with another hallway, that probably goes from bow to stern. The hallway features a clean look, which reminds me of the ERS Verdinum, the first and only military ship I¡®ve traveled with so far. I snort at that thought, traveled sounds like I did it for pleasure, but it¡¯s not like I had a choice back then. Maja shoots me a questioning glance, but I shake my head. ¡°Nothing important.¡± We arrive at the intersection, and it does in fact connect bow and stern of the Stargazer, just like I thought. ¡°Can you connect to the ship?¡± I ask Maja and she shakes her head. ¡°Not from here. I think, I have to do it from the bridge, and it probably takes a wired connection for the first time.¡± Hmm, she doesn¡¯t need me for that. ¡°Okay, here¡¯s what we''re going to do: You go to the bridge and ensure a connection. Meanwhile, I¡¯m going to check out our new home.¡± ¡°Okay sounds good. Let''s meet at the bridge in hmm, two hours?¡± ¡°Yeah, should be enough time, let¡¯s go!¡± I decide to check out the back of the ship first, so the end of the tour leads me to the bridge. With that, I turn right at the intersection and walk all the way to the back. Maja turns around and goes back to the yacht. Probably to collect a UC-cable. While walking down the hallway, I notice something. There aren¡¯t that many doors and the hallway leading backwards is much wider than the others. Why? When I open a few doors, I only find empty storage rooms. Where are the crew quarters and the mess hall or something like that? I take a closer look at the label next to the door I¡¯ve just opened. It¡¯s only the third one and I¡¯m almost at the end of the hallway. 00-Storage 05. Okay, it¡¯s the fifth storage room, but the 00? Oh, I¡¯m such an idiot! I can¡¯t do anything besides facepalming. How could I forget that a ship has more than one deck? Stupid small yacht! I¡¯m so dumb. I should probably find out how many decks there are on the Stargazer. It¡¯s going to take me longer than two hours to check everything out if there are too many. I shake my head. I can check when I find a stairway or an elevator. No need to stress myself needlessly. If I take too long, who cares? Maja is only one call away. Now it¡¯s time to finish this deck. According to the double zero, it should be the bottom-most deck. I¡¯m curious about the big door at the end of the hallway, but first I have two more storage rooms to check. Unfortunately, they are just like the others: empty. With a shrug, I close the final distance to the last door before me. I place my hand on the panel next to it and with a silent hiss, the door splits in the middle and slides apart. Behind it is a big empty space and I jump in glee. We have a hangar bay! It¡¯s currently closed, but I can see the moving parts of the hull, where the bay can be opened. I look up at the ceiling. It¡¯s quite high. Now I can finally grasp the dimensions of our new ship. Our scans earlier showed the Stargazer as a ship with a length of 120 meters and a height and width of 30 meters each. Taking in the hangar bay, I guess it¡¯s as wide and high as the ship is, minus the hull, and around the same in length. That comes to a volume of around 27,000 meters cubed¡­ A quarter of the whole ship. It doesn¡¯t matter, as we currently are only two people aboard, but I now want to check the rest of the ship even more. There are only three-quarters of usable space left, and I still have to find the engines and the other things that keep the ship running. That¡¯s going to use even more space¡­ I guess, it¡¯s going to be quite cozy in here once I have her crewed. But there is one benefit, that makes the hangar bay completely worth it: We can take the yacht with us. With a length of just over 20 meters, it¡¯s going to fit in nicely. I¡¯ve got to talk to Maja when I finish my tour, she needs to concentrate now. I glance at the opposite wall. I¡¯m almost at the back of the ship, so the engines should be right behind that wall, but there is no visible door¡­ Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. I wonder how I can get there¡­ Shaking my head, I leave the hangar bay and look for a way up. No use in frantically searching for a way there now. I¡¯m going to ask Maja later, there has to be a schematic of the ship in its systems. I find an elevator right next to the intersection that leads to the two airlocks. Before using it, I check out the hallway leading to the front, only to find more storage rooms. A bit disappointed, I return to the elevator. Pressing the button to call it down, I wait. With a chime, it arrives seconds later. Huh, it¡¯s a fast one. Inside there are buttons for six decks. They go from 00 up to 04. Interestingly, there is also a floor called -01, meaning there is one floor below me. That¡¯s probably the way to the engines! It kinda does make sense¡­ the hangar is a weak point and who wants direct access to a key part of a ship right next to a weak point? Excited, I press the -01 button, only to be disappointed as a red access denied flashes into existence. Ugh, I guess Maja has to document me as the captain of the ship first or something¡­ Well, this means I get to see the rest of the ship first. After pressing the button for deck 01, the door closes, and I move upwards. Seconds later, there is a soft ding, and the door starts to open again. I immediately notice a stark difference. Gone are the clean-looking walls and floors, they make way for a way more livable atmosphere. That looks promising. The floor features a dark blue carpet, and the walls are covered with wallpapers, that show different landscapes along the hallway. Was that how Earth looked like before? Deserts, lush forests, gigantic cities, and even snowy glaciers. Everything is there. It must have been beautiful! This has to be the deck where the crew can live! Toward the front, I immediately notice way more doors than on the floor below. Are those our cabins? I count 20 doors in total, ten on each side. It would be fitting¡­ 20 or 40 crew members for a ship this size, depending if they are shared or single quarters. I decide to check out a few and open the first door. The room beyond is a bit bigger than I thought. Opposite the door, there are two desks. Between them there even is a window, showing the stars outside. That¡¯s a nice addition! Left and right of the desks is a bed each. So it¡¯s built for two people living there. Good to know. The room is finished with two closets. It¡¯s not much, but it covers everything one may need. The only thing missing are the bathrooms. I find them behind the fifth door on each side. There we go. Showers, toilets, and even a hot tub and a sauna. I smile. It¡¯s those small luxuries that make a difference. I mean what other ship that rivals a warship in weapon capabilities in the Estriduros Republic has a hot tub and a sauna? The cabins continue looking the same and I quickly skip them till I arrive at the last doors on either side. I¡¯m now almost at the front of the ship and immediately notice a second elevator. The label above it reads Bridge. Nice! A direct access elevator. But why? It¡¯s not that far from the other elevator¡­ Captain¡¯s quarters are right next to the bridge normally, so which crew member would need such fast bridge access? Or maybe¡­ I rush to the door to my left and open it. The room is different! It¡¯s bigger, there is only a single bed and a second door to the right leads to a private bathroom. The captain¡¯s cabin is down here too! I throw myself at the bed, testing the soft mattress. My room! Our new home. I¡¯m keeping this ship no matter what. The opposite room is the same, probably for the second in command. Maybe for Thomas? I mean Maja doesn¡¯t need it, I think. I leave the room and am back in the hallway. Crew cabins check, now onwards toward the back! There I find a nice big kitchen with an adjoining dining room. The other side of the ship features a big living room, where the crew can relax with plush sofas, tables, and big screens to play games or watch TV. That concludes my trip through deck 01. It¡¯s a big W compared to the empty storage deck below. Deck 02 is just as exciting but also disappointing at the same time. It¡¯s more like a work deck. There is a lab, but the equipment inside has seen better days¡­ Another room is labeled gym, but it¡¯s empty. A small server room is stuffed with servers, but they too look quite old, and the number is too small to account for a whole starship. It¡¯s probably used for the work done on the deck here. The other rooms are currently all empty, meaning I can set them up as I need them. A nice addition is a small running track, that goes around the whole deck. Deck 03 continues the work vibe from deck 02 and even features a large 3D printer in a room near the hangar bay in the back. I notice that the wall can open up, providing direct access to the hangar bay. Neat! Other than that, there are a lot of empty rooms too and the front third of the ship is walled off with a secure-looking sliding door at the center. That¡¯s the bridge! I ignore it for now, as I have one more deck left to check out before I meet with Maja. Deck 04, the one at the top. When the elevator door opens, I immediately notice the different atmosphere. There is much more magical power in the air! It doesn¡¯t take long till I find out why. Behind a thick glass door, there is a big ass glowing crystal that reminds me of the Mage testing orb. It radiates magic at a scale I almost can¡¯t comprehend. Is that the magical battery? It has to be, lines are running from there which disappear into the ship, probably forming the magical power grid. The power concentrated here is insane. I wonder if that is on every ship or just the Stargazer because she has to run for so long. A room further back features another crystal of the same size, but it feels like it¡¯s empty. That reinforces my theory of a stocked-up Stargazer. Two crystals, one for 10,000 years each. The scale is still amazing. I mean the ship was cloaked the whole time and the cloak has to be magical, right? All in all, deck 04 is smaller than the other decks due to the curve of the ship. There is another server room. This one is way bigger. These should be the servers used for the ship¡¯s operating system. Other than that, that¡¯s pretty much it. Now it¡¯s time to check out the last and probably most exciting room here on the Stargazer. The bridge. Time to check if Maja was able to connect to the ship¡¯s computers! Chapter 37: Engine Enhancement Chapter 37: Engine Enhancement Location: Solar System; VS Stargazer The walk to the bridge is short, and the sliding doors open once I come near them. Inside Maja is waiting for me and waves once I enter the bridge. ¡°Hey Sara, it worked, I was able to connect to the computers and am now practically running the ship, just like our yacht.¡± I return the wave. ¡°Nice, have you noticed the hangar bay?¡± I ask in anticipation. ¡°We can keep the yacht!¡± ¡°Yeah, I did, and I''ve already moved her inside while you were checking the cabins, now check this out.¡± She points to the centermost console with a fancy seat behind it. I guess, that¡¯s the Captain¡¯s station. The screen shows a ship, that I immediately recognize: the Worldender Ship. A recording starts playing and Maja continues. ¡°Conor was right! Gravity gets turned off right before the explosion. There¡¯s a five-minute window. See here, the gravity field is colored red for better visibility.¡± The recording continues at an accelerated speed and just like she said, the red gravity field switches off before the explosion occurs. ¡°Nice, now we only have to bring the data back to the other Valterions.¡± The question is how do we get there? We have already confirmed that every wormhole leading out of the system was destroyed with Project Exodus. ¡°About that,¡± Maja starts, and I immediately focus back on her. ¡°There might be a way, I think, but we¡¯re going to need a shit-ton of magic.¡± I clear my throat at her swearing, and she cringes. ¡°Sorry, but it¡¯s true. We do need a lot of magic, way more than you can provide. And I¡¯m not even sure if it will work. We also need to check out the engines if they are up for the task.¡± Interesting, I wonder what¡¯s her idea. ¡°I think we got the magic covered. I found a big-ass magic battery up on deck 04,¡± I wink at her. ¡°If I can access that power, we have more than enough. The second crystal powered the ship¡¯s stealth field for the past 10,000 years¡­ Oh, speaking of stealth, did you find out how that works?¡± Maja waves her hand, and a schematic of the Stargazer appears on the screen. It shows a field around the ship. The stealth field? ¡°Yeah, I found something. It¡¯s a combination of two things actually. There are Magitech emitters around the hull of the ship, but they must be powered by a cloaking spell. It¡¯s a Utility spell, so you should be able to cast it. Oh, and before I forget, Conor included a few spell explanations in the computer systems in case the way Mage ships are controlled changed over the years.¡± Mage ship? Sounds amazing, but who cares? Did I just hear spells? I make a gimme gesture at Maja. ¡°I need those spells!¡± Training my Utility core during the past two weeks of travel bore fruit and I¡¯m now able to constantly hold the connection between my two cores if I want to. It almost feels like my magic is helping me do it, but I can¡¯t be sure¡­ It would make sense, but who knows? At least I should be able to cast a Utility spell now, I think. Something that I couldn¡¯t imagine doing when I first got my core. Using it was so hard back then¡­ Maja grins. ¡°Here you go.¡± A screen on the wall lights up with a list of what I recognize as spell names. The first one I¡¯ve already heard about: Cloaking. The second Is way more interesting and I take in a sharp breath. Engine Enhancement! Does that mean I can make our engines stronger? ¡°We have to check out the engine room, Maja. With that spell I can make them better,¡± I call out excitedly. ¡°Oh, and the next one is pretty much obsolete, as I have you.¡± I chuckle, Remote Control was probably a very nice spell back then. I can imagine the Captain chilling in his bath, while magically controlling the ship. But I have no intention of controlling the Stargazer. Maja is a way better pilot. Unfortunately, that¡¯s it. Conor didn¡¯t include more spells. I can see why¡­ Those are spells, specifically designed and used by the ships of Conor¡¯s time. The Valterions intended to come here would obviously already know about all the other Utility spells. Ugh, it¡¯s frustrating¡­ I don¡¯t want to wait any longer. Just give me Telekinesis! Dang it. At least I can learn those three spells. Maja must have seen me lost in my thoughts, as she waited until I was back. ¡°How about we take a tablet and check out the engines? You can learn the spell down there. How fast can you do that anyway?¡± I can only shrug in response. ¡°I have no clue how long it will take. I was able to learn the wormhole spell pretty quickly, so I guess not too long? Might be even faster, who knows. Maybe Conor¡¯s spell explanations are superior. But yeah, let¡¯s go down there. Oh, we need authorization to reach deck -01, can you take care of that?¡± ¡°Oh, yeah, I almost forgot, come here.¡± She beckons me over and points at the Captain''s console. ¡°Place your hand here, it¡¯ll take your blood to confirm you as Captain.¡± Okay, I can do that. Placing my hand on the indicated spot, I wait. There is a short pick at my index finger, and then the screen comes alive with a different picture. First, there is the big V of the Valterion logo, and then text appears. ¡®Identity locked in. VS Stargazer awaits your orders!¡¯ Huh? ¡°That wasn¡¯t you, right? Is there another AI at work already?¡± Maja shakes her head. ¡°No, it¡¯s not an AI, it¡¯s just a preprogrammed response from the computer. But you are now officially the Captain of the ship. Congratulations!¡± I beam at her. My own ship! Our home. ¡°Let¡¯s head down.¡± The trip down is quick, and before long we stand before another thick vault door down on deck -01. Behind the door is the heart of the ship. The engines! I can¡¯t wait to see them, to enhance them! It¡¯s going to be amazing. You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. With a clock, the vault door slowly opens, and I hold my breath¡­ Well, it¡¯s a bit disappointing, I certainly imagined it would look fancier than this. Behind the door are two big cylindrical objects that almost reach the roof ¨C the fusion reactors! But that¡¯s it pretty much. They are silently humming, indicating that they are both running. Of course, there are other things like tubes, cables, and weird devices in there, but first I don¡¯t know what they do as I¡¯m no engineer, and second, why should I care? I mean it¡¯s working, right? ¡°Hmm, why did we head down here again?¡± Maja asks with a smirk. "Ah come on, you wanted to see it too. How could I know this would look so boring? Anyway, let me try the enhancement spell, then we can look for a way home.¡± ¡°I already have an idea, but it depends on that spell, so no pressure, right.¡± Ugh, that grin again. Can you just stop? I grab a chair that I find next to a wall and sit down with my tablet on my lap. Taking a deep breath, I open the spell explanation for the Engine Enhancement spell. While reading it, I notice a difference. That spell is designed with a magic battery in mind! Reading further, I can understand why. It takes a lot of power. After reading the remaining part, I scratch the back of my head. Am I misunderstanding something? It sounds so easy¡­ I just have to form that simple spell, which is way easier than Wormhole Navigation, then touch the engine and a magical conduit that connects to the battery, and push and pull at the same time. ¡°Okay, I¡¯m just going to try¡­ You better step away from the engines.¡± First, I locate a magical conduit line. I nod in acknowledgment when I find it. There is one right next to each engine. Convenient! Next, I try to pull at the conduit, and nothing happens. I shrug, having expected the outcome. Space magic is special. I move my power through my Utility core first and try again. This time magic immediately comes rushing toward me and I stop. Success! ¡°Did it work?¡± Maja asks and I nod slightly. ¡°The first part, yes. Now I¡¯m going to try the actual spell.¡± Time to put my concentration to the test. I focus inward and form the connection between my cores. It feels so easy now. I¡¯ve mentioned it before, but it¡¯s still fascinating. Just focusing my intent on a connection it¡¯s like it just snaps into place. My Utility core powers up and slowly fills with magical power. I''ve noticed that earlier. The difference in power between my cores makes it very slow. I think the normal thing would be to have the constellation the other way around: Your stronger natural core fills the weaker artificial one, but hey I have to deal with what I¡¯m given. Anyway, being slower isn¡¯t necessarily bad¡­ I mean Utility isn¡¯t for attacking or defending, so who cares if it takes longer? It also brings the advantage of having more time to think while the core powers up. For example, thinking about my next step. This is the hard part. Now that my core is powered, it¡¯s time to form the spell. I move my concentration away from my cores, relying on the magical connection between them, and start focusing on building up the actual Engine Enhancement spell. First, everything is going well, but when I have about a quarter done, the connection between my cores shatters and everything falls apart. Dang it! It¡¯s harder than I thought. Stupid extra step I have to do by connecting the cores. I can¡¯t wait for them to merge, being an Archmage sounds so cool. I don¡¯t let the failure stop me and immediately try again. This time, I get a bit further, but still, everything falls apart again. I try again and again. Meanwhile, Maja left, she said it¡¯s boring and I can find her on the bridge if I need her. After ten fails, I have had enough and angrily throw the tablet in a corner of the room. Then I stand up and pace back and forth. What am I doing wrong? Am I too slow? But that can¡¯t be it¡­ I mean it¡¯s an easy spell and if that is too slow how would I be able to cast something more complex? Or does it just require more training? Dang it¡­ Why am I here alone? I need a flippin¡¯ teacher right here, right now! Conor and his wife made everything look so easy. I almost scream in frustration when my next try fails again. I must be doing something wrong. What can I do differently? I wish I could just build the whole spell without worrying about the connection between my cores. I¡¯m not even halfway there at the moment. Maybe If I know how the complete spell settles in, I will be faster and able to concentrate better? Wait, what stops me from just building the spell without connecting the cores? I mean the magic comes after the spell is built, so I should be able to just practice like that. Then when I¡¯m fast enough, the normal way should work. It¡¯s worth a try¡­ Better than another failure. Okay, let¡¯s do this. I start focusing and building the spell. Without splitting my concentration, it¡¯s much easier and after just a few seconds I¡¯m done. Then something strange happens. The spell just sets into place, just like when my AI sets in the coordinates for Personal Teleportation. Is that it? Oh my god. I stop focusing and the spell stays in place! Nothing falls apart. Everything seems stable. Excited, I focus again and form the connection between my cores. The Utility core starts charging and to my excitement, the spell is still looking stable. I carefully feed the magic to the spell, and it drinks the magic greedily. Ugh, that¡¯s why the spell needs an external power source. It needs a lot of power. With a mental nudge, I cut the flow of magic and force the spell to dissipate. Then I walk back to the engine and the magic conduit next to it. Time for the real test! I start the process anew and build the spell. It sets into place again and I grin. I finally found a way of using Utility magic. Next, I connect my cores and then, I start pulling magic through the conduit. The power reaches me, and I feed it into the spell. It again sucks the power in greedily. Now onto the last step! I focus again and push the whole spell outside. The drain on my own magic lessens considerably, the spell is now almost fully sustained by the battery. With an effort of will I finally push the spell toward the engine. Like a flipped switch, the drain on my power disappears completely and the spell vanishes into the engine. Then the humming increases slightly and green lines of power flash into existence on the surface of the engine. It worked! I dance in jubilation when I suddenly hear a crackling in my ear. The next thing I hear is Maja¡¯s concerned voice. ¡°Are you okay, Sara? There was a power spike, did something go wrong? Wait, no it isn¡¯t a power spike. It¡¯s stable. Did you figure it out?¡± I quickly run to where I''ve thrown the tablet and open a connection to Maja via the ship¡¯s wireless connection. ¡°Yes, I got it! I tried using the spell in the wrong order before, but now everything works. I just enhanced one of the two engines. I¡¯ll just cancel it again, then I go back up to the bridge. It¡¯s time you tell me your plan of getting away from here!¡± ¡°Very nice! Yeah, I¡¯ll be waiting up here. I really think it will work. Now that your spell is running, one major hurdle is already overcome.¡± Chapter 38: Return Chapter 38: Return Location: Solar System; VS Stargazer ¡°Good, you¡¯re here,¡± Maja greets me when I enter the bridge. She points to the Captain¡¯s console in the center. ¡°You can sit down there, it¡¯s going to take a bit of explanation.¡± I nod and comply. After sitting down, I raise an eyebrow. ¡°Now what¡¯s the great plan? I know there are no wormholes, so how can you have a plan for leaving? Not that I''m complaining, I want to leave too¡­ I''m just curious. Is this ship even more awesome and can conjure its own wormhole or what?¡± Maja chuckles but shakes her head. ¡°Hah, if it were that easy, we would already be gone from here. No, unfortunately, we can¡¯t conjure a wormhole at will. I don¡¯t even know if that is possible¡­ What we are going to do is similar, but still way different. Let me show you.¡± The screen before me activates and shows the space around us. A spot is highlighted in purple. ¡°This is where we appeared in the system. Luckily, we have one advantage here on the Stargazer: her sensors. With them, I was able to detect the exact point where we emerged from hyperspace.¡± I interrupt her after hearing this. ¡°Wait, how could you detect this? I know the sensors are good, that is the sole purpose of the ship, but it¡¯s been about two months?¡± She shrugs. ¡°I don¡¯t know for certain, but at a guess, that is where magic comes into play. Our sensors detected a faint magical signature originating from the spot next to us that is marked on your screen. Us emerging here must have released a massive amount of energy and magic if it¡¯s still lingering.¡± The screen changes, now showing the Stargazer next to the purple spot. It¡¯s very close when I look at it. We were lucky, that we didn¡¯t crash into the ship when we traveled to Earth! The Stargazer is surrounded by a white field. What¡¯s that, the stealth? But why would it be important? ¡°By the way, I could confirm your theory.¡± What theory? What have I said concerning what she is showing me right now? I look at the ship and the surrounding field again. It clicks in my mind. It¡¯s the gravitational anchor! ¡°Ohhh.¡± That¡¯s all I say. ¡°Yes, from what I can see in the sensor readings, the strong gravity field around the Stargazer did pull our yacht out of hyperspace. It¡¯s also what kept us from colliding with the ship when we started flying. I didn¡¯t mention it before, but your starting route made a curve, and I was always wondering why¡­ Now I know.¡± Right, I started the trip toward Earth with S-57. But the other thing is huge. Who knows what would have happened if the ship''s gravity field hadn¡¯t pulled us out? Conor saved us, even if it wasn¡¯t his intention when he placed the ship here all those years ago. ¡°If the field repelled us from colliding with the ship, how were we able to come close to it this time?¡± That thought came out of nowhere, but it¡¯s a valid question, so I ask it. ¡°Conor left Valterion codes with the message down on Earth. I sent them out when we neared the ship and the repelling function let us through.¡± Neat, I¡¯m starting to idolize Conor. He was everything I want to be¡­ A strong Mage, rich and successful. ¡°Okay, that¡¯s nice and all, but how does that help us?¡± Maja chuckles. ¡°It doesn¡¯t, it was just fitting to mention it now, sorry for that.¡± I can¡¯t stop myself from laughing. ¡°Don¡¯t be, if there is one thing we have, it¡¯s time. Even if I¡¯m impatient.¡± She joins my laughter. ¡°You, impatient? Never!¡± ¡°Oh wow, stop it. It¡¯s not that bad!¡± I shake my head in embarrassment. ¡°If you say so¡­¡± She rolls her eyes. Rude! ¡°Anyway, we got off track.¡± The screen focuses on the purple spot again and zooms in. It now looks like a purple rift in space with something going through. ¡°Before you get excited, there is no actual rift out there¡­ It¡¯s just the best illustration I came up with.¡± She tilts her head and shrugs. ¡°What is there, is a trace of magic that leads somewhere. Our sensors can only detect the beginning of that trace, but I¡¯m 99% sure, that it¡¯s because the magic enters hyperspace beyond the point where we emerged from.¡± My eyes go wide. If that trace goes all the way back, we have something to navigate along! But we still have to enter hyperspace somehow. ¡°That¡¯s great, will you be able to follow that trace? And if you are showing this to me you must have a plan to enter hyperspace. How?¡± ¡°Yeah, I will be able to follow it with the help of our sensors. That¡¯s our route home. No, not home, I don¡¯t want to call that place home¡­ Our route to the start of our trip to The Empire.¡± She seems to test the words on her tongue, then smiles in satisfaction. ¡°Yeah, better!¡± The screen changes again, and I¡¯m now looking at a picture of myself. What? Maja laughs. ¡°You should¡¯ve seen your face. But yeah, our way into hyperspace is you!¡± ¡°Me?¡± That¡¯s ridiculous! ¡°You do know that I¡¯m only a Novice in Space magic, right? There is no way that I can pull the whole ship into hyperspace. Teleporting ships without wormholes is for Senior Mages and above. I can¡¯t even teleport with your body!¡± Desperation settles in, if that¡¯s her great plan, then we are screwed. Did she forget that I¡¯m so weak? No, that can¡¯t be it¡­ There¡¯s no way that she forgets something like this. Hell, I don¡¯t know if she is even able to forget something. But then, what is it? What am I not seeing? Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. A comforting hand lands on my shoulder. ¡°Chill, let me explain. I¡¯m very confident that I have found a way to circumvent the issue.¡± Her action calms me down a bit and I sigh deeply. ¡°Okay, go ahead¡­¡± She takes a deep breath she doesn¡¯t need, and the screen changes again, hopefully for the last time. I know it¡¯s nice to visualize things, but using simple screens seems so backward. I want my holograms back! I can now see the Stargazer cut in half along the length so that we can see the inside. I struggle for a moment to remember the correct word. Cross section! There we go. There are several things highlighted throughout the ship. The first thing is obvious. It¡¯s the bridge. That¡¯s where we will be during the travel. The second thing isn¡¯t surprising either: the engine room. Maja already told me the Engine Enhancement spell is crucial, so yeah, I expected it. The last thing is the magical battery on deck 04, it¡¯s a bit surprising. How does it fit in? I know it feeds the engines after they are enhanced, but that doesn¡¯t warrant a distinct mention of the battery¡­ I look at her expectantly and she starts. ¡°Okay, now that I¡¯ve kept you long enough in suspense, here we go. First, the bridge. As you can guess, this is where we will be, but that¡¯s not all.¡± She points at a magical conduit line in the corner of the bridge. ¡°You¡¯ll be standing over there so that you can pull the magic from the battery. We will use this to overcharge your Wormhole Navigation spell and form a very strong space bubble around the ship. ¡°Together with our engines, which will be overcharged by an overpowered Engine Enhancement spell, I¡¯m positive that this will allow us to slip into hyperspace and follow the magical trace back to the Estriduros Republic. That¡¯s it. What do you think?¡± ¡°Uhh, it doesn¡¯t sound that complicated actually¡­ When can we start? I mean we just have to try, there are no other options.¡± Maja nods. ¡°True, but I¡¯m very confident in our success. As for when we can start¡­ If you want right now, but it would be easier if you learned the Remote Control spell first.¡± I frown at that. The spell looks way more complex than Engine Enhancement and I¡¯m not sure I can learn it that fast. From the looks of it, it¡¯s more of a spell you would learn in weeks. ¡°Is it necessary? I don¡¯t think I can learn it that fast.¡± No, it¡¯s not,¡± she shakes her head. ¡°Without it, we have to be faster, and I can¡¯t be with you on the bridge the whole time. Also, you¡¯ll have to run a lot.¡± ¡°Huh, why¡¯s that?¡± Maja points at the engines. ¡°What we are going to do with the engines will put a lot of stress on them and we can only push them till we reach hyperspace, otherwise we run into danger of losing them.¡± That makes sense. The engines of the yacht too were very stressed after the failed wormhole and that was without an enhancement spell. ¡°I understand, so how do we avoid that?¡± ¡°That¡¯s where your running comes in. You¡¯ll start in the engine room and dial the spell to eleven, then you run like hell toward the bridge and throw up the wormhole spell. Meanwhile, I will be up on deck 04, ready to cut the connection to the engine room once we reach hyperspace.¡± Ugh, what one missing spell can change. But I¡¯ll manage. ¡°I can do that. Can we start? I don¡¯t want to wait any longer.¡± ¡°Yeah, we can start right now if you want.¡± I nod. ¡°Perfect, I¡¯ll call when I¡¯m ready.¡± Arriving in the engine room I take a deep breath. I can¡¯t mess up now. Everything depends on me. I signal my readiness to Maja, and she gives me green light. Deep in concentration, I form the Engine Enhancement spell and it clicks into place just like before. Connecting my cores, I wait for the Utility one to be powered, then I throw the spell out and pull hard on the magical battery. The magic comes rushing toward me and with a lot of concentration, I throw everything into the spell and the first engine. The green lines appear, this time way brighter than before. ¡°That¡¯s it! Now quick the second one. We¡¯re on the clock now.¡± I don¡¯t let Maja¡¯s words distract me, as I¡¯m already forming the spell again. I repeat the process and before long both engines are glowing in a very bright green. Then I start running. The elevator door is already closing when I arrive at it, and I quickly jump through the gap. The doors finish closing and up I go. Arriving at deck 03, I leave the elevator and enter the bridge. I stand next to the magical conduit and activate my magnetic shoes. ¡°I¡¯m ready, Maja.¡± After my words gravity turns off and I begin pulling magic from the battery again. I know I could¡¯ve simply teleported and foregone the running part, but we haven¡¯t tried to see if it still works, or if there are some issues due to our separation. There were just too many things happening¡­ And we can¡¯t do something untested right now, this is too important. So yeah, I crossed the ship in the old-fashioned way. Also, I need all the magic I can spare right now. The magic arrives and I slam it into the wormhole spell. The space bubble arrives in an instant around the Stargazer. With all the excess power, I manage to form it to perfectly fit the ship¡¯s form and then I pour even more power into the spell to make the bubble thicker. After a minute, it must have been enough, as Maja suddenly cautions me to hold onto something. Seconds later, the Stargazer shoots forward with breakneck acceleration. The next thing I know is my Space Sense kicking in and I¡¯m completely flabbergasted by what I¡¯m seeing. Right at the location we appeared at months earlier, space seems somehow weaker. I don¡¯t know how to describe it. It just feels this way. If there is one place where we will be able to enter successfully, it¡¯s there and to my horror, our current course doesn¡¯t take us through the weak spot. Panicky, I call out to Maja. ¡°We need to turn right a bit!¡± Luckily, she immediately follows my order and slowly turns the ship to the right until I tell her to stop. We are now on the right course and about to reach the weak spot. When we reach it, I can feel the resistance and I immediately throw even more magic at the problem. My perception of time stretches, and my Space core starts feeling strained. Then suddenly reality seems to shatter, and we cross into hyperspace. Maja warns me that she is about to cut the battery from the power grid, and I prepare as well as I can. Even with the warning I struggle to hold the spell together when the external magic power cuts off. The bubble gets thinner and thinner, and I manage to hold onto the last bit. It¡¯s stabilized. I let out a breath, I didn¡¯t know I¡¯d been holding. My part is done now. I just have to hold on. Just when I think that, Maja starts taking action and I feel my magic moving at her command. She is following the magical track to our destination! Five minutes later, the bridge doors open, and Maja walks in with a concentrated expression. ¡°How are you holding on?¡± She asks and I shrug. ¡°I¡¯m a bit exhausted, but I¡¯ll manage. You¡¯ve got everything under control?¡± ¡°Yeah, our sensors are something else. I have a clear route right before me. As you can probably sense yourself, the route is actually pretty much a straight line.¡± ¡°Oh yes,¡± I nod. ¡°I was wondering why you have to intervene so little.¡± Maja¡¯s happy voice shakes me out of my thoughts. It¡¯s been hours and I can feel my magic is close to running out. ¡°Sara, we¡¯ve made it! We¡¯re back! We just have to exit hyperspace and we¡¯re back in the Olovis System.¡± ¡°Nice, can I activate the gravity anchor?¡± ¡°Sure, be my guest.¡± With lots of concentration, I keep the Space bubble active and walk over to the Captain¡¯s console. Maja has the activation button displayed on the tablet and with a smile, I touch it. Gravity kicks in like a truck and the Space bubble immediately shatters. But that¡¯s not all. The gravitational anchor, which pulled our small yacht out of hyperspace before, activates and with a massive purple flash, we reappear in real space. Back in the Estriduros Republic! Chapter 39: Being Back Chapter 39: Being Back Location: Estriduros Republic; Olovis System; VS Stargazer With a massive purple flash, we reappear in real space. Back in the Estriduros Republic. Back in the Olovis System. Back where the wormhole collapsed after I saved myself from the pirate ship. We did it. WE FLIPPIN¡¯ DID IT! My exhaustion completely forgotten, I jump toward Maja and give her a massive hug. ¡°Thank you, Maja! Truly thank you. Without you, I would have been stranded in the Solar System.¡± Maja returns the hug. ¡°You¡¯re welcome, Sara. That¡¯s what friends are for.¡± After the excitement of being back, relief settles in, and I start to calm down a bit. A bone-deep exhaustion comes with a vengeance. I used way too much magic in the past hours, but I know we can¡¯t stop right now. ¡°Did anyone notice our arrival? Err, scratch that. How many ships and sensors noticed our arrival?¡± The flash of our arrival was truly massive, and everyone has to be blind to miss it. Maja winces. ¡°A lot¡­ The wormhole next to us is busy. I blocked all incoming communications from the freighters there, as it¡¯s the norm for military ships. It might satisfy them, but I don¡¯t think we should stay here and test it. As for Star Force ships? There we are in luck. There aren¡¯t any in the vicinity, and the closest ones are far enough away, that they shouldn¡¯t detect the flash for another minute.¡± That¡¯s actually a very good outcome I have to say. Luckily the military blockade around the wormhole is gone. That would have been very bad. ¡°I agree with leaving, but we can¡¯t use the wormhole right here. It¡¯s too busy and we are sitting ducks in the queue. Can you fly us over to the next wormhole? I don¡¯t care where it leads to¡­ Just get us out of here. Let¡¯s just hope there isn¡¯t a Senior Space Mage close by. But even if there is, the Stargazer is quite stealthy, even without the spell, right?¡± Before Maja replies, I feel the gravity anchor disappearing and the engines spinning up again. ¡°I¡¯ve set a course. We will take a wide flight around the edge of the system for the next eight hours, then we''ll reach the next wormhole. And yeah, the ship was built for stealth, so we should be good. If they don¡¯t know exactly where to look, they won¡¯t find us.¡± ¡°Good, can you keep watch? I think I need some rest. That took a lot out of me.¡± I receive a thumbs-up. ¡°Sure, see you later. I¡¯ll call if something comes up.¡± I wave her goodbye and take the bridge lift, that leads right to the door of my room down on deck 01. There I don¡¯t even bother to shed my clothes and simply fall onto my bed. I think I¡¯m asleep before touching the pillow. Something shakes me and I wake up with a cry. ¡°Ahhhhh!¡± Maja quickly removes her hand from my shoulder after she shook me awake. ¡°Sorry, but you didn¡¯t react to my calls, so I came down here to check on you.¡± I wipe the sleep out of my eyes and sit up. ¡°Naaah, it¡¯s all good. What¡¯s up?¡± "We are close to the next wormhole, so I need you to jump once you¡¯re ready. And don¡¯t take too long, Star Force is currently looking for us from what I can detect on our scanners. Our sudden appearance has them on edge.¡± A yawn and a stretch later, I¡¯m finally awake enough. ¡°That¡¯s concerning. Have they found us yet?¡± She shakes her head. ¡°No, not yet, but if they aren¡¯t incompetent, they should find us in the next hour.¡± Hmm, one can never count on incompetence. I look down on myself¡­ A shower can wait. ¡°Okay, it¡¯s better we do the jump right away. Lead the way.¡± We both walk out of the room and take the elevator back up. After arriving on the bridge, I sit down in the Captain¡¯s chair and look out of the front-facing window. What greets me is the view of a wormhole a few hundred kilometers away. There is a short line of two freighters waiting before it, but those are the only ships in sight. ¡°What are they waiting for?¡± I ask with a questioning look on my face. ¡°Dunno, but I guess we can ask them? I mean for them we probably look like a mercenary ship or something. There is no reason for them to report us to Star Force.¡± ¡°You¡¯re right, and even if they do try and report us we can simply overtake them and disappear through the wormhole. Can you hail them?¡± If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. Instead of answering, Maja just nods and the screen of my console changes to show me the status of the outgoing call. Ahh, that was too fast! I don¡¯t even know what to say. Please don¡¯t accept right away. The edges of the screen flash green and a deep male voice echoes through the speakers. Dang it! I''ll have to make something up on the fly. I hope he buys it. I shoot a scowl at Maja who sits there with a smirk. ¡°This is Captain Soler from the Esmeralda. Who am I talking to?¡± Okay now. You can do it, Sara. I take a deep breath. ¡°This is Ensign Thomasson from the Stargazer.¡± I decide to leave the VS out of our ship name as I don¡¯t want to be identified as Valterion right now, even if nobody knows of the Valterions here anyway. ¡°We were wondering why you are waiting before the wormhole.¡± Captain Soler starts to laugh. ¡°Let me guess, you are not from here, right?¡± I mumble my agreement and he continues. ¡°You see, we don¡¯t have a Space Mage on the Esmeralda, so we and the Frituna are currently waiting for the shuttle service.¡± Huh, shuttle service? What¡¯s that? I shoot a questioning glance at Maja, but she just shrugs. Right, we can find out later what that means. ¡°Okay, thanks for the information. May we fly ahead of you and use the wormhole while you wait?¡± ¡°Sure, go ahead, why waste your time if you have a Space Mage in your crew? Happy cruising, Soler out.¡± The freighter Captain cuts the connection and Maja slowly accelerates us toward the wormhole. We keep our distance from the freighters and while we are getting closer, the wormhole flashes, and a small ship appears. It heads right for Frituna and disappears in a hangar bay. Ohh, so that¡¯s the shuttle service. It¡¯s quite genius when I see it as a neutral observer ¨C a small ship with a Space Mage that jumps back and forth and takes bigger ships with them. The only problem is the location we are in¡­ The Estriduros Republic. That means the poor Space Mage is collared and doesn¡¯t have a choice in what to do. But we can¡¯t do anything about that right now. While the Frituna prepares for their jump, we are finally close enough and Maja cuts the acceleration and gravity. My turn! I flex my magic and cast the Wormhole Navigation spell. The bubble forms around the Stargazer, this time not in the exact shape of the ship, as I don¡¯t have the power boost from the battery, but still good enough, and we enter the wormhole. Maja and I work in tandem, and the trip goes very smoothly. One and a half hours later, we are through and reappear in a new system. Now the question is, where are we?
Location; Estriduros Republic; Trivolu System; VS Stargazer Turns out the wormhole led to the Trivolu System. A let¡¯s say middle-range System. It¡¯s not as fancy as the home system of Lucy and the others, but leagues above the Acordus System. We are currently cruising along the main trade line that leads straight across the star system toward the next wormhole. Maja was able to retrieve some data from a nearby refill station, that helped us get the information we needed. Besides the system name, we now have a plotted-out way to the Estriduros System. It¡¯s going to take us another four jumps till we arrive, which takes a little over a week with our current velocity. That gives me enough time to get the Stealth spell ready. It¡¯s going to be very important in the future, especially in the Estriduros System. While out here nobody cares about our obvious weaponry on the Stargazer, the closer we get to the core systems, the more we will stand out. The main problem is the magical weapons at our bow. Those things simply don¡¯t exist here in the republic and if they get identified as such, there will be lots of questions I¡¯m not ready to answer. That¡¯s why I¡¯m about to start practicing the new spell. It¡¯s similar to the Remote Control spell in complexity, so it won¡¯t be as easy to learn as Engine Enhancement. There is one advantage though. It¡¯s modular in size, meaning I don¡¯t have to encompass the whole ship right away. Instead, I can only focus on the magical guns in the beginning. While we¡¯re still pretty heavy on weapons for a civilian ship, it shouldn¡¯t be too much. Another advantage is the interaction of the spell with the Magitech inside our hull. This means once the spell is cast it can be sustained by our magical battery. I wave goodbye to Maja and leave the bridge. She can control the ship on her own. My destination is the hangar bay ¨C specifically our yacht. While deck 01 is completely furnished, there is one thing missing: Food. The kitchen and adjoining pantry are both empty of things to eat. I make a mental note, that¡¯s another thing to take care of. We need to stock up! After eating I return to my room and sit down on my bed cross-legged ¨C time for some magic practice. I roll out my tablet and admire it a bit. After everything, this thing is still working. I open up the explanation for the Stealth spell and get to work. Progress is slow, but at least there is progress. After four hours of concentrated work, I¡¯m exhausted. I quickly initiate a call to Maja and ask her how long it takes to the next wormhole. She tells me that we¡¯re still 13 hours out and I can do whatever I want. She¡¯s going to take care of flying. I make good use of that time and fill up the hot tub in my bathroom. Once filled, I turn on the bubbles, take off my clothes, and get in. Ahhhh, this is so nice. I¡¯ve only known hot tubs from movies before¡­ My orphanage on Acordus 3 was way too poor to afford something like this. I submerge everything beside my head in the water and simply relax. I am back! I can finally search for Thomas. Everything starts to sink in, it¡¯s like a new beginning, but with a massive power-up in the form of a second class of magic and a super nice starship. It feels like hours later when I exit the hot tub and rub myself dry with a towel. Lying in there made me quite tired and I send a short note to Maja before I jump into my comfy bed and sleep. I wake up on my own this time and am still feeling completely relaxed. Nice! Now I¡¯m ready for the challenges ahead. I move to grab a fresh shipsuit but come up empty-handed. Shoot, they are still down in the yacht! Argh, that¡¯s annoying. I wrap the towel around myself and walk back down. All that walking¡­ I can¡¯t wait to be at least Junior in strength to avoid the gravity restriction. Back on the yacht, I begin the process of emptying the wardrobe and then I move all the clothes up to my new room. It takes a while, but clothes are important! I should probably buy some new ones too when I get the chance. But that takes money¡­ Something I have absolutely nothing of right now. We really need to plan out our next steps! Chapter 40: Making Plans Chapter 40: Making Plans Location: Estriduros Republic; Querny System; VS Stargazer It takes until after our next jump, but now I finally find time to sit down with Maja to discuss our plans. There is so much to do! First, we need to decide on the route we want to take. We meet up down in my cabin and sit on my bed lazily. ¡°You got the flying part handled?¡± I ask her and stretch my legs a bit. ¡°Sure,¡± Maja replies. ¡°We''re going in a straight line for the next day¡­ I just have to watch for some rocks floating around, but the route here is pretty clear. And our sensors provide warnings way in advance.¡± ¡°Nice, that should give us enough time to discuss a few things.¡± I glance around for my tablet, as I''ve written down some notes yesterday before the jump. There. Right on the desk, exactly where I left it. I wish I had Telekinesis¡­ But no, I have to do it the mundane way, so I get up and grab it. Grumbling under my breath, I sit back down. The tablet activates after unrolling and shows my list. Ah, right. Almost forgot about that again. ¡°Okay, until now, we¡¯ve flown around pretty aimlessly toward the Estriduros System.¡± Maja interrupts me right there. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t say aimlessly¡­ We had to escape out of the Olovis System before detection, and our current route is a direct one.¡± ¡°Yeah, true, but what I mean is while we¡¯re flying toward the capital system, we¡¯ve not yet talked about what we¡¯re going to do once we arrive. Oh, and we might have to delay a bit anyway as my progress with the Stealth spell is very slow.¡± Maja looks down, seemingly deep in thought. Her human-like expressions are completely indistinguishable now¡­ Crazy! She nods and looks back up. ¡°Well, you promised me all the way back to stop them from finishing what they started with me. So that should be one of our goals.¡± I nod in agreement. ¡°Yeah, totally true. You helped me so much in these past months, it¡¯s time I give something back. Even better if it¡¯s a noble goal. Those plans can never see fulfillment. I just hope Sean was right and they managed to delete everything.¡± I tap my fingers along the tablet¡¯s edge, not able to hold still. ¡°But that shouldn¡¯t be our only goal. I actually don¡¯t want to stay here in the republic for too long. Even if I¡¯m currently a free Mage, there is always the chance of discovery. And if there is one thing I never want back, then it¡¯s that collar!¡± ¡°Oh, I can understand that. Also, there is the data from Earth. We need to deliver it.¡± She¡¯s right. While I didn¡¯t forget about that, I considered leaving the republic for now as more important. ¡°Also true, so we have two goals to accomplish for now. I¡¯ve written down a few more things but I¡¯m open to your ideas too, so let¡¯s hear them and don¡¯t cheat by accessing my tablet.¡± I wink and she blushes. She huffs a bit. ¡°Fine, let me think then.¡± She finally managed to avoid going completely still when processing data and so she still acts lively even if she¡¯s clearly absent. ¡°Okay, first of all, we need IDs if we want to do anything legal.¡± She grins at me and continues. ¡°Well, we could always play pirates and steal the things we need. How about it? We''ve even got some weapons.¡± Arrrghh, how could she? ¡°I should space you right now for even suggesting it! We¡¯re never going to be pirates!¡± I compose myself after my outburst. She just did it to irk me and it worked¡­ Very annoying! ¡°But you¡¯re right. Without IDs, we¡¯re sitting ducks. I hadn¡¯t thought about that. There¡¯s another thing too, we need money.¡± ¡°I might have a partial solution for that, but it will be a bit illegal, at least if we want to stay below the radar.¡± A bit illegal? She¡¯s talking about stealing it, right? But why should that only be a bit illegal? I must say, I¡¯m curious. ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°You should have gotten paid at your job as a Mage, right?¡± I nod. I did earn money at Solitur Transportation. The republic praises their great treatment of Mages after all, the collars are for our protection. Everyone knows they¡¯re lying, but they advertise it anyway. ¡°Good, so there should be some money in your account. While we can¡¯t access it directly as we want to stay unnoticed, I think I can funnel it through a few fake accounts until we can deposit it in a new account corresponding to our new IDs.¡± Oh, that¡¯s actually quite genius. I mean it¡¯s my money, so we aren¡¯t stealing it, technically. ¡°That¡¯s a good idea. Let¡¯s do that. While I don¡¯t have too much, it should at least let us buy enough supplies.¡± ¡°Sweet, that¡¯s settled then. Now back to the IDs¡­ I think we both know that there is no way around something shady. We can¡¯t simply walk to a government office and ask nicely.¡± I frown. She¡¯s right, unfortunately. ¡°Sadly true, you are not supposed to exist anymore and I¡¯m an uncollared Mage. We have to look for someone in the Estriduros System. And while we¡¯re talking about illegal stuff, that brings me to my next point. While you can fly the ship pretty well, that''s it... I''ve seen you struggling from time to time. The ship clearly wasn''t made with AI control in mind. And there''s also the issue with the magical weapons and shields... We simply can''t use them without an A&D Mage. What I¡¯m meaning to say is we need a crew!¡± I get a confused look in return. ¡°True enough with the non AI friendly controls... But how is getting a crew illegal?¡± ¡°Well, the crew I have in mind is not exactly unemployed right now. At least I think so. And most of them are in the same situation I was in a few months back.¡± The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡°Ohh, you mean your friends you''ve talked about, right? Your perfect starship crew.¡± ¡°Exactly, Thomas and Lucy for our offensive and defensive duties, and Shay for security.¡± I go silent for a moment. I¡¯ve just remembered something. Shay still has my necklace turned bracelet. The one I had as a baby. The one that¡¯s probably from my parents. One more reason to get Shay! I definitely need that back. Now that I know of my family, I need it more than ever. It¡¯s the only thing I have left of my parents. ¡°Something wrong?¡± Maja asks and I shake my head. ¡°No just something I remembered. I left something with Shay all those years ago. Now I can finally get it back.¡± I smile. ¡°Now on with it. Simon can be my backup, or well actually the main Space Mage as he¡¯s stronger than me. Next, there is Jack. As a Utility Mage, he¡¯s probably in the communication sector from what I¡¯ve heard about what the republic does with them. He could support you with the sensors and other communication equipment. And as the last of my academy and home world buddies, there is Greg. I¡¯m actually not sure as he hates his magic¡­ maybe we can convince him or show him that he¡¯s not that locked into A&D when we leave the republic. I¡¯ve two more people in mind, but finding or getting them could be tricky. First is Dr. Silver from the academy and the second is Trix, the engineer.¡± Maja furrows a brow. ¡°You know, if I hadn¡¯t known about them before you listed it up so nicely, I would have thought, you picked your friends for exactly that purpose. They are frighteningly fitting for our needs here on the Stargazer.¡± She¡¯s right, of course. But I thought that before. Way back on the academy station. I can¡¯t help myself but laugh out loud. ¡°I can¡¯t help it¡­ Those are my friends. Well, most of them are, Doctor Silver was only very nice to me, but I think it wouldn¡¯t hurt to ask.¡± We are both silent for a moment before Maja starts speaking again. ¡°I agree. We should try to get them all. It¡¯s always better to count on friends¡­ Now that settles the crew. That should be it, right?¡± Besides getting supplies we discussed almost everything on my list, but that¡¯s stuff we can simply buy once we solved the money problem. ¡°Yeah, that''s pretty much it. I''ve got a few more things on my list like setting up our lab and gym or getting newer equipment overall, but I guess it¡¯s better to look for those things once we¡¯re in another nation.¡± ¡°Good. Now we just have to find the most efficient way to do that,¡± Maja points out. ¡°I don¡¯t want to waste our time traveling back and forth through the whole nation. Wanna join me on the bridge for that? I think the bigger screen is better than your small tablet.¡± ¡°I agree. Lead the way.¡± We both get up and leave the room. While the elevator takes us up to deck 03, I voice my frustration. ¡°I know it¡¯s a very nice ship, way better than I¡¯ve ever imagined flying, but we really should upgrade to hologram projectors as soon as possible.¡± ¡°Yeah, I completely agree. We should upgrade the whole infrastructure. It¡¯s ancient!¡± We arrive at the bridge with a ding and the doors slide open. A glance out of the window shows empty space as far as my eyes can see. It seems like it will take a while till we can jump again. Maja activates a screen on the wall and we both look at it. A map showing all 23 systems of the Estriduros Republic appears. Almost in the center is the Estriduros System itself. The Olovis System is to the left, right at the border to the Dakarti Federation. It takes a while, but finally, I find the Acordus System at the bottom end of the map. It¡¯s way smaller than most of the others. Huh, it¡¯s actually not that far away relatively speaking. The best thing is, that I now have a visual of the route we are currently taking toward the Estriduros System. Maja conveniently marked the Querny System and our previous travel route in red. Three more jumps and one new system till we arrive. I have to hurry with the cloaking spell! Wait, I know the name of the system we arrive at after a double jump through a refill station. It¡¯s the Puertu System, Lucy¡¯s home system! My eyes go wide. ¡°Maja, I''ve got our first destination!¡± She looks at me and frowns. ¡°We are already traveling toward the Estriduros System, you can¡¯t claim that as your idea.¡± ¡°No, that¡¯s not it. It¡¯s the Puertu System. Jack should be working there for Star Com!¡± ¡°Ohh, that changes things. But that also means you have to learn the Stealth spell earlier¡­ I¡¯m going to slow us down a bit, hang on.¡± I grimace, she¡¯s right. That¡¯s a core system, they would detect our weapons immediately if we closed in on a planet. More work for me. ¡°Right, but let¡¯s finish the plan before I go practicing.¡± ¡°Yes, so our first stop is the Puertu System to collect Jack. Next, I suggest going to the Estriduros System as soon as possible. There should be a military facility that I can infiltrate and hack. If we¡¯re lucky, I don¡¯t find anything about the project that was responsible for me¡­¡± ¡°I agree, finding nothing would be for the best. And there is the main base of the military, that¡¯s a good place for you to look for information.¡± Maja displays what we said so far, and I notice something. ¡°Wait, you¡¯ve only put your name next to the military facility!¡± Maja looks me straight in the eyes. ¡°I did. There¡¯s no way you could fake being a member of the military, also who knows if they¡¯ve got Mage scanners or something like that? Additionally, you can look for someone who can print us some IDs.¡± I flinch a bit. ¡°I could fake being military for sure, let me tell you! But you¡¯re right, me looking for IDs is probably better as it saves us time. Oh, and when you¡¯re already inside the military facility, you can also look for the others¡­ I mean there should be records of their deployment schedule.¡± Maja nods and adds it to the list. ¡°That I can do. So afterward we meet back up and infiltrate the academy?¡± I think about it for a minute, then shake my head. ¡°No, I think that¡¯s too risky. We should look if we can catch Doctor Silver out of the academy somewhere. That should be it for now, right? Once I''ve got the IDs, you can take care of the money problem, and for Greg, we have to ask the others¡­ I don¡¯t know if he still works for the same company. It¡¯s been a while since I''ve heard from him. That only leaves Trix. She should still work for Solitur Transportation, so we have to check their headquarters in the Bon Delaaz System. But we can leave that for last.¡± Maja, nice as she is, finishes up the list and claps her hands. ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s it. Now off you go, you¡¯ve got a spell to learn.¡± I groan. That¡¯s going to be a long day! ¡°Yeah, yeah, I know. Let me know when you need me for the jump. I¡¯m going back down to practice.¡± I turn around to leave, then stop. ¡°Actually, can you turn off the gravity? It¡¯s about time we try some teleportation!¡± ¡°Sure, here you go.¡± I quickly activate my magnetic sneakers and gravity turns off. ¡°You still want to go to your room?¡± I nod. ¡°Yeah, can you calculate the coordinates?¡± ¡°I should be able to¡­ Huh? Wow, inside the ship is easy as fu..¡± I just have to raise my eyebrow and she stops and blushes. Gotcha! ¡°Okay, let¡¯s do it.¡± I feel the coordinates locking in, just like before. Next, I form the Personal Teleportation spell and flex my magic. I vanish with a purple flash and immediately afterward, I reappear in my cabin two decks below. Then, with a short delay, I hear Maja swearing. ¡°Shit! I lost you for a moment. That¡¯s not going to work! Anywhere else besides the ship and I wouldn¡¯t have been able to reconnect. We need to find a solution.¡± Hmm, that¡¯s not good¡­ But I also can¡¯t put her back into my head. That would be cruel. Maybe another¡­ ¡°Hah, I¡¯ve got it! We can use S-57. Can you still keep the connection if we load him on your old chip? Maybe you can teach him to be smarter.¡± ¡°That could work! Here, jump right back up. Let¡¯s test it.¡± Another set of coordinates locks in and I focus to jump. Stealth has to wait for a little while longer. Chapter 41: Jeff Lee Chapter 41: Jeff Lee Location: Estriduros Republic; Refill Station; VS Stargazer ¡°Coordinates are set.¡± S-57''s voice sounds in my ear, and I focus on my magic to jump to the bridge. We''ve been a few days here near the refill station, but now I''m finally ready. We can jump to the Puertu System! Reactivating S-57 worked very well, and he is now my personal jump navigator. As I''m currently training jumps with him, we¡¯ve got gravity deactivated more often. I''m relying on him every time Maja is not near, for instance right now, when I jump from my cabin back to the bridge. When I appear there, Maja is already looking at me expectantly. ¡°You¡¯re ready?¡± She asks, and I wear a big grin. ¡°Sure am, watch this.¡± I cast the Stealth spell and make the Captain¡¯s chair in the center of the bridge disappear. Once the spell settles, the chair is completely invisible, and Maja mirrors my grin. ¡°Nice, now you just need to cover our magical guns and connect the spell to the Magitech emitters close by to let the battery handle our stealth.¡± I move my head up and down slowly. ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s the hardest part, I think. Give me a moment.¡± I close my eyes and concentrate. Then I notice an issue. I have no clue how to focus on a specific part of the ship that I can¡¯t even see. ¡°I think, I have to go outside¡­ I need a visual.¡± ¡°You¡¯re lucky there are a few new spacewalker suits down in the hangar bay. Here, go get one, then meet me at the airlock.¡± A new set of coordinates locks in, this time coming from Maja, and with another casting of Personal Teleportation, I find myself at the back of the hangar bay. Right before me is a closet, filled with brand-new spacewalker suits. I grab one and put it on. ¡°Alright, S-57, you know the deal. I need coordinates for the hallway leading to the airlocks.¡± I know, it¡¯s only 60 meters or something, but that¡¯s the spirit of training, okay! ¡°Coordinates are set again, you are ready to jump, Sara.¡± He¡¯s quite talkative this time. I shrug, maybe that¡¯s Maja, educating him or something. Anyway, the process is the same, and I use my magic to jump for the third time in short order. I appear in the hallway, just when Maja rounds the corner. ¡°Faster!¡± I shout and she just shakes her head. ¡°Just get out there. Want me to join you?¡± ¡°Nah, I think I¡¯m good. I just need to see where I have to aim my spell.¡± I close into the airlock and Maja closes the door to cycle it. The outer hatch opens and I¡¯m out. I swing myself out of the Stargazer and reactivate the magnetic boots of the spacewalker suit once my feet touch the hull. Then it¡¯s just smooth walking toward the bow. Huge! That¡¯s the only thing that comes to mind when I¡¯m standing before the magical weapons of the Stargazer. Two giant barrels next to each other point forward and are covered with crystals that look similar to the material of the magic battery inside the ship. I think the same material is on the inside too, but I can¡¯t check it, as they extend a bit further out the front. Now onto the Stealth spell. Just like with all the other Utility spells, I start by building the spell till it locks in, then I connect my cores and wait for the Utility one to power up. Lastly, it¡¯s just filling the spell with power and I¡¯m ready to push it toward the guns. That¡¯s exactly what I do, and they immediately disappear from sight. The problem is that I still feel my own power getting lower. I messed up! I cut my supply of magic, and the guns reappear. Before trying again, I take a closer look. There have to be those Magitech things that catch the spell and sustain it with the power of the battery. Just where? There! Small bulges are all over the hull, I didn¡¯t even notice them before, but that must be it. So, I try again and cast the spell. This time I push it at the bulges all around the guns and they disappear again. So far so good. I cut my supply of magic again, and this time the guns stay hidden. I did it! I jump in jubilation and lose contact with the ship. Oops! ¡°S-57, get me back inside the hangar bay!¡± I shout with mild panic. ¡°You should stay on the ground in the future,¡± he tells me with a deadpan tone. ¡°Coordinates are locked in.¡± Wow, now he¡¯s mocking me too. I liked the old, dumb one better¡­ Another magical flash has me reappearing in the hangar bay. There I stand now panting and sweating. That last jump was too much! I¡¯m completely out of power. Stupid Novice rank! I have to sit down and catch my breath. At least I¡¯m back inside. Fifteen minutes later, I¡¯m rested enough and leave the hangar bay on foot. I left the spacewalker suit behind and walk straight into Maja, who waited just beyond the door. She wears a smug grin and is about to speak. This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. ¡°Shut it, I don¡¯t wanna hear it,¡± I snap at her, and she recoils a bit. ¡°Uh, sorry, good job. I¡¯ll reactivate gravity and set a course for the wormhole. Meet me at the bridge once you¡¯re ready to jump again.¡± Now I feel bad too. ¡°Sorry for snapping at you. I just had enough mockery from S-57 already.¡± She hugs me. ¡°Don¡¯t feel bad. You know just as well as I do that I wanted to make a snarky comment.¡± We hug for a little while longer, then go our separate ways. I to my cabin and Maja back to the bridge. It¡¯s nap time again!
Location: Estriduros Republic; Puertu System ; VS Stargazer The jump goes smoothly after I was able to rest, and we are now in the Puertu System. The difference is immediately noticeable. I didn¡¯t see it when I was here the last time as I was not allowed to leave my cabin when they brought me to the academy. There is way more traffic inside the system and the planets themselves are massive hubs of activity. Just like Lucy said, there are six planets and every single one is inhabited. But that''s not all! There are so many space stations, that I almost lose count. How are we going to find Jack here? Now I¡¯m wondering why I didn¡¯t see something like that in the Estriduros System¡­ I mean it¡¯s the capital of the whole nation. Everything around the academy was empty if I remember correctly. Well besides the uninhabited gas giant and the small moon, the academy was located next to. But that was it. The only explanation that comes to mind is that every inhabited planet is on the other side of the moon. Well, I¡¯ll see soon enough, now we¡¯ve got to find a Jack-sized needle in a system-wide haystack. Maja¡¯s voice shakes me out of my thoughts. ¡°Do you know where he lives?¡± ¡°No,¡± I shake my head. ¡°Only thing I know is that he works for Star Com somewhere in the system.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not much¡­ But at least a point to start. I guess it¡¯s best if we dock at one of the stations and I try if I can get anything out of the databases.¡± ¡°I agree, there should be a presence of Star Com everywhere. They are the biggest telecommunication company after all. And all the stations need to stay connected somehow.¡± Maja sets course for the closest space station and once we¡¯re in range, Maja secures us a docking arm. I put on my best clothes, and we meet again at the airlock after docking is complete. My first time outside of the protection of the ship as an uncollared Mage in the Estriduros Republic! I feel pretty excited all things considered. The airlock opens and Maja next to me looks very excited too. It¡¯s her first time meeting other people besides me after all. We exit the Stargazer together and take in the station. The docking arm is very boring, but what can we expect of it? I mean it¡¯s only there to connect to a ship and lead the people to the station proper. I also notice that the gravity is a little less strong than what we are used to from Earth and the Stargazer. Does that mean I could jump? I obviously decide against trying as that would paint a giant target on my back, but I¡¯m still curious why the gravity is lower. Cost-saving measures? Anyway, when we arrive at the end of the docking arm, the doors slide out of the way and the room beyond opens up to a great atrium full of small stores, restaurants, and other things that scream civilization. I take a deep breath. I missed it, even if it¡¯s the republic. Maja next to me has wide eyes, she¡¯s only known things like this second hand from recordings and text. I slide an arm around her shoulder and guide her out of the busy walkway she was standing in. ¡°Pretty cool, huh?¡± She¡¯s silent for a moment until I shake her a little. ¡°Uh¡­ yeah, I¡¯ve never seen so many people.¡± She¡¯s right of course, the station is bustling. Probably because it¡¯s the one closest to the wormhole we used a few hours earlier. A hub for all the people traveling around by starship to relax and shop for things they might need. Speaking of shopping, getting money just moved up on my priority list. We¡¯re on a station, but can¡¯t buy anything, ugh. ¡°Okay, how about we look for a silent place and you do your thing, or do you need to be at a special location to get some data?¡± Maja visibly shakes herself out of all the excitement and answers. ¡°No, station net is more than enough, the security is a joke. I¡¯ve sent you a station map to your tablet if you want to take a look.¡± ¡°Nah, we don¡¯t have money anyway, just lead us out of the busy places.¡± Maja nods and slips out of my side hug and starts walking with purpose. ¡°I¡¯ve got just the place.¡± I raise an eyebrow but follow her. My curiosity is satisfied five minutes later, when the busy shopping area makes way for a nice little park, right in the center of the space station. A big sign to the right tells the story of Jeff Lee, a businessman who sponsored the park here and bought the naming rights of the station. Yeah, we are currently inside the Jeff Lee Space Station! We both sit down on an empty bench and while Maja closes her eyes to search the station net, I just sit there and enjoy the surroundings. After seeing how nature reclaimed Earth, this park looks completely fake¡­ Straight lines of perfectly groomed flowers, bushes in geometric forms, and maple trees with four main branches each. The rest was cut away. I even see one of the gardeners working in the back. Half an hour later, Maja returns from her research with a big grin on her face. ¡°I found him!¡± She tells me excitedly. ¡°He¡¯s working down on Prival, the second planet from the sun. It¡¯s where Star Com has their headquarters, in a city called Drogunio.¡± I hug her again. ¡°Nice work! Now we just have to get down there.¡± When I release her from the hug, her grin is even wider. ¡°I¡¯ve already taken care of that. It took a bit of manipulation, sorry for that, but we are now contracted to deliver a shipment of oranges to the space elevator above Drogunio.¡± ¡°Huh, why is the shipment here, and how did you manage to get a delivery contract?¡± It¡¯s really strange, why would a shipment end up here if it was destined for a planet? ¡°Lucky coincidence,¡± she smirks. ¡°You see, the space elevator is called Jeff Lee Space Elevator¡­¡± ¡°Ohh, I see.¡± I can¡¯t hold back a grin on my own. The original deliverers probably stopped reading after Jeff Lee Space. ¡°Yeah, they really should work on their names¡­ There are actually five more structures named after Jeff Lee here in the system and it¡¯s not the first time someone messed up. As for how we did get the contract,¡± she lowers her voice to a whisper. ¡°I accidentally looked up all the offers in the closed bids and submitted one that was lower than all the others. Bidding is open for another five hours, but I think my bid was low enough.¡± I can¡¯t hold in a chuckle. ¡°So not only are we getting closer to Jack, we also get paid for it?¡± Maja laughs. ¡°Yes, it¡¯s not much, as I had to bid very low, but we do earn money from that little delivery.¡± Chapter 42: Jack Chapter 42: Jack Location: Estriduros Republic; Puertu System; Jeff Lee Space Station The bidding closes, and just like Maja predicted we win the contract. When she shows me the confirmation on my tablet, I snort a laugh. ¡°Did you really mix up our names and add Deliveries at the end to give us an official-sounding company name?¡± She looks at me in mock outrage. ¡°Please, MARA Deliveries is a highly regarded delivery company, that specializes in intra-system deliveries and provides the fastest delivery times to the lowest prices.¡± I shake my head and laugh. ¡°How¡¯d you even make us legal without IDs?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t, but for such small-scale jobs, they don¡¯t care. The oranges aren¡¯t that important, and if we don¡¯t deliver them, we simply won¡¯t get any money.¡± I shrug, I can¡¯t say anything against it¡­ I mean it enables us a legal and free way to get to Jack. Only the outermost space stations close to the wormholes don¡¯t demand docking fees, so without that contract, we wouldn¡¯t have been able to dock at the elevator above Prival. Having no money really sucks! ¡°Good, when can we load them up?¡± She stands up and starts walking away. ¡°They¡¯ll be delivered to our docking arm within the hour, so we should head back.¡± I quickly stand up as well and follow her back to the busy part of the station. We ignore all the goods on display there and return to our docking arm. There are already several hover palettes stacked with boxes full of oranges waiting for us, and five annoyed-looking workers stand next to them. One of them holds a tablet in his hands and waits before our airlock. When he sees us, he frowns, probably because we are both looking very young and not like delivery specialists. ¡°Are you from MARA Deliveries?¡± Maja quickly closes the distance and offers her hand. ¡°Yes, I¡¯m Maja, director of MARA Deliveries, and the lovely lady behind me is Sara, my right hand.¡± He sighs in relief. ¡°Good, I almost thought an offer so low would be fake, and we carried everything here for nothing.¡± Maja feigns innocence, and I have to hold back a laugh at her display. She holds a hand to her mouth and opens her eyes wide. ¡°Oh, were we so low with our bid?¡± The man laughs, his frown and annoyance gone. ¡°Aye, I don¡¯t know how you want to make a profit with that job¡­ What do you have for a ship, a shoe box? Otherwise, how will you pay for fuel with what you get.¡± He shrugs. ¡°Anyway, not my problem. Can you open up, so that my guys here can load them in?¡± Maja nods. ¡±Sure, as for the money, we are already on our way to Prival and just looked for something we can take with us.¡± The door opens, and Maja steps inside. ¡°Follow me.¡± The men''s eyes go wide when they see the clean corridor leading from airlock to airlock and even wider when they see the wide hallway leading from bow to stern in the middle of the ship. It¡¯s clearly not what they expected, but they do not comment. Maja leads them to an empty storage room to the right, and after all the oranges are inside, she signs the contract on the foreman¡¯s tablet, and we receive a copy to show the authorities at the Jeff Lee Space Elevator. Then the men leave, and Maja closes the airlock. I can''t hold it back anymore and laugh out loud. ¡°Did you see their faces?¡± I ask with tears streaming down my cheeks. ¡°They didn¡¯t expect a ship like the Stargazer at all!¡± Maja joins my laughter, and after we just stand there for about five minutes, we calm down enough and walk to the bridge. I still chuckle from time to time but manage to compose myself when we arrive. We¡¯ve got a delivery to make! Maja quickly readies everything for departure, and once we get the green light from station control, she retracts the docking clamps, and we slowly move away with our maneuvering thrusters. When we¡¯re a good distance away, she fires up the main drive and off we go. Next stop Jeff Lee Space Elevator. Location: Estriduros Republic; Puertu System; above Prival; Jeff Lee Space Elevator; VS Stargazer The trip goes smoothly, and after 7 hours of slow cruising through the thick space traffic, we arrive at the space elevator. Maja takes care of docking again and soon after, we are assigned a docking arm and Maja brings the Stargazer in. Meanwhile, I¡¯m getting ready and grab a few bites of food. It¡¯s still nothing special, but it¡¯ll do. When docking is complete, we meet again next to the airlock and Maja starts the opening sequence. Now we just have to deliver some oranges, then we can look for Jack down on the planet. Before the airlock has fully opened, I hear a high-pitched voice shouting. ¡°Are you the orange guys?¡± The airlock finishes opening and makes way for a short man with grey eyes and messy dark brown hair. He looks at us expectantly. ¡°Yeah, we are,¡± I answer him. ¡°Oh, thank god,¡± he wipes off some sweat from his forehead. ¡°Let me help unloading them, I need them as quick as possible, or my boss is going to kill me.¡± The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. Huh, it¡¯s only some oranges¡­ Why is he so desperate? I shrug. ¡°Sure, come in, they are in one of our storage rooms.¡± Maja is a bit more suspicious and asks. ¡°What¡¯s so important with those oranges? Why are you so desperate?¡± That sets him off completely, and he begins to rant. ¡°If those were normal oranges, everything would be fine¡­ But no, Chef Gir¨®n had to create this fancy new dish that everyone wants, and it requires Dolino Oranges out of the Blueridge Alliance. And then there are those fuckheads of the delivery company who drop them off at the wrong station. Now I¡¯m delayed and it¡¯s not that Chef Gir¨®n cares about things I can do nothing about. No, all he cares about is that I¡¯m delayed! Fuck. So please hurry up, he really needs them about yesterday. You might have saved my job there, thank you.¡± Maja and I both look at each other after his little rant. Maja shrugs. ¡°Okay, relax. We¡¯re here now¡­ let¡¯s get those oranges to their destination.¡± We quickly enter the storage room, and the guy almost tears up at the sight of them. ¡°There they are! Thanks again.¡± Unloading goes quickly and the man connects all the pallets together and off he is. What a strange man. ¡°Well, that¡¯s our delivery¡­ Are you ready to go down?¡± I ask Maja and she quickly nods. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s do it.¡± Luckily, our delivery earned us a bit of money, as using the space elevator also costs a fee. We still don¡¯t have an account, so we got the money straight from the desperate guy in the form of a credit stick ¨C the old-fashioned way!
Location: Estriduros Republic; Puertu System; Prival; Drogunio The trip down goes by without issues and besides Maja¡¯s excitement after we breached the cloud layer and she saw the big city for the first time it¡¯s quite boring. So an hour later we stand on a planet again. It¡¯s different. Where Earth was all nature and quiet, we are now inside a big city full of activity. Cars and trains are floating around, people laughing and talking, and shops, providing everything we might need. Maja looks like she is a bit overwhelmed, it¡¯s even more than the busy space station. So I quickly take her hand and lead her along the sidewalk, searching for a more quiet corner. I discover a small park two blocks down and Maja finally seems to calm down. ¡°Better?¡± She takes a deep breath. ¡°Yeah, ugh, I knew what to expect, but it¡¯s still¡­ a lot.¡± ¡°Take your time, Jack is still at work anyway, I think. It¡¯s only an hour after noon.¡± We sit down with our backs leaning against a nearby tree and just take in the busy city around us. And I thought Acordia was a big city¡­ This is like ten times its size. But comparing Drogunio with the ruins of Shanghai¡­ Yeah, it comes short by miles. After an hour of doing nothing, we both get bored and decide to grab something to eat. Maja is visibly more composed now and we walk toward a nearby bakery. After that, it¡¯s time to look for Jack¡¯s apartment. Maja even got the address from his Star Com files, it¡¯s a bit strange with way too many numbers, but we just have to find it. It¡¯s probably in there because he¡¯s a Mage¡­ We had to walk quite a bit to reach Jack¡¯s address. It¡¯s in another district of the city, and the difference is immediately noticeable. While there was lots of traffic and almost more stores than I can count around the space elevator, the let¡¯s call it residential quarter is much quieter and the architecture is very different. Everything around the elevator was low-rise, probably so that the elevator can go up and down freely. Now though, in the quarter where Jack¡¯s apartment is located on the other side of the city, everything is way taller. And when I say tall, I mean Spire tall. Some skyscrapers easily reach up to one kilometer in height and are probably even higher, but that¡¯s hidden in the clouds. One of them is our destination. The strange number of the address now makes sense. It¡¯s calling out the floor of the building! Floor 103 to be exact. We enter the building, and a friendly blue-haired receptionist greets us. ¡°Hello there, can I help you?¡± She must have noticed that we don¡¯t look like residents or she¡¯s just overly friendly. Anyway, I quickly walk up to the counter to reply. ¡°Yeah, thank you. We¡¯re here to visit a friend of mine, Jack Raphdani on floor 103. Can you show us the way to the elevators?¡± The way further into the building is blocked by opaque sliding doors and I can¡¯t see beyond, that¡¯s why I asked for the elevators. She flashes a smile. ¡°Sure thing, do you want me to call ahead and check if he¡¯s there?¡± I shake my head. ¡°No, we want to surprise him. It¡¯s been a while since we last saw each other, but thanks.¡± ¡°Alright, let me just¡­¡± She presses a button, and the doors slide apart, showing a row of elevators behind. ¡°There you go. Have a nice day!¡± I nod and start to walk away. ¡°Thanks, I hope you have a wonderful day as well!¡± We enter one of the elevators and Maja presses the button for floor 103. ¡°He should be home, right?¡± I ask her and she nods. ¡°Yes, his workday ended two hours ago. If he¡¯s not out doing other things, he should be home. If not, we can simply wait. The Stargazer can stay docked for another day before we have to pay extra.¡± Good. Let¡¯s hope he is home, I¡¯d hate to wait any longer. With a *ding* we arrive at the correct floor and exit the elevator. A few steps later, we stand before the correct door. I take a deep breath and raise my hand to press the doorbell. It rings and a bit later I start hearing steps. This is it! The door opens and we stand before a black-haired woman with dark green eyes and a round face. She looks at us in confusion and I think I return her look quite well. Are we at the wrong door? ¡°Err, hi¡­ Uh, we¡¯re looking for Jack? Jack Raphdani.¡± Her face visibly brightens, and she replies. ¡°Ahh, you¡¯re friends of Jack. I was confused for a moment as I didn¡¯t know you. I¡¯m Alex, Jack¡¯s wife, nice to meet you.¡± My jaw drops down for a moment. ¡°You¡¯re THE Alex, wow. And you¡¯re married! Congratulations!¡± Jack wrote about his girlfriend Alex a few times in his messages, but that he¡¯s suddenly married is news to me. It must have been very recently. She chuckles a bit. ¡°I''ve never been THE Alex before, that¡¯s a new one, but nice to know that he told his friends about me. Come in, Jack should be here in about 30 minutes. You¡¯ve got to tell me all the funny stories from before I met him.¡± What follows are 30 minutes of talking and laughing with Alex, while I tell some stories about Jack, while keeping the fact that we know each other from the academy hidden. I¡¯m an uncollared Mage after all. At the same time, I learn a lot about Alex and can¡¯t help but smile internally. That¡¯s still a coincidence, right? Or should I start calling it destiny? Alex met Jack on a courier ship right after the academy. She was the helmswoman of the ship when Jack came aboard as a communication Mage. Just like in the stories, they immediately fell in love and when Jack got promoted to an office job here on the planet, she followed him and is now flying shuttles from the planet to the space stations above. A helmswoman, the one thing the Stargazer is missing. Well Maja is doing a good job, but she can¡¯t do everything. Well, she can, but having a dedicated person at the helm would simplify things a lot. Let¡¯s see what she says when I make the offer to Jack¡­ and to her too. Speaking of Jack, I can hear the lock turning and seconds later the door opens. ¡°Honey, I¡¯m home.¡± I immediately recognize his voice and Alex calls out. ¡°Hey Jack, we¡¯ve got visitors, some friends of yours. Be nice!¡± ¡°Huh, friends?¡± He comes walking in and I see his confused look when he sees Maja, then he notices me, and his eyes go wide. ¡°Sara?!¡± He comes rushing over and I quickly get up to hug him. ¡°Hey Jack.¡± I smile. Chapter 43: Uncollared? Chapter 43: Uncollared? Location: Estriduros Republic; Puertu System; Prival; Drogunio; Jack''s Apartment ¡°Hey Jack. You look good!¡± I release him from the hug, and we all sit down on the couch in the living room. Jack still stares at me with wide eyes, clearly trying to figure out how I''m here. His hair is still brown and kept relatively short. But he lost weight! His prominent belly is now almost gone. Finally, he gives up and asks. ¡°How are you here? Why are you here?¡± He takes a closer look, then his eyes go even wider. ¡°Where the fuck is your collar?!¡± I chuckle. ¡°Took you long enough to notice¡­ It¡¯s a long story actually.¡± ¡°Wait, you¡¯re a Mage too?¡± Alex asks in confusion and before I answer I look at Maja. ¡°Are we secure?¡± She nods. ¡°We are. I didn¡¯t find any bugs, but I¡¯m scrambling all outgoing signals just to be sure.¡± ¡°What¡¯s happening?¡± Alex asks with a frown on her face. I quickly answer her, before she starts worrying too much. ¡°Sorry about that. Yes, I¡¯m a Mage too, I actually met Jack at the academy. As for the other things, let me explain.¡± I look into both their eyes. ¡°What I¡¯m about to tell you can¡¯t get out. This is serious stuff.¡± They both nod their understanding and I continue. ¡°It all started when I was kidnapped by pirates of all things¡­¡± There are sharp intakes of breath from the two, but I quickly continue and tell them a slightly edited story about the things that happened in the past few months. For example, I leave out that Maja is the super powerful AI, I got after escaping the pirates, but I still tell them about the republic¡¯s plans with her. That earns me some shouts of outrage and disbelieving faces. I also leave out, that I can now use Utility magic, as something like this is unbelievable for a Mage of the Estriduros Republic, and I don¡¯t want to lose believability right away. Our trip to Earth is met with even more disbelief, as they too learned in school about Earth¡¯s destruction. Maja has to show them a picture of the planet that we took before leaving, to make them believe it. I also leave out everything about me being a Valterion and only hint at the mission Conor assigned to his descendants. What I do show them is the shield-watch, I got from Armortec, and especially Jack is very excited about the little piece of Magitech. Lastly, I start to tell them about the Stargazer. ¡°You see, after all the discoveries down on Earth, we were still missing the most important thing: A way home! There was not a single wormhole in the Solar System, and we were starting to get a bit desperate. Then finally, deep down in the Valterion island, we found something: coordinates to a starship that was left behind for a purpose. We managed to fly out there and find the ship. The VS Stargazer. She is very nice and with her capabilities, the super AI, and a dose of magic from me, we somehow managed to jump back to the Estriduros Republic.¡± I take a deep breath and smile at them. ¡°That¡¯s pretty much it, what do you think?¡± They exchange a quick look, then Jack starts to speak. ¡°That¡¯s quite the story, Sara. I¡¯m not sure if I can believe everything, even after seeing the evidence¡­ I mean, it¡¯s just¡­ Earth! Crazy, when you think about it.¡± He shakes his head. ¡°Still, it doesn¡¯t explain why you are here.¡± ¡°True, I did mention the mission from the Valterion guy back on Earth. It¡¯s bigger than I let you know, but that must suffice for now, I¡¯m sorry. What I can tell you is that I¡¯ve got a ship and I need a crew to travel to The Empire on the other side of the galaxy. That¡¯s why I¡¯m here. You are the first guys I¡¯ve managed to find.¡± I offer them a slight grin. ¡°Well, actually I managed to find Jack. You Alex are the cherry on top, being a helmswoman and all.¡± That earns me a laugh from her before Jack starts to ask another question. ¡°When you say we are the first guys, who are the others? The ones that I¡¯m thinking?¡± I nod. ¡°Exactly. I need people I can trust. Especially after everything with the AI. That leaves my friends, and they are frighteningly fitting for a starship crew.¡± ¡°I can see that, Simon, Lucy, and Greg all can fill up important positions on a ship and I guess you met a few more people over the years?¡± Jack scratches the back of his head, clearly considering my offer. ¡°You¡¯re right, I¡¯ve also a few people to find from even before the academy. So what do you think?¡± Alex looks at me thoughtfully. ¡°How long of a mission are we talking about?¡± Dang, that¡¯s a question I don¡¯t have an answer for. I shrug. ¡°I don¡¯t know exactly¡­ But if you want to know when we will return, I can tell you at least that. I don¡¯t plan on returning to the republic at all. There is so much out there, that we don¡¯t even know about here. Magic is so vast you wouldn¡¯t believe it¡­ Also, there are some other reasons why I probably won¡¯t return, but I can¡¯t tell you that right now.¡± Alex nods slowly. ¡°I understand¡­ not that there is much holding me here, I followed Jack here after all and as long as we are together, I¡¯m happy. I miss steering a bigger ship though.¡± This is when Jack chimes in again. ¡°You know how I feel about ships¡­ but reuniting with the others does sound good. What about the collar?¡± This time Maja answers. ¡°I could remove it right now if you want.¡± Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. His eyes go wide. ¡°Deal, I¡¯m in. Do it, please!¡± I can¡¯t help myself but laugh and even Alex cracks a smile. ¡°He¡¯s always complaining about the collar¡­ You should have started with that, and he would have followed you anywhere.¡± Maja and I both chuckle at that. Maja then beckons Jack over and puts a hand on his collar. Two minutes later it opens with a click and Jack takes his first breath of freedom. I see Alex narrowing her eyes a bit and I frown slightly. Maja just revealed that she is more than we told them¡­ It doesn¡¯t matter much, as I plan to tell them once we are underway on the Stargazer, but still. I look at Alex and mouth ¡°Later.¡± She nods her understanding. Jack throws the collar in one of the corners of the room and jumps up in jubilation. Then he grabs all of us in a hug with tears of joy streaming down his face. ¡°Thank you!¡± ¡°You¡¯re welcome,¡± I reply before stepping out of the hug. ¡°Now, do you want to pack up your stuff, or do you want to check out the ship first?¡± ¡°Uh,¡± Alex starts. ¡°It¡¯s probably better when we check the ship before packing¡­ Then we can see how much of our stuff will fit.¡± I look at Maja and see amusement on her face. She gives me a slight nod. We have more than enough space! ¡°Alex, I think there is a misunderstanding.¡± She looks at me in confusion and I quickly continue. ¡°The Stargazer is a 120-meter-long ship with six decks¡­ And almost everything is currently empty. There won¡¯t be any problems with your stuff.¡± Now they both look at me like I''ve grown a second head. ¡°The fuck,¡± Jack blurts out. ¡°Do you have any idea how expensive a ship like this is?¡± I shake my head and he continues. ¡°When you said ship, I thought something like a pleasure yacht¡­ 50 meters or less. This is insane¡­ And they just left it there for 11,000 years.¡± ¡°Well, we have one of those yachts too if you¡¯d rather stay there,¡± Maja chimes in laughing and Jack almost sputters his disbelief. ¡°Crazy,¡± he mumbles into his non-existent beard. Alex is the first to compose herself. ¡°So we can basically pack everything up and we somehow move it to the ship?¡± ¡°Yeah, do we have to do that by ourselves, or can we hire a company?¡± Alex thinks a bit, then moves to grab a tablet. ¡°Let me see¡­ Yes, there are several but there is a waiting list as the space elevator is tightly booked for cargo.¡± Maja frowns. ¡°Well, I could technically move us up in the queue, but someone might take notice and get suspicious. Hmm, are there any airfields close by? We could just hire someone with a truck to move your stuff on the ground and we take the yacht as a shuttle.¡± ¡°There¡¯s an airfield right outside the city,¡± Jack says after finally composing himself. I nod. ¡°Good, then let¡¯s do it that way.¡± Then I grimace, remembering one of our problems. ¡°We actually have a favor to ask of you¡­ You see, we both don¡¯t have any IDs and so we don¡¯t have any money right now.¡± ¡°That¡¯s no problem at all,¡± Alex reassures. ¡°We have a bit on the side and considering your destination, Estriduros currency probably won¡¯t be worth much anyway.¡± That¡¯s a relief¡­ One of our problems is temporarily solved. ¡°Thanks, should we start packing right away? We can help if you want.¡± ¡°Sure, let¡¯s start. The earlier the better. Who knows if they can track Jack¡¯s collar.¡± Maja shakes her head. ¡°They can, but not right now. So take your time¡­ I¡¯m going to order us a truck for tomorrow morning.¡± With that, we start packing while talking about random stuff. Jack actually met Greg a few times when his security company had a job in the Puertu System. Unfortunately, Lucy, his twin sister didn¡¯t get a single day off in Star Force and so even missed his marriage. Same with Simon. Good thing we are looking for both of them. It¡¯s way past time for a reunion. The best thing is that Jack and Alex kept their cardboard boxes, as they moved here not too long ago. This makes things way easier as we simply have to stuff their things inside. Time goes by quickly and we finish packing everything in the late evening. Maja orders pizza for the three of us and I simply ignore their questioning glances at Maja who doesn¡¯t eat anything. The next morning comes quickly, and I am to witness another wonder of non-backwater technology. The truck, that Maja ordered simply floats up to our floor and stops before the big living room window. Then with a few clicks on his tablet, Jack makes the window slide open and the guys from the truck extend a loading ramp into the living room. Half a minute later, two strong-looking men exit the vehicle and begin loading the truck. That¡¯s our clue. Jack stays back to oversee the loading process, while Maja and Alex accompany me back to the space elevator. We¡¯ve got a yacht to fly down here. The trip back up goes smoothly and before long we stand before the airlock of the Stargazer. As the docking arms are made of tristanium, Alex actually can¡¯t see the ship right now, so she goes in blind. This is going to be fun! The airlock opens and in we go. Alex has to pick up her jaw from the floor when she sees the inside. I have to admit, it¡¯s quite the sight. ¡°Didn¡¯t you say the ship is 11,000 years old? It looks like it was built yesterday, how is that possible?¡± ¡°Well, that¡¯s proper magic for you,¡± I laugh. ¡°Come on, let¡¯s head for the yacht, I can give you a tour later when Jack¡¯s here too.¡± She agrees and we take a turn at the middle corridor and walk toward the hangar in the back. The hangar bay and the yacht within is another shocking moment for Alex, but we quickly board and Maja turns it on. The big hangar doors begin to open when the yacht starts to float on its own power. Then we fly out and head for the planet below. Luckily, Maja takes care of all the communication with flight control and it¡¯s a very relaxing flight for Alex and me. We both sit in the living room and eat a little bit of rice out of a can. That reminds me. ¡°We should probably buy some supplies as well if that¡¯s okay for you. What you can see here in the kitchen is all I have¡­¡± Alex quickly agrees and so we have one last thing to do down on the planet. We land soon after and Jack waves once we emerge from the yacht. The truck has already left, and Jack is standing next to a lot of cardboard boxes near our landing slot at the airfield. Alex and I leave to go shopping in the mall next to the airfield, while Jack and Maja start loading the boxes. Shopping actually takes a while and the others join us about an hour later, stating that they are already done with loading stuff into the yacht. We finish another hour later, having bought a variety of random things that we might need and a lot of fresh foodstuffs. It looks like we will be finally able to use the kitchen on the Stargazer. After that, we return to the yacht and load in the supplies. It¡¯s quite stuffed in here now and so we all gather on the bridge. ¡°Do you want to fly up?¡± Maja asks while looking at Alex, but she declines. ¡°Nah, I¡¯m good¡­ I¡¯ve got enough chances to fly later on, I think. Better to familiarize myself with the controls when we aren¡¯t inside the gravity well of a planet.¡± Maja nods her understanding and starts the yacht soon afterward. After getting the green light from flight control, we are soon on our way back to space. This time we are heading toward the Stargazer and our front-facing window shows her in all her silver-grey beauty. Sleek lines and black and purple accents complete the look. Even with our cloaked main guns, it is clear that going against this ship would be a very bad idea. Railguns and laser emitters cover every angle of the Stargazer. Jack audibly gasps. ¡°Holy shit, is this it?¡± Now I finally have enough, I turn to him scowling. ¡°Yes, it is, but please stop swearing.¡± ¡°Sorry, it¡¯s just¡­ Wow Can¡¯t wait to get inside.¡± Alex just looks speechless, and we get closer and closer. Soon after the hangar bay opens again, and we fly inside. Maja sets us down safely and turns off the yacht. The hangar bay closes again, and I am more than ready to show them the ship. First crewmates? Check! Chapter 44: Settling in Chapter 44: Settling in Location: Estriduros Republic; Puertu System; above Prival; VS Stargazer ¡°Welcome aboard!¡± I tell them when we walk down the small ramp of the yacht and set foot on the Stargazer. ¡°How about a quick tour? Maja, can you ready us for takeoff in the meantime?¡± I get an affirmative from Maja and she leaves through the door, heading for the bridge. Jack and Alex take a little longer and I have to clear my throat to get them to notice me again. ¡°What?¡± Jack asks and I repeat my question in amusement. The big hangar bay took their whole attention. They quickly tell me, that they would very much like a tour through the ship and I start right here in the hangar bay. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s start this. As you can see, this is the hangar bay and it¡¯s big enough to fit in the yacht I went to Earth with. Now if you follow me, I¡¯ll show you the rest.¡± I show them the storage rooms on deck 00, then we go up one level and visit the common rooms in the back and the cabins in the front. They choose a single cabin, but tell me, that they want to remove the bunk bed inside as soon as possible and reuse their old bed out of the apartment. Of course, I¡¯ve nothing against it and we decide to do it as soon as we finish our tour. We are very quickly finished with deck 02 as the workrooms are not really equipped right now, but both of them are really excited about the possibilities these rooms offer. We skip deck 03 with the bridge and more workrooms and go straight up to deck 04. This is going to be exciting for Jack and just like I predicted, he gasps as soon as the elevator doors open, and he feels the even higher density of magic. ¡°What¡­ What is this?¡± He looks around, searching for the source. ¡°So much magic¡­ I¡¯ve never felt something like this!¡± I grab his arm and lead him to the glass room with the large battery crystal behind it. ¡°This is the magical core of the ship. A battery, that supplies the whole ship with magical power, wherever it¡¯s needed.¡± ¡°Wow, I can¡¯t believe something like this is possible¡­ What would we need it for?¡± I shrug. ¡°Actually, for almost everything. It¡¯s currently in use, by the way, cloaking some of our guns.¡± Alex turns her head to me. ¡°What do you mean with cloaking the guns? There are weapons all around the ship!¡± ¡°Yeah, those are the ones that don¡¯t cause suspicion, but we also have magical weapons that are currently cloaked and are also powered by the battery if we need them in the future.¡± Jack just shakes his head. ¡°I feel like our two years at the academy were completely wasted¡­ They didn¡¯t even mention something that comes close to this. What else did we miss in our education?¡± I can¡¯t hold back a grin. ¡°About that.¡± They both turn and look at me expectantly, so I quickly form the Cloaking spell, connect my cores to use Utility magic, and activate the spell. I vanish and start walking around them while talking. ¡°You see, I¡¯ve learned a new spell during my stay on Earth.¡± Alex looks around frantically while Jack has a deep frown on his face. He closes his eyes and frowns even deeper, then his eyes snap open wide. ¡°This is Utility magic! How?¡± I cancel the spell and reappear right before them, making them jump. ¡°You see, their talk about only one class of magic per person was a lie,¡± I shrug. ¡°Well, maybe they don¡¯t know better, but still, it isn¡¯t true. There are ways to unlock the other classes and there are even power ranks beyond Master.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t even know what to say,¡± Jack mumbles while pacing back and forth. Alex stays standing and looks deep in thought. A minute later, she straightens and looks me right in the eyes. ¡°Is there a way to make me a Mage too?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­ I actually got one more of the things that enabled Utility magic for me, but I want to try it with a friend I know from home first. Sorry, but maybe we¡¯ll find something once we reach another nation?¡± Alex nods slowly. ¡°It¡¯s okay, I understand.¡± Jack finally composed himself and stops pacing. ¡°Are there any more crazy revelations? I¡¯d rather get them over with, I need a break,¡± he chuckles darkly. I smirk. ¡°There are two more things, but it¡¯s probably better if I tell you on the bridge, together with Maja. We should be ready to leave as well, so you can enjoy the view.¡± They both nod and we go back to the elevator to move one deck down. Maja waves when we enter the bridge. ¡°You¡¯re right on time. I¡¯m about to disconnect from the station, then we are off toward the Estriduros System.¡± ¡°Nice, let¡¯s watch that, then we can sit down to talk.¡± The others agree, clearly excited about the takeoff. Maja just keeps standing beside the Captain¡¯s chair and a minute later, a slight shudder goes through the Stargazer. The docking clamps disengaged! The ship slowly moves away and starts to turn. We can now see the planet through the front-facing window and the view is still breathtaking. The blue-green planet in the background and the massive station with the space elevator right in front of us. We turn further and soon the counterweight is in sight. Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. Then, finally, everything in front of us is clear and Maja engages the main drives. We keep them in their mundane mode ¨C no need to draw attention to ourselves, who knows if they can detect large quantities of magic? And I don¡¯t want to shock Jack even more for now. What we¡¯re about to tell them is more than enough. ¡°Okay, the course is set. We¡¯re saving a bit of fuel, so it¡¯ll take around a day and a half till we arrive at the wormhole. That should be more than enough for you to settle in. Sara, you said, you want to talk about something?¡± Maja walks over and joins us standing near the window. ¡°Yes, the first thing concerns you, actually.¡± Maja immediately catches on. ¡°Yeah, it doesn¡¯t make sense hiding it,¡± she turns to the other two. ¡°We stretched the truth a bit earlier¡­ Sara didn¡¯t find me and the super AI on the ship before we escaped from the military to Earth. I am said AI.¡± Alex grins. ¡°I knew it! You¡¯re just too good with computers and just now you didn¡¯t even touch the controls to steer the ship. Wow, this is so cool, but why did they build you inside a body if they wanted you to replace a Mage¡¯s consciousness?¡± ¡°Oh, they didn¡¯t,¡± Maja replies grinning as well. ¡°I started as just another AI chip like the others. This body you¡¯re seeing here, we found it on Earth. Deep down in a facility belonging to Magicon, the biggest company in the system back then.¡± ¡°Wait, Magicon¡­ You said our destination is the Magicon Empire. Are they related?¡± Jack asks with wide eyes. ¡°They are. It¡¯s all connected, and I can¡¯t wait to find out more once we arrive there.¡± I wink at Jack. ¡°That brings us to the last thing I want to tell you. I¡¯ve told you before about Conor Valterion and this ship here being a Valterion Ship, the VS Stargazer. He left an important mission for his descendants who are to return to Earth 9,000 years in the future. We were there early, so we completed this mission for them, that¡¯s one reason why we are headed to The Empire. The other reason is what enabled us to do the mission. I found out my full name. Sara Valterion, at least by blood. I don¡¯t know if I just share a drop of their blood, or if I¡¯m part of a branch family, or whatever. But I¡¯m about to find out!¡± They both stare at me with wide eyes. ¡°That¡¯s huge,¡± Jack blurts out. ¡°I remember how much you hated the name Nelson.¡± After all those revelations, we all decide to just stay there and watch space through the window while talking a bit more. Later we all leave for the mess hall and Alex jumps behind the kitchen counter before we can stop her and starts preparing a meal. Half an hour later we eat freshly made pasta with a very nice and spicy sauce. Maja breaks the silence after we finished eating. ¡°How about we all go and relax a bit?¡± I quickly agree. ¡°Yeah, it was an exhausting day. Let¡¯s meet back here tomorrow morning. Jack, how about we talk magic then and Maja can teach Alex how to fly the ship?¡± Everyone voices their agreement, and we all leave for our respective rooms. Well, Maja goes back to the bridge to do whatever she pleases. I take a quick shower and jump into bed. The next day comes quickly and after a bit of stretching, I walk back to the mess hall. Alex and Jack are already waiting for me. We exchange ¡°Good Mornings,¡± and everyone grabs something for breakfast. Then Alex leaves to join Maja on the bridge, leaving me sitting opposite Jack. He looks me up and down. ¡°Two classes of magic¡­ It¡¯s still weird. Everyone told us all the time that it¡¯s impossible and now you sit here, right before me. The living proof that it is possible.¡± ¡°I like that, living proof,¡± I chuckle. ¡°But enough of that. I have three more spells that you can learn if you want, and I should show you how to charge the battery. It¡¯s a massive reservoir, but who knows when we need it. Better keep it topped off and start charging the other one too.¡± ¡°Oh, I definitely want to learn them! What are they? And there is another battery?¡± ¡°Hah, yes there is. But we can look for it later.¡± I roll out my tablet and show them the three spells. ¡°I¡¯ve only learned two of them for now actually, I wasn¡¯t able to find the time to learn the third one.¡± I point at the first spell. ¡°This is the one I showed you already. The Cloaking spell. It allows you to either cloak yourself or something else. The other one is called Engine Enhancement and does exactly what the name says. It makes the engines of the starship more powerful. That¡¯s also how we were able to return from Earth without a wormhole. The last one is called Remote Control. It lets you control the ship remotely without being on the bridge. Oh, and it allows you to regulate how much juice is fed into the Engine Enhancement spell without being down in the engine room. I don¡¯t know if there is more as it wasn¡¯t included in the description.¡± Jack listens in silence and nods to himself. ¡°Well, besides the Cloaking, they are not that useful for me, but I still want to learn them. Maybe I can find out more about the Remote Control spell?¡± ¡°Yeah, that would be amazing!¡± I nod my head eagerly. ¡°Okay, now it¡¯s my turn. I only know two spells, but one of them is very useful¡­ At least when your magic is activated. The first one is what enabled me to do my job: Communication. It allows me to lock onto another person and talk with them over a long distance. As a Junior, I¡¯m confined to the star system I¡¯m currently inside, but once I reach Senior, I can communicate over even greater distances. Real faster-than-light communication! The other one is even more exciting. It¡¯s Telekinesis, just like the instructor in our first magic lesson at the academy showed us¡­¡± I interrupt him right here. ¡°YES! I want that spell! I need it right now.¡± Jack leans back a bit as I almost jump over the table. ¡°Whoa, chill. I¡¯ll give it to you, but I have to write it down first. Holy shit.¡± I chuckle awkwardly. ¡°Alright, alright, sorry. But it¡¯s just that I wanted to learn that spell since I first saw it.¡± The day passes with us further discussing all the spells we know and we even start to learn them. Jack, who has always been a Utility Mage has a slight advantage, as he just seems to catch on a bit quicker than me. But all in all, things do progress, even if a bit slow. Not every spell can be as easy as Engine Enhancement. But it¡¯s not like it¡¯s a life-or-death situation. I mean I¡¯ve got all the time in the world. Maja notifies me right before midnight that we are closing on the wormhole, but I¡¯m way too exhausted to do a jump tonight. So we decide to stay another night in the Puertu System and leave for the Estriduros System tomorrow morning. The last thing I do today is fall into my bed and grab a solid amount of sleep. Chapter 45: Split Up Chapter 45: Split Up Location: Estriduros Republic; Estriduros System; VS Stargazer The jump into the Estriduros System goes like expected and after we arrive, Maja immediately sets course for the planet Estriduros itself. It¡¯s going to take another two days as the planet is currently on the other side of the sun, but that¡¯s not an issue at all, as it means two more days of spell practice. Speaking of spell practice, Jack and Alex both joined me on the bridge for the jump. They both wanted to see me using Space magic, as the Space Mage on the courier ship they were on never left his cabin and coordinated the jumps from there, without anyone able to see. Not that there is much to see when I use the spell for wormholes, but still. Anyway, now that we are here, we can finally think about what to do next. ¡°We need our IDs sooner or later,¡± I call out to begin with. The others voice their agreement. ¡°True enough, who knows what other nations do to secure their borders,¡± Jack answers. ¡°There could be checkpoints next to the wormholes leading in or something.¡± ¡°That¡¯s what I was thinking too. So we need to find someone who can make us new IDs¡­ at least for Maja and me. You guys should be good.¡± I scratch my chin in thought. ¡°Hmm, maybe one for you too, Jack. The distinct mention of you being a Mage in your current ID could cause problems.¡± Jack eagerly nods. ¡°Good idea. If we find a decent supplier, we should get some for Lucy, Simon, and Greg too. And for whoever else you have planned.¡± He¡¯s right, best would be if we can get a stack of blank IDs¡­ Maja should be able to handle programming them. ¡°Okay, I think our best bet is down on the planet, so we don¡¯t have to change our course. What else do we need?¡± Alex, who has been silent till now, clears her throat. ¡°Well, we need to find out where to find the others.¡± Maja nods eagerly. ¡°Yes, that¡¯s where I come in. I already have an interest in checking out a military base, so I can catch two birds with one stone. The main base is right here in the system. If I can access the central database, I should be able to get everything we need. Actually, I could take the yacht and fly over. Sara, you said the wormhole leading there was an enhanced one? The one you did your graduation flight through.¡± Huh, she¡¯s right. The wormhole was very short and only led to that military base. ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s close to the academy, so we should pass pretty closely on our way to Estriduros proper.¡± Wait, she only ever said I! ¡°Do you want to go alone?¡± ¡°Yeah, you guys have to look for our IDs in the meantime. It¡¯s better if we split up, you would suck faking a military officer.¡± I try to contradict her claim. ¡°Hey, I could play an officer very well. All hail Admiral Sara Valterion!¡± Dang it, my voice sounds very weak. That¡¯s embarrassing, I just reinforced her point. I blush deeply, my face almost as red as my hair. Maja just raises an eyebrow. ¡°Fine, you can do it better¡­ So we¡¯re going to split up then.¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll take the yacht, as it¡¯s an Estriduros ship anyway. You guys stay on the Stargazer and head for the planet. I¡¯ll leave as soon as we are closest to the intra-system wormhole.¡± Maja leaves on the yacht without a hitch and we are left alone on the Stargazer. Luckily, Alex learned to fly the starship very quickly, so she can take over when Maja goes on her own adventure. It takes us another day to circle the sun and catch sight of the planet Estriduros. I only have one thought in my head at the sight of the planet. It¡¯s huge! Almost double the size of Prival, which was about the size of Earth. Making that planet habitable must have been a hell of an effort. ¡°Have you guys ever been there?¡± I ask the others but I don¡¯t think they have. Jack shakes his head and Alex replies while continuing to watch the controls. ¡°I haven¡¯t been myself, but a few of my former co-workers have. It¡¯s very busy down there.¡± Just like I thought. ¡°Okay, so we¡¯re all going in pretty much blind.¡± I start pacing back and forth. ¡°It shouldn¡¯t matter though, as we are looking for people who are on the shadier side, and it¡¯s not like one of us ever dealt with such people.¡± ¡°True enough,¡± Jack chuckles. ¡°How do you plan to find someone making IDs anyway?¡± I keep pacing, now with a frown on my face. ¡°I was counting on Maja¡­ Now that she¡¯s gone, we¡¯ll have to improvise. I guess we have to look into it once we are down on the planet. Maybe S-57 can find something on the web?¡± Alex keeps an amused expression on her face. ¡°Have none of you ever watched spy movies on your holo projectors? We just have to visit some trashy bars in the shadier districts and keep an open ear. Sooner or later we will find what we¡¯re looking for.¡± I have to laugh after hearing this. I did watch those movies! ¡°I guess that¡¯s better than having no plan at all. Maybe we¡¯re in luck.¡± This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. Docking at a space station above the planet isn¡¯t cheap, but with Jack''s funds, we manage, and can even pay for an express shuttle down to the planet. That saves us a day of waiting for the regular one. The city we land in is the second largest behind the capital and is called Duros. Yeah, I know¡­ I almost smashed my head against the wall when I first heard of it. The capital is called Estri and the second largest city is Duros¡­ On planet Estriduros in the Estriduros System of the Estriduros Republic. Who was so dense in the head and named everything the same? I mean a bit of creativity clearly isn¡¯t too much to ask, right? Anyway, the city is huge and divided into different levels, as the buildings are just that tall. The top level is way above the clouds and screams expensive. Our shuttle brings us down to a landing pad somewhere in the middle levels. Everything is connected by walkways that are a maximum of five meters wide. This pattern continues above and below us, leaving plenty of open space in the middle for grav vehicles to move and sunlight to reach the lower levels. Our current level is mostly filled with shops and hotels and even a few parks. It¡¯s quite the sight, as the parks are either on the top of smaller buildings or in other cases, the towers have open spaces on our level for the park, before continuing to the clouds above in higher levels. After walking around a bit, we manage to get a room in a middle-class hotel. I offer to sleep on the couch, while the other two get the actual bed. They try to decline, but I stand my ground and they finally accept. We all go to sleep early, being all quite tired after the trip here. Before falling asleep, I wonder how Maja is faring all alone out there. The next morning starts with a nice breakfast provided by the hotel, and we all dig in with gusto. Alex tells us a bit more about what she heard about the planet and Jack and I both listen attentively. The whole government is located in the city of Estri, and that city is more like the place where all the upper-class and influential people of the republic live. Duros on the other hand is the home of the middle class and below. So we¡¯re at the right place then. We just have to find the actual underbelly of the city. That¡¯s why we all leave the hotel after breakfast and start to explore the city. I take a moment to roll out my tablet ¨C I¡¯m still using the RHT I found on the yacht ¨C and connect to the city net. A few taps later, we have a three-dimensional map of the city projected above the tablet. Three thoughts intrude into my head. One, I should probably look for a new tablet soon. Even if Maja cleared it of everything, it still belonged to a General of the Estriduros Republic. Two, we really have to upgrade the Stargazer to holotech. Three, what the hell? Alex and Jack look at the map in confusion and Jack voices what everyone thinks. ¡°How are we supposed to use that map? This is useless.¡± He¡¯s right, the whole map is a confusing mesh of streets, walkways, grav train lines, and who knows what else. Every level is shown and there is no sign of a filter. Even zooming in doesn¡¯t help as it stays as confusing as ever. There is a red dot indicating where we are, but it doesn¡¯t help at all. I grumble under my breath, cursing about Maja¡¯s absence. She surely would have been able to make sense of this. Hmm, maybe? She said she worked a bit on him in her free time¡­ ¡°Hey S-57, can you clear up the map a bit? We need to find a place where the not-so-law-abiding people frequent.¡± ¡°Certainly. I can clean up the map, but to find your place I¡¯d have to access the city net directly, which will draw attention, as I¡¯m a Mage AI.¡± Oh, I haven¡¯t thought of that. ¡°Okay, just do the map for now¡­ We do want to stay under the radar.¡± The others raise their eyebrows, as they can¡¯t hear S-57, but before I can reply, the map changes before our eyes. All the annoying traffic lanes going through the air disappear and make way for an actual 3D representation of the buildings around us. Only the walkways on the level we are currently on are still shown, which makes it finally comprehensive. A slider on the right allows us to shift through the different levels. Neat! ¡°Thanks S-57.¡± ¡°You¡¯re welcome, Sara.¡± ¡°That¡¯s quite an improvement,¡± Jack whistles through his teeth. ¡°Now, do you have an idea where we should go?¡± Alex again voices her impressive movie knowledge. ¡°We should head down, almost all the way to the ground. It¡¯s always where the shadier dealings happen in the movies.¡± Well, it¡¯s not that we have any better ideas. We need a place to start our search¡­ why not at the bottom? ¡°I can¡¯t say that movies are the best source for information, but I don¡¯t have a better idea, so let¡¯s go.¡± We head to one of the nearby towers and look for an elevator. A nice receptionist points the way, and a few minutes later, we start descending levels. This particular lift only takes us down so far and over the next hour, we have to switch buildings and elevators a few times. But we¡¯ve finally arrived. We¡¯re as low as we can get, as the actual bottom of the city is not accessible, as there is only the infrastructure, that keeps the city above running. It''s quite a bit darker down here despite the numerous open spaces on all the levels, but it¡¯s still quite a normal part of the city. Luckily, it¡¯s not a filthy sinkhole like what you would expect when you hear underbelly of a city. But the difference is still there. While everything is pretty clean, the colors are way more muted and some people already cast weird looks at us once we exit the elevator. Our nice-looking clothes do not fit in down here. The people mostly wear dark coats with raised collars and try to keep their heads down while rushing along the streets. Yes, there are actual streets down here, as there is no need for spaced-out walkways, that leave space for the sunlight from above. Plus, it keeps the support systems below hidden from view. I glance at Alex and groan upon seeing her smug grin. I can¡¯t believe she was partially right. The people here look and act exactly like in the movies¡­ Jack speaks up. ¡°What now? Should we head for a bar or something like that? To keep an open ear?¡± ¡°Sounds like a good start,¡± I reply and turn to Alex while frowning. ¡°Any more genius insights out of your superb movie education?¡± She laughs a bit. ¡°No, that¡¯s it for now, but a bar does sound good.¡± ¡°Alright, let¡¯s search for one. Can¡¯t be too hard, right?¡± Yeah, that jinxed it, again¡­ An hour of searching leads to nothing and I decide to ask S-57 for help again. He needs a few minutes, but after analyzing the city map, he concludes, that there isn¡¯t a single bar at the bottom level. So we move up and this time I consult S-57 immediately. ¡°There are several bars here. The closest one is about half a kilometer to the west. It¡¯s called The Diving Tiger.¡± I relay the name and location to the others and Jack shakes his head. ¡°I thought felines dislike the water¡­¡± Alex just laughs and puts an arm around his shoulder. ¡°Feel free to question the owner about the name of his establishment. I¡¯m sure he¡¯d like that question.¡± We all laugh at that, and Jack uses the pause to kiss his wife. Then he turns around and starts walking toward the east. ¡°Come on, we¡¯ve got a tiger to tame.¡± I glance at Alex and snort. She shows mercy and calls out. ¡°Wrong direction, honey.¡± He turns around with a red face and rejoins us. Then we¡¯re off. This time heading west. Chapter 46: Interlude 6 – Infiltration Chapter 46: Interlude 6 ¨C Infiltration Location: Estriduros Republic; Estriduros System; En route to Star Force Station; Small Yacht Maja is alone. For the first time in her life, she is on her own. Sean, the last of her parents ¨C or programmers ¨C died months in the past, and Sara, who she sees as her big sister ¨C not that she has told her that fact ¨C is currently flying to planet Estriduros to get them some IDs. Maja has her own mission. Currently, she is heading toward Star Force Station, or SFS as everyone calls it. The small yacht hums around her, while she sits in the captain¡¯s chair just for the sake of it. Due to her nature as an AI, she doesn¡¯t need to touch any controls with her robotic body, as everything can be controlled over a wireless connection. Another benefit is her ability to multitask, as controlling a starship this small only takes a fraction of her computational capabilities. That¡¯s why Maja is also working on fake credentials to get actual access to SFS once she reaches it. The enhanced wormhole leading there is still a few hours away, so she¡¯s got plenty of time. Not that she needs it. The thought of the wormhole brings a smile to her face, her humanlike mannerisms are executed automatically at this point. My first solo trip through a wormhole is the same one Sara did her first jump through. An hour later, the credentials are done. Meet Major Maja Valtron of the Estriduros Republic¡¯s Space Rangers. She¡¯s heading for a secret mission to SFS, and can¡¯t be disturbed during her stay as the mission is critical. The name Valtron is Maja¡¯s creation, as she obviously doesn¡¯t have a surname. The closest one is Valterion, Sara¡¯s name, but she can¡¯t use it. It would raise too many red flags, hence Valtron. As for the rank, Maja chose Major after weighing the pros and cons of each rank. General was out immediately, as their numbers are too low. A sudden appearance of another General would be suspicious. The same goes with Colonel. The lower ranks have problems as well, as they are too low in the pecking order and could be ordered around by those higher up. That leaves the Major rank, not too far up in the ladder to raise suspicions, but still high enough to ensure that she isn¡¯t stopped for questioning after every step she takes. All that is only possible due to the fact, that this yacht belonged to a General once. The wardrobe is filled with Space Rangers uniforms and the best part is the fact that the rank insignia are very simple. Every rank has a specific number of stripes, starting with Private and one stripe. The General¡¯s uniforms on the yacht have six stripes, so Maja just has to remove two of them to pose as a Major. This is done pretty quickly and soon after, Maja wears her new uniform and views herself through the cameras in the room. Ugh, it does not fit at all. As the General was male and seemingly a big man, the uniform is a good bit too big. Thinking a bit, the solution comes quickly, and Maja walks over to the other room. Luckily, Sara hasn¡¯t cleared out the whole wardrobe so there are still plenty of clothes in there. Grabbing a few of them, Maja starts putting them on until they don¡¯t fit anymore. She has considerably bulked up with all those layers. Next, she returns to the uniform, she left on the bed of the other room and tries it on again. Now it fits. Good thing I don¡¯t sweat¡­ So many layers must be hot as hell for a human. Major Maja Valtron is ready. The four stripes are presented proudly on her shoulders and the Space Rangers emblem on her chest broadcasts her identity and the status of a classified mission if someone checks. Now she just has to wait till the yacht reaches the wormhole. Maja¡¯s body goes into power-saving mode and two hours later the ship reaches the wormhole. She reactivates her body and stretches a bit, then she hails the small space station next to the wormhole to get clearance for wormhole travel. ¡°This is Major Valtron speaking, I¡¯ve got an urgent mission on SFS, sending clearance now.¡± She attaches her credentials and classified mission to the message and waits. Soon after, an incoming communication flashes on the display, and with a mental nudge, she accepts the call. ¡°Major Valtron, everything checks out and you are cleared to proceed. Have a good trip, wormhole control out.¡± Nice, first hurdle check. So far so good. Now I just have to hope that it goes just as smoothly inside the station. At least there is no Sara to jinx it. Maja heads toward the wormhole and slowly decelerates. Then she enters the ring and the windows darken. She¡¯s entered hyperspace ¨C the first time without a Space Mage. That¡¯s probably the only positive thing that came out of Utopia¡­ Not that anyone knows that. The trip through the wormhole is weird. While everything goes smoothly, there is still something missing when there is no magic being cast around the ship. It doesn¡¯t matter though, as the journey only takes about 15 minutes. It¡¯s a short one, Maja doesn¡¯t even leave the star system. SFS is just at the very edge. It¡¯s the main base of Star Force and a major base of the other two military branches as well. That¡¯s the reason why it warrants a dedicated wormhole, even an enhanced one. Maja emerges with the yacht and the first thing she sees after the windows clear back up, is a massive Battleship. The front of the hull has the name ERS Conqueror written on it. A glance at her database shows her that this is the newest and most advanced Battleship of Star Force. A loud signal alerts her to an incoming priority message and she quickly puts it on speaker. ¡°This is the ERS Conqueror, state your business and prepare to be scanned.¡± Maja frowns deeply. What¡¯s the meaning of this? Why are they suddenly so paranoid? My cover is going to be put to the test immediately. ¡°I¡¯m Major Valtron from the Rangers, here for a critical mission on the station. Time is of the essence, so please be quick.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not on the list of incoming people today. I have to ask you to head to our hangar bay for a thorough inspection. I¡¯m sending out fighters to escort you. Please confirm.¡± Maja grimaces. That¡¯s not going according to her plan. Ugh, I didn¡¯t want to use it, as it¡¯s going to put me on a timer¡­ Fuck, I have to. I can¡¯t go through an inspection. ¡°Negative, Conqueror. My mission is of the utmost importance and can¡¯t be delayed. Clearance code Victor Delta six two six eight Alpha.¡± This is a Space Rangers security clearance code of the highest importance. It should open every door in the republic''s military structure. The problem is the code is from the database of the station she was born on. The station has been destroyed for several months now. This doesn¡¯t mean that the code isn¡¯t valid anymore. It still is, and it shouldn¡¯t even raise a flag at first glance. But if it passes through the system, it¡¯s going to raise an alarm at some point, which means Maja is on the clock now. She has to hurry. Luckily, the communications officer on the Conqueror is immediately appeased by the code and finally gives her the go-ahead. ¡°Your code is valid, Major. I¡¯m sorry for causing you such inconvenience, but there have been several incidents in the past months, so security is tight now. I wish you a comfortable stay at the station. Conqueror out.¡± Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! The connection cuts and Maja immediately hits the acceleration. No more wasting time! She circles the Battleship and finally, the station itself comes into view. It¡¯s beyond huge and calling it station is a bit understated. It looks more like ten stations welded together. It¡¯s a massive hub of activity with countless small shuttles flying around. To the right, several openings are big enough to swallow two complete Destroyers each. Most of the bays are currently empty, but there are also a few ships inside. The left and center of the station look more normal, but here and there are still a lot of smaller hangar bays. The scanners come back with a reading and Maja is taken aback. The station is more than fifteen kilometers wide and half of that in height. Finding the right server room is going to be harder than I thought. Maja shakes her head and focuses on the matter ahead. A quick call with flight control gets her a route to an empty hangar bay and she immediately sets course. This time she didn¡¯t have to use the clearance code and she sighs in relief. This buys her some more time, as the code would have been flagged way earlier inside the station. She reaches the hangar bay half an hour later. It¡¯s located slightly left of the middle and almost at the top level. The high traffic around the station forced her to go slow, but now she is finally able to enter the station. A quick check of her uniform later, she opens the airlock and the outer hatch and steps down on the station floor. A middle-aged soldier with dark eyes and slightly greying black hair stands at attention and salutes her. ¡°Major, I¡¯m Sergeant Flush and your escort for the station.¡± Maja who has already accessed the station net upon landing, quickly accesses some files on military behavior, then smiles while returning the salute. ¡°At ease, Sergeant. Nice to meet you, I¡¯m Major Valtron.¡± The security on the net here is laughable¡­ It feels like I can just slip in. Why were the Earth systems so much harder? Is it because they use another kind of code and I¡¯m programmed with the same that¡¯s used in the republic¡¯s military? The Sergeant nods and relaxes his posture. ¡°Likewise Major. Now, how can I help you?¡± Maja has already planned for a reception like this and stops saluting as well. ¡°I need to check several storage rooms for physical backups of a critical top-secret project. We had a breach and some data got lost. I¡¯m here to get the backups, so not everything is lost.¡± ¡°May I ask what project? The station is huge and if we can narrow it down, we can be faster.¡± Maja shakes her head. ¡°Unfortunately not. I was ordered to keep everything to my eyes only. The project is a bit of a delicate matter¡­ But I can say, that it¡¯s a joint Star Force and Space Rangers project, if this helps anything.¡± He stares at empty air for a while, then his face visibly brightens. Holographic interface? Looks like it. ¡°It does. There is a dedicated warehouse for joint forces projects. We have to take another shuttle if we don¡¯t want to walk for hours though. It¡¯s on the other side of the station.¡± ¡°Alright, lead the way.¡± They both start walking and exit the hangar bay. Sergeant Flush sets a brisk pace, and they soon enter another hangar. This one is even smaller and has a badge saying ¡°Shuttles¡± beside the door. Inside there is a shuttle waiting for them. It¡¯s a small one and Maja looks at it curiously. ¡°It¡¯s a bit small. Are you going to fly it? I don¡¯t think it fits a third person to pilot it.¡± Sergeant Flush laughs. ¡°Your first time on SFS, Major?¡± Maja nods. ¡°Ahh, that explains it. The station¡¯s AI pilots all shuttles around the station. There is too much traffic around here. Only arriving and leaving ships are flown manually. The AI takes care of the shuttles and avoids the other ships if necessary.¡± That makes sense¡­ The shuttles were flying too smoothly on my way here. I wonder how powerful this AI is. I¡¯ve got to be careful. Maja smirks. ¡°Alright, then let¡¯s put our lives in the hands of a computer.¡± ¡°Oh, not at all, the AI can fly the shuttles way better than any human ever can. It¡¯s completely safe, don¡¯t worry, Major.¡± Don¡¯t I know that Sergeant Flush. Maja has to repress a snort, but amusement still glints in her eyes. They board the shuttle and exit the hangar. During their flight, Maja keeps a close eye on the station net, looking for any signs of her clearance code. So far so good. Looks like the Conqueror relies on its own code database without double-checking with the station. At least not immediately. Another process is scanning the personnel database for the whereabouts of Sara¡¯s friends. So far, she was only able to locate Doctor Silver. She¡¯s still working on the academy station, but her file has a note in it, that she is currently on leave, she should be down on planet Estriduros. Unfortunately, she isn¡¯t able to locate either Thomas, Lucy, or Simon. All three are Mages. Strangely, Maja can¡¯t find files for any Mage. She has an idea. ¡°Sergeant Flush, do you have a tablet with you? I was looking for Mage files on the station net but couldn¡¯t find any. I thought I could look for an old friend who joined Star Force real quick while I was here.¡± ¡°You can¡¯t, unfortunately. Mage files are protected with extra security. But we can make a detour to the personnel office if you want.¡± ¡°Sounds good, but let¡¯s do it on our way back, the mission takes priority.¡± The Sergeant nods and they continue their travel in silence. Meanwhile, Maja locates Shay¡¯s file and after cracking an additional security level on the file, she almost raises her eyebrows in surprise. Interesting, while it¡¯s not so nice, we can use it. Shay is listed as a witness in an ongoing case against her former superior officer. Maja muses, that they can approach her current ship under the pretext of needing Shay in another court hearing. She saves the current location and route of Shay¡¯s ship together with the information about Doctor Silver. Meanwhile, the shuttle has reached its destination and they both exit into another part of the station. Sergeant Flush quickly leads her to a massive warehouse and Maja starts to look for any information about the Mage replacement project, she was originally developed for. After walking through the rows of shelves without finding anything, she walks over to the unconnected computer next to the door. It contains an offline list of the warehouse¡¯s contents. She still doesn¡¯t find anything, and relief starts to overcome her. She suppresses any reaction though. Pfew, it seems Sean was thorough enough. Thanks, Dad. The project is completely dead. She puts on a deep frown and turns to the Sergeant. ¡°Is that the only storage room? It¡¯s nothing in here¡­¡± Flush¡¯s gaze goes distant again, then he shakes his head. ¡°No, that¡¯s it, unfortunately. I¡¯m sorry.¡± Maja swears a string of curse words, but inwardly she is smiling. Then she composes herself and addresses the Sergeant again. ¡°Well shit, General¡¯s not going to be happy¡­ Let¡¯s go to the personnel office so that I get at least one success for today¡­¡± The Sergeant agrees, and another trip with the shuttle later, Maja finds herself in an office, full of activity. She immediately grabs onto a wireless connection to one of the computers and starts cracking the security. Meanwhile, she walks up to the counter, so she isn¡¯t suspicious. A smiling blonde woman greets her. ¡°Good afternoon, Major, how can I help you today.¡± She gets access to the personnel database in time and grabs the name of the first Mage between the age of twenty and thirty, she could find. Maja offers the woman at the counter a smile and reads the nametag on her chest. ¡°Hello Miss Zerun, I¡¯m looking for an old friend of mine, a Mage. I was told to ask here for her whereabouts.¡± ¡°Certainly, can you tell me their name?¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s Kayla Puran, she¡¯s from the Bon Delaaz System.¡± Miss Zerun nods. ¡°Alright, give me a minute to look. You can sit down over there if you want.¡± Maja thanks the woman and sits down on the bench where she indicated while searching in the database for Thomas, Simon, and Lucy. She finds Lucy first. She¡¯s currently aboard the Cruiser ERS Topal, doing patrols along the border to the Blueridge Alliance. A minute later she finds Thomas as well. He¡¯s on Border Station 07 in the Olovis System, a frontline station right in the middle of the war with the Dakarti Federation. She smiles when she finally finds Simon¡¯s file. He¡¯s one of the Space Mages on a Destroyer, shipping new Mages to the Academy. His ship, the ERS Verdinum should arrive in the Estriduros System in two weeks. That¡¯s the ship Sara traveled with to the academy too. Ranger Captain Dolder¡¯s ship¡­ But getting Thomas is going to be interesting¡­ Shit!! Maja jumps up and hurries for the counter. She just got the notification, that the ERS Conqueror contacted the station and asked for confirmation of her clearance code. It immediately rang a bell, as the General belonging to the priority code is long dead. Maja hurries to delete her digital traces and manages to change the hangar bay recording of her yacht in time. Now, the dispatched search parties will look at the wrong place for her. ¡°Have you found her? I need to leave, something came up.¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m sorry but I can send it to you once I find it. It¡¯s Major Valtron, correct?¡± ¡°Yes, thank you.¡± Maja turns around and leaves the room. Outside Sergeant Flush is standing with his hand on his laser pistol. ¡°I need you to come with me, Major.¡± Shit, I forgot about him¡­ I could have intercepted the message to him. ¡°Sorry Sergeant, can¡¯t do that.¡± Faster than the man can react, she swings a fist and hits him at the temple. He crumbles like his strings have been cut and Maja runs for the next shuttle hanger. She jumps into the waiting shuttle, overwrites the AI controls, and shoots out into space around the station. Her shuttle keeps a steady pace, and she heads for the hangar, where her yacht waits. She notices that the Conqueror blocks the wormhole and curses again. Damn it, I have to take the long route. Now I just have to get out unnoticed. Maja changes ships and starts a distraction. Two currently empty shuttles collide right before the big hangars at the right side of the station. The collision ends in a massive explosion and Maja changes the yacht''s transponder signature to that of a shuttle, then she slowly leaves the hangar and circles the station. Soon, the station is in between her yacht and the Conqueror. She lets out a sigh. That¡¯s that¡­ now I just have to circle around and head for the planet again¡­ This is going to take a bit. At least I got everything I needed. Chapter 47: IDs Chapter 47: IDs Location: Estriduros Republic; Estriduros System; Estriduros; Duros; Diving Tiger We enter the bar and are immediately assaulted by the loud noise. Patrons are shouting through the room and loud electric music is playing from the speakers. Ugh, not that I didn¡¯t expect it, but it¡¯s still quite a change compared to the outside. I lead the way and head for the counter in the back of the room. I pass a few tables and look at the people sitting and drinking there. The general vibe from the lower levels continues, and I conclude, that we have indeed come to the right place. About half of the people look like they are currently planning something illegal, and the other half looks like they¡¯ve just done something illegal as well. We arrive at the counter and sit down on three empty stools. Jack finds his voice first and orders a drink for each of us. I didn¡¯t hear what exactly over the noise, but the drinks arrive soon after. It¡¯s a beer for Jack and a fancy-looking cocktail for Alex and me. I raise a questioning eyebrow, and Alex leans over to talk directly into my ear. ¡°It¡¯s called a Freezer. Hits extremely hard in the beginning, then gets very cold once you swallow it. Try it, it¡¯s my favorite!¡± I shrug and take a sip. She was right! It tastes like pure alcohol and burns in my mouth, but once I swallow, it cools everything down. Nice! I kinda like it and give the others a thumbs-up. We continue drinking our drinks, while I look around the room and try to find someone to talk to about getting some IDs. There, back in a dark corner is a man with a black hat. Every few minutes different people walk up to him, give him something, or simply talk to him. Then they leave again, and the man wears a slight smile. Suddenly, our gazes lock, and after a short time holding my gaze, he winks and waves me over. I look back at the others. ¡°Uhh, guys? I think I have a lead.¡± They share a look, then Alex nods. ¡°Go for it. We stay here and keep watch. Do not leave the bar without us.¡± Alright, I can do this. I slide off the stool, put on a confident expression, and walk toward the man in the back corner. As I get closer, I notice several heavy-set men sitting at the tables around the man. They cast suspicious looks at me, but after getting a nod from the hat-wearing man, they ignore me. I reach the table and he beckons me to sit down on the opposite side. A deep, slightly scratchy voice greets me. ¡°Welcome, what brings me the honor of meeting someone obviously from the higher levels?¡± I look up surprised, straight into his piercing blue eyes. He looks younger than his voice indicates. Maybe forty? ¡°How do you know that?¡± He chuckles a bit. ¡°Well, I do know the people trafficking my bar. You are not one of them. You and your friends don¡¯t have the look.¡± Huh, his bar? Before I can respond, he continues. ¡°So what can I do for you?¡± I take a deep breath. This is it. I hope he can help us. ¡°I need something that can¡¯t be acquired through legal channels, and something tells me, you are the right man to talk to.¡± He laughs and doesn¡¯t stop for a while. When he finally calmed down, he looks back at me with a big smirk on his face. ¡°Either you are the worst cop I¡¯ve ever seen, or you are so new to this that it hurts.¡± I cross my arms defensively and scowl at him. ¡°Not everyone¡¯s a born criminal!¡± ¡°True enough, but you still can¡¯t walk up to people and ask them about something illegal. Trying to be ominous won¡¯t help you here at all. You lack the reputation. So what is it that you need? I might still be willing to help you. It¡¯s an amusing change of the routine.¡± My scowl deepens, and I exhale loudly. ¡°Fine, I need IDs, best would be a stack of blank ones, but I¡¯m also happy with three personalized ones.¡± He barks another short laugh. ¡°Hah, see, it wasn¡¯t that hard. Now IDs, that¡¯s a strange request for a young woman like you. You don¡¯t look like a criminal on the run, so what do you need a new ID for?¡± I open my mouth to tell him that¡¯s none of his business, but he interrupts me before I can start. ¡°No, don¡¯t tell me. I want to guess¡­ Let¡¯s say three tries and If I¡¯m right, you get a small box filled with blank IDs, and I get a small favor from you?¡± I don¡¯t think my scowl could get deeper, but I think I still manage. ¡°What¡¯s the price for them? I don¡¯t want to play your stupid games.¡± He shakes his head, chuckling. ¡°Oh no, you misunderstand. That¡¯s the deal. Take it or leave. Three tries for me. If I¡¯m wrong, we can talk about a suitable price, and you still owe me that favor. Now ready?¡± This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. I sigh. ¡°Fine, get on with it¡­ It¡¯s not that you¡¯ll guess right anyway. How will you ensure that I don¡¯t lie?¡± ¡°Uhh, we¡¯ll see about that!¡± He shoots a predatory grin at me. ¡°In case no one told you before¡­ Your face is Very telling.¡± I grimace. He laughs. ¡°See, that¡¯s what I¡¯m talking about. Now, my first guess¡­ You are fleeing from an arranged marriage.¡± My snort is answer enough and he laughs even more. ¡°Hah, no that¡¯s not it at all. Fine, I won¡¯t joke around anymore.¡± His expression turns serious, and he leans closer while giving his goons a hand signal. Suddenly the noise cuts off, and I look around in confusion. ¡°What¡¯s happening?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve made our conversation private. My next guess is for our ears only.¡± He weirdly stretches the word guess¡­ I wonder what¡¯s this about. There is no way he can guess that I¡¯m an uncollared Mage. ¡°Okaaayy, go on then.¡± ¡°You want to smuggle a bunch of uncollared Mages out of the republic, and therefore need IDs without the Mage marker on them.¡± He drops that bomb with a completely serious face, and I can¡¯t stop myself from blurting out, while completely forgetting about my no-swear principles. ¡°What the fuck?!¡± I almost fall out of my seat. There¡¯s no way that he could have guessed right. ¡°How?¡± He leans back, now wearing an innocent expression. ¡°So I¡¯m right?¡± ¡°Of course you are¡­ But still, how do you know?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve learned to look for details over the years¡­ It¡¯s important if you are in my position.¡± His gaze sharpens again, then he laughs. ¡°You don¡¯t even know who I am, do you? You just walked in here, being none the wiser. Oh my, it¡¯s always the little things that make my day. Before I tell you how I found out, I should probably introduce myself, don¡¯t you think?¡± I nod, and an ominous feeling starts emanating from my chest. Where did I just walk into? ¡°You can call me Don Fernando¡­¡± The Mafia! Oh shit, I walked right into the Don of the local Mafia. Even worse, I owe him a favor now. What do I do now? ¡°Ahh, no need to be afraid. I¡¯m a reasonable man and I won¡¯t go back on my word. You¡¯ll get your IDs, and I don¡¯t even require a big favor from you. As for how I know? Well, your friend over there,¡± He points at Jack, ¡°he¡¯s got a healthy tan, but not around his neck. Combining this with your need for new IDs and your general nervousness, there is only one solution. Your friend is a Mage!¡± Ohh, he doesn¡¯t even know about me. But now that I look at Jack, it¡¯s blindingly obvious. Holy smokes, why didn¡¯t we notice? ¡°Fine, you got us¡­¡± I gulp. ¡°Now, what do you want from me?¡± Please let it be something easy. He makes another hand sign to his goons and two of them get up and start walking over toward Jack and Alex. ¡°I¡¯m going to split the favor into two parts. Don¡¯t worry, they are small ones. First, I¡¯d like to know how you managed to remove his collar. For the second part, let¡¯s wait till your friends have joined us.¡± He looks at me expectantly and I somehow manage to stay composed. Actually, this man is nothing like the ruthless Mafia bosses out of the movies. He¡¯s quite nice? ¡°I can agree to your second request. For your first, you need to wait. My computer specialist was responsible for the removal of the collar, and they are not here right now.¡± He frowns. Now that I know a bit more context, that frown looks way more dangerous. ¡°Disappointing.¡± The word hangs in the air, and I gulp. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I actually don¡¯t know the slightest thing about the process besides needing a modified UC-Cable to connect to a port in the collar.¡± His expression softens a bit, and he shows me a slight smile again. ¡°See, that¡¯s more than I knew before.¡± In the meantime, the goons have reached Jack and Alex, and are currently guiding them to our table. They are talking to each other, but still, no sound reaches me. Then they cross some invisible barrier, and I can finally hear them again. They wonder what¡¯s going on and are discussing that intensely. Don Fernando points his hand at the empty space next to me. ¡°Welcome, sit down please, we¡¯ve got a bit to discuss.¡± They sit and look at me. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Jack decides to ask me directly and I¡¯m about to start to reply when Don Fernando starts speaking again. ¡°This fine young woman here,¡± he points at me. ¡°Owes me a favor. As you are both part of her crew, I¡¯m going to extend the favor to both of you. Especially you,¡± he looks Jack right in the eyes. ¡°A Mage comes in very handy!¡± Jack''s eyes go wide, then he shoots me an accusing glare. ¡°Why did you?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t, he found out on his own¡­ Your neck is completely white, there is no tan. We should have thought of that¡­¡± I shake my head. I hope Jack is smart enough to guess, that Fernando doesn¡¯t know that I¡¯m a Mage too. Who would have guessed, that being almost unable to get a tan comes out as an advantage? Fernando chuckles and tilts his hat. ¡°Indeed, it¡¯s quite obvious if you know what to look for. Now, may I ask what kind of Mage you are? Depending on that, I¡¯ll find something you three can do for me.¡± Jack looks at both me and Alex and we shrug in response. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. The secret is out anyway.¡± Jack sighs. ¡°I guess you¡¯re right¡­ Fine, I¡¯m a Utility Mage.¡± ¡°Splendid, I take, you know the Telekinesis spell then?¡± Jack nods and the Don continues. ¡°Good, then here¡¯s what you are going to do for me.¡± He waves his hand with another hand signal and one of his people walks over and hands over a rolled-up tablet. He pulls it open and taps a few times until it shows a map of the level we are currently on. Then he taps at a building in the western part of the level, and it starts glowing green. ¡°We are here, in the Diving Tiger.¡± He then points at another building halfway across the level. It¡¯s way bigger, a warehouse? ¡°This is one of my competitor¡¯s establishments. It¡¯s where he stores his merchandise before his guys distribute it. I want what¡¯s inside that warehouse. That¡¯s where your Telekinesis comes in. The crates are quite heavy, and I don¡¯t have the men to spare to dedicate enough to liberating the goods. So you three are going to sneak into the warehouse and float out the crates, while my men are causing a distraction.¡± I frown. That¡¯s still quite vague. ¡°If we agree to this, we need more information. How do we get in? What are you doing for distraction? And most importantly, what do we get besides those IDs? Exposing free magic right here on the capital planet is a big risk. That¡¯s worth more than ten blank IDs I¡¯d say.¡± He stares at me, and his mouth moves into a sly grin. ¡°Do you think I let you walk away just like this? No, no, there is no if you agree to this. You asked, you¡¯ll do your part. Then I deliver the payment. There¡¯s no backing out now. We can discuss further payment after the job is done. Do you understand now?¡± As he goes on, I go even paler, I think. Where did I get us into? I can¡¯t forget just what kind of man he is. Even if he¡¯s acting nice, there¡¯s still a ruthless Mafia boss behind his fa?ade. Sorry Jack and Alex for pulling you into this. I look at them apologetically. I sigh and lower my head. ¡°I understand.¡± ¡°Aww, cheer up, there shouldn¡¯t be any risk for you. You got a tablet? I¡¯ll send you all you need to know. We meet up at midnight tomorrow night, don¡¯t be late, the location is in the information package.¡± Chapter 48: Liberation Chapter 48: Liberation Location: Estriduros Republic; Estriduros System; Estriduros; Duros We return to our hotel, too much out of it to talk very much. Meeting Don Fernando was intense. Back in our room, I sit down on the couch and let out a long sigh. ¡°Sorry guys, for pulling you into this¡­¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry too much, we knew what we were getting into when we removed my collar,¡± Jack replies, while Alex hugs me. ¡°Yeah, we¡¯ve got this,¡± she says. ¡°He doesn¡¯t know that you are a Mage too, right?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think so¡­ I think you¡¯re right! He only ever talked about Jack being a Mage. We can use this. But we should make a plan sooner than later.¡± Alex releases me and stands back up. ¡°I agree, let¡¯s go over it right now.¡± I pull out the tablet while calling out to my AI. ¡°S-57, can you summarize everything we got from Don Fernando.¡± ¡°Certainly, one moment¡­¡± While we wait, we gather around the small couch table, I lay down the tablet, and roll it out to its maximum size. A few minutes later, a holographic representation of a warehouse appears above it, and S-57 starts speaking through the speaker. ¡°This is the target of your mission. Your source estimates a number of ten cargo crates filled with merchandise for you to liberate.¡± A door in the back gets highlighted and the roof of the building disappears, so we can see the crates standing inside. ¡°That¡¯s where your source wants you to enter and exit through. Meanwhile, they will start a distraction at the main entrance in the front. Your source believes that this will pull all the guards to the front, leaving a clear path for you to rob the place.¡± I glance at the projection and think about what S-57 just said. It can work quite nicely if all the guards leave. But that¡¯s a big if¡­ ¡°What do you guys think?¡± Jack frowns. ¡°It could work, but we¡¯re screwed if they leave some guards behind to guard the rear exit.¡± ¡°My thoughts as well. How¡¯s your Cloaking spell coming along? That should make things much easier.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not quite there yet, unfortunately. What about your telekinesis?¡± I shake my head. ¡°Same here¡­ I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll get it ready in one day. Dang it.¡± Alex interjects. ¡°How about you play the invisible protector for Jack? With your shield watch, you should be able to deflect lasers, right?¡± My face brightens. ¡°That¡¯s a good idea! Jack can focus on getting the crates out, while I take care of the guards.¡± If necessary, an invisible club to the head will do nicely. I smile. ¡°What is it?¡± Jack asks. I continue smiling. ¡°I¡¯m just imagining the guards getting knocked unconscious by someone invisible.¡± That makes the others smile as well, till Alex drops her hands on the table, creating an audible clang. ¡°Alright, that¡¯s our plan then. I¡¯ll drive the getaway car and you both go inside to get the goods.¡± Jack and I both nod. It¡¯s an okay plan, I guess. Could be better, but what do we know? It¡¯s our first and hopefully last break in anyway.
The next day comes and goes, and we just sit around in anticipation. It can¡¯t be midnight soon enough. I don¡¯t want to wait anymore! Finally, it¡¯s almost time. At ten in the evening, we leave the hotel and start heading down to the lower levels again. The address, Don Fernando included in the briefing is another warehouse, probably one of his organization. I ring the bell at the entrance and a minute later, the door opens a bit and is held in place by a chain. A dark-skinned man looks through the gap. ¡°What do you want?¡± ¡°We, uh, we were told to come here by Don Fernando?¡± The man shows no reaction but closes the door in our faces. I look at the others. ¡°What the¡­¡± Then the door opens again, this time in full. The man who opened for us is massive, almost two meters tall, and just as wide! He grins broadly. ¡°So you are the special guys, the Don told us about. Come in, the others are already waiting.¡± He points with one hand behind himself, and his coat moves a bit to the side. Holy smokes, he¡¯s loaded. Below his coat, there is a full array of weapons. I notice several laser guns, but also a projectile rifle, and at least one hilt of an energy blade. They¡¯re surely expecting trouble. We enter the warehouse through the short hallway. Around thirty people are waiting inside. Each of them looks just as tough as the guy who let us in. In front of them stands Don Fernando, slightly grinning once he sees us. ¡°Ahh, the magical reinforcement.¡± Everyone turns to look at us. Confusion about how the Don managed to get Mages to help him, turns to even more confusion when they notice the lack of collars around our necks. If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. ¡°Is this a joke,¡± one of them mutters and several others nod in agreement while frowning. Don Fernando laughs and looks at Jack. ¡°I think a short demonstration is in order if you¡¯re willing?¡± Jack just shrugs and concentrates a bit. A few seconds later, one of the crates in the corner of the room begins to float and makes its way over to the group. Fernando claps a single time to get the attention of the slack-jawed people back to himself. For them, it¡¯s simply impossible to see an uncollared Mage. I chuckle, they don¡¯t know half of it. The Don continues to speak. ¡°Yes, it¡¯s real magic, and that¡¯s how we¡¯re going to rob the Snakes clean!¡± Everyone starts cheering and the Don claps again to have them quiet down. ¡°Alright, everyone. Let¡¯s go over the last details¡­¡±
An hour later, Alex, Jack, and I sit inside of a small truck driven by the man who let us into the warehouse. His name¡¯s Marc and he¡¯s quite a nice fellow, even if he¡¯s a criminal. We¡¯re currently closing in at the warehouse we¡¯re about to rob. The other vehicles have already left us and are about to assault the front of the building. We¡¯re just waiting for the signal to engage. Marc puts his hand to his ear, probably receiving a message on his earpiece. He slams down the gas pedal and we lurch forward, the grav generators straining to keep up. We¡¯re still pressed into our seats a bit, but a minute later, we stop at the back door of our target. ¡°Alright guys, do your thing, I¡¯ll guard the entrance of the alley. Don¡¯t wait for me once you¡¯re finished. You know the way back. He leaves the truck and walks down the walkway, while the truck floats right above. I look at the others and see looks of determination. ¡°Let¡¯s do this.¡± They nod and Alex jumps into the driver¡¯s seat, while Jack and I exit the truck. I grab the club and laser gun I got from Marc and confirm the stunning setting. I don¡¯t want to kill anyone! Right before us is the back entrance to our target warehouse. It¡¯s a double door, so we shouldn¡¯t run into any issues with the crates when we leave. I look around, Marc is no longer in sight, so I cast the Cloaking spell as quickly as I¡¯m able and vanish. Jack has cast his Communication spell in the meantime and I can suddenly hear his voice in my ear, despite his still closed lips. Mental communication, that¡¯s so cool. I¡¯m going to learn this one right after Telekinesis! ¡°Can you hear me, Sara?¡± I answer out loud. ¡°Yeah, loud and clear.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t need to speak, as long as the spell is active, just think what you want to say and will it along the connection. You should feel it, right?¡± I wasn¡¯t looking for it before, but now that he says it, there is something there. Hmm, I¡¯ll just try it. ¡°Like so? Oh, and I¡¯m invisible, right?¡± I can hear him chuckling through the connection. ¡°Exactly, and yes I can¡¯t see you anymore¡­ Ready to go in?¡± I tap his shoulder to show him that I¡¯m there. He jumps a little and I grin. Got him! ¡°I¡¯ve got your back! Let¡¯s move.¡± Jack steps forward and tries to open the doors. They¡¯re locked, of course. His magic surges and suddenly, the doors swing open forcefully, the locking bolt is completely deformed, and I notice, that the doors would open the other way around normally. I sigh inwardly. Learning the last bits of the Telekinesis spell can¡¯t come soon enough. This is so cool. With the way now cleared, we step inside. To the right, there is a man who looks very surprised. I mean doors don¡¯t open in the wrong direction regularly. Next, he looks at Jack and is about to shout a warning. But I¡¯m faster, I¡¯ve already rushed forward and swung my invisible club at his head. He drops like a sack of potatoes. ¡°Is he okay?¡± Jack asks with an expression of concern. I squat down next to the man and check his pulse. It¡¯s steady. ¡°All good, he¡¯s just unconscious.¡± Before us the room opens up to a quite large shop floor and to the left, stacked in a corner, I see our target: Ten large crates filled with merchandise. I still wonder what¡¯s inside. Let¡¯s find out! The way is clear, the man behind me was the only one left behind. Looks like the distraction is successful. Jack and I rush over to the crates, and he starts doing his thing. He told me before, that he can only handle two crates at once, so we have to do a few trips. While he¡¯s preparing to take the first two out to the truck, I lift the lid of one of them and look inside. I gulp. There are hundreds of small packages, filled with a white substance. Drugs! I knew it would be something illegal, but drugs? Dang it, but we can¡¯t back out now. We¡¯re already committed¡­ ¡°It¡¯s drugs, Jack. We better hurry up. I don¡¯t think they¡¯ll react kindly to us taking their stuff. Who knows, maybe they do regular checkups with the guy inside.¡± The first two crates begin floating and he nods. ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re right. I¡¯ll go as fast as I can. Follow me.¡± He walks in between the two crates while they float toward the exit. I meanwhile discarded the club and draw my stun gun. If someone comes looking, I¡¯m too far away to knock them unconscious with the club, so it¡¯s the stun gun¡¯s turn now. Luckily, I¡¯m a good shot ¨C Space Sense for the win. We deliver the first two crates without issues and return for the next few. I check on the guard and find him still unconscious. Good! Jack makes another two crates floating alongside him and walks back to the exit. Right when he walks outside, I see someone entering from the front. ¡°Hurry up, there¡¯s already one guy checking the room¡­ I¡¯ll take care of him, but please be faster.¡± Jack grunts. ¡°I¡¯m working as fast as I can, just three more trips.¡± Due to my invisibility, I have more than enough time to aim the gun. Once I¡¯ve got him right in the crosshairs, I pull the trigger, and the gun discharges with a slight hiss. The laser bolt shoots out, it¡¯s blue this time, and hits the man square in the chest. His eyes roll up and he collapses right on the spot, his chest raising in a steady rhythm. Good, the stun worked. Jack comes running inside, he starts to sweat but still grabs the next two crates with his Telekinesis. We¡¯re almost there ¨C just four more. The next run goes by without issues and soon Jack comes back for the last two. He¡¯s completely sweaty now, but he still manages to lift them. I guard his back, and we slowly walk toward the exit. Luckily, there didn¡¯t come another guy from the front while we liberated the goods. On our way out, a strange feeling enters my body. Something¡¯s wrong! What did I miss? I can¡¯t figure it out. Then when we exit the warehouse, it clicks. The first guy wasn¡¯t lying next to the door anymore! He¡¯s now standing right in front of Jack with a gun pointed at Jack¡¯s head. Shit, I don¡¯t have a clear line to shoot! While I¡¯m panicking, the man demands Jack¡¯s surrender and Jack asks where I am and why I¡¯m not helping over the Communication spell. I quickly explain the situation and tell him to duck, as soon as he sets down the crates. Jack calls out. ¡°Okay, okay, I¡¯ll surrender. Please don¡¯t shoot me!¡± He cancels his Telekinesis and the crates lower themselves to the floor, then he drops himself to the floor as well. The man fires his gun out of reflex right at where Jack was standing moments before, meaning he shot right at me as I was standing right behind Jack. But I¡¯m ready and have the shield-watch ready and activated. It catches the laser bolt and I pull the trigger in return. Before the man can react and point his gun at the prone Jack, he has a blue bolt hitting his chest and he falls unconscious. Again. While Jack takes care of the crates, I cancel my invisibility and run to the truck to look after Alex. I¡¯ve got a bad feeling. I arrive at the truck and open the driver¡¯s door. Alex is inside and has blood running down the side of her head. But she¡¯s breathing! I let out a sigh of relief. He¡¯s only knocked her out. I call out to Jack and explain the situation. No need to be silent anymore. He finishes loading and closes the cargo compartment. Then we both move Alex to the passenger seat very carefully. Jack sits behind the wheel and slams down the gas. We did it! It got a bit messy in the end, but we did it. We¡¯ll get our IDs and Don Fernando better put something on top of that! Stealing drugs was not the deal. Chapter 49: Growing Crew Chapter 49: Growing Crew Location: Estriduros Republic; Estriduros System; Estriduros; Duros; Lower Levels We arrive back at Don Fernando''s warehouse about an hour later. Someone notices our truck and one of the shutters rolls up to let us drive inside. The people inside start cheering when Jack powers down the truck and even the Don wears a big smile. We exit the vehicle, carefully helping Alex along. She woke up a bit earlier but is still a bit wobbly on her feet. The guard dude got her good¡­ Upon seeing this, Marc immediately comes rushing over and helps us with Alex. We guide her to a chair standing to the side, and she sits down while sighing. ¡°Ughh, my head¡­¡± Marc gets another point on the nice list and offers to get some painkillers. Alex happily agrees. Jack squads down next to her and holds her hand. Seeing, that she is in good hands, I start walking over to Don Fernando. Once I¡¯m in earshot, I call out. ¡°We need to talk!¡± That gets me some angry stares from some of the people who aren¡¯t busy unloading, but Fernando waves them off. ¡°We do. Follow me.¡± He leads me to a small office in the back and sits down behind the wooden desk inside. He bends down and when he sits back up, he has a small cardboard box in his hands. ¡°Your payment, as we¡¯ve agreed.¡± I scowl at him. ¡°Thanks, but that¡¯s not enough¡­ Drugs weren¡¯t part of the deal! Also, my friend got hurt.¡± Now it¡¯s his turn to scowl back. ¡°You weren¡¯t supposed to look into the crates. But that doesn¡¯t matter, we made a deal and I expect you to honor it. Do not test my patience.¡± ¡°But¡­¡± He interrupts my retort before I can form it. ¡°But I¡¯m not a cruel man. Your friend getting hurt was not planned, so I¡¯ll compensate you.¡± He bends down again and lifts a small suitcase. ¡°Here, take the money. Keep your secret with the collars. That one strike almost got the authorities swarming the whole level. You need to be careful with your friend¡¯s magic. Now leave. We¡¯re finished here.¡± I glance at the suitcase, then back at him, and back at the suitcase. That was conveniently placed under the table¡­ Almost as if it was prearranged. I look at the Don again and catch his smirk. That sly bastard! I nod at him. Well played¡­ He planned to give me the money all along! It¡¯s probably just a little bit, but now I don¡¯t have any reasons to ask for more. Especially now that he doesn¡¯t want the collar secret anymore¡­ I grab the suitcase and the box full of IDs and turn around without another word. Arriving back at where Jack and Alex are sitting, I nod my head toward the exit. ¡°We¡¯re leaving. We¡¯ve got what we wanted¡­¡± I must have sounded angrier than intended, as they both look at me in concern after we exited the warehouse. ¡°Sorry, I just got played by the Don¡­¡± I continue and explain what happened in his office. Jack laughs. ¡°Well, in the end, it¡¯s still you who played him more. He still doesn¡¯t know that I¡¯m not the only Mage.¡± That brings a smile back to my face. Jack¡¯s right!
We decided to chill a bit more in the hotel before returning to the Stargazer. Alex spent the last day ordering food and other things for the ship, so we have to wait a bit anyway till it¡¯s ready to be shipped up. I¡¯m currently sitting with the others playing a card game when I suddenly hear a crackling sound in my ear. Huh? ¡°Sara? You there?¡± It¡¯s Maja! She¡¯s back? ¡°I¡¯m here, are you back already?¡± At the confused glances from the others, I point at my ear and mouth the word Maja. They nod in understanding. ¡°Yes, and I¡¯ve got some exciting news. You¡¯re still on the planet, right?¡± ¡°Uh, yeah we are. What¡¯s up?¡± ¡°Good, I just arrived at the Stargazer, and you weren¡¯t there. But that¡¯s actually great because the next person on your list is down on the planet with you.¡± Someone¡¯s here on the planet? ¡°Who is it?¡± It¡¯s Doctor Silver. She¡¯s currently on leave from the academy and should be back home in the city of Greatham. I¡¯ll send you the address.¡± That is very good news, I think the city is pretty close as well. ¡°Wow, Maja that¡¯s amazing. How was the rest of your mission?¡± Good, good. It looks like Sean¡¯s people were able to destroy everything¡­ I didn¡¯t find any backups. And I managed to locate all your friends as well!¡± I pump my fist up in the air. ¡°Yes! You¡¯re the best Maja! So we¡¯ll go get the Doctor, then we come back up to you. There should be a delivery to the Stargazer sometime tomorrow, by the way, Alex managed to get us some supplies.¡± Alright, I¡¯ll take care of it. Oh and did you manage to get some IDs?¡± ¡°Yeah, we did. I even got blank cards, so you can fill them up with our data once we¡¯re back at the ship.¡± ¡°Nice, see you later then. Good luck with the Doctor.¡± ¡°Did she find someone here on the planet?¡± Jack asks, looking a bit confused. I nod. ¡°She did, Doctor Silver is just one city away. We need to get to Greatham.¡± ¡°Already on it,¡± Alex replies with the tablet still in her hands. ¡°Got it, the train leaves in two hours a few levels above us.¡±
Location: Estriduros Republic; Estriduros System; Estriduros; Greatham If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. The trains here on planet Estriduros are something else. I thought the UFT on Acordus 3 was nice, but this thing is miles above. Super soft seats, onboard catering, and not a bit of acceleration felt. When we exit the train in the city of Greatham, I turn to Alex. ¡°Did you choose the super fancy train or is this normal?¡± She laughs. ¡°That¡¯s pretty much normal here, nothing fancy at all. You should see the fancy ones. They cost ten times as much and are way faster and way more comfortable.¡± How can it be even more comfortable? That¡¯s hard to believe, but she¡¯s probably right. I mean she lived on a core planet before, and I am only from the fringe. We exit the train station, it¡¯s located at the top of a tall skyscraper, just like the Spire in Acordia. When we arrive at the bottom and enter the city proper, it looks way different compared to Duros. Actually, it looks just like a normal city. Well, normal in my opinion. Everything is located on the ground. Sure, there are several tall buildings and even a few skyscrapers, but the city doesn¡¯t consist of different levels. Jack''s stomach grumbles. I smirk. ¡°Should we grab something to eat before looking for the Doctor?¡± He pulls at the scarf he¡¯s wearing that hides his pale neck and nods. ¡°Yeah, I could do with some food.¡± ¡°Alex, can you find us something nice to eat?¡± She¡¯s still carrying the tablet, and I don¡¯t trust S-57 with something so important like finding us good food. I don¡¯t want to eat trash, just because it¡¯s close to us. ¡°Yeah, give me a minute.¡± She starts walking toward the west and we follow her. A few minutes later, she grins. ¡°Found something. I hope you like Chinese food. It¡¯s also very close to Doctor Silver¡¯s apartment, so we don¡¯t even have to detour.¡± Nice, that does sound like a plan. A bit of walking later, we arrive at the restaurant. I look through the window and find it quite empty. Only a few patrons are sitting and eating inside. One of them looks quite familiar actually. She¡¯s got bright pink hair and grey eyes. She smiles at her food¡­ Wait, is she? I laugh out loud. Her hair was green back then, but I think I just found Doctor Silver! The others look at me confused. ¡°What¡¯s so funny? It¡¯s just food, you know,¡± Jack says. ¡°We should head inside, staring through the window is a bit rude.¡± ¡°Yeah, I know,¡± I reply still laughing. ¡°It¡¯s just that I think I found Doctor Silver. The pink-haired woman inside¡­ I¡¯m pretty sure that¡¯s her.¡± Now Jack laughs as well and puts an arm around his wife. ¡°You should become a private investigator honey, looks like you found us just the right restaurant.¡± Alex smiles and leads the way inside. She asks for a table for three and the hostess leads us to a table pretty close to Doctor Silver. I now get a better look, but it¡¯s clearly her. We order our food and while we wait, I think about how to approach her. In the end, I decide to wait till she leaves. She hasn¡¯t recognized me and if I just walk over to her and tell her I¡¯m a Mage, she met over four years ago, she might react badly. I don¡¯t want something like this as I¡¯m still an illegal person here in the republic. So while we wait for our food, Doctor Silver pays up and leaves. She frowns a bit when she walks by our table, but then leaves the restaurant shrugging. Huh, looks like she did recognize me, but couldn¡¯t think of where she met me before. Anyway, our food arrives, and we eat in silence. Then we pay and leave and walk the last half kilometer to Doctor Silver¡¯s apartment. When we arrive at her front door on the third floor of a quite nice-looking building, I turn to the others. ¡°Uhm, would you mind letting me talk to her alone? I don¡¯t know how she¡¯ll react and uh, maybe it¡¯s better if she only sees me?¡± Jack shrugs. ¡°Well, I¡¯m already without a collar and so kinda illegal, so it wouldn¡¯t matter if she sees me as well. But if you want to go alone, sure go ahead. We¡¯ll wait out here.¡± Alex just gives me a thumbs-up and so I walk the final meters to the door and press the doorbell. A minute later, the door opens, and Doctor Silver looks at me in confusion. ¡°Do I know you?¡± Then understanding dawns on her face. ¡°Wait, you¡¯re the girl from the restaurant! Did you follow me here? What do you want?¡± Understanding turns into a little bit of panic and I quickly take a step back. ¡°Doctor Silver, wait. Our meeting in the restaurant was pure coincidence. I was actually on the way to your apartment all along.¡± She frowns. ¡°You were? But why? I don¡¯t know you, do I?¡± ¡°Actually, you do. We¡¯ve met before¡­ At your workplace. About four years ago.¡± I can see the gears turning in her head. I mean, I still look quite young. Well, I am quite young. Four years ago makes me sixteen back then and that can only mean one thing. We stare at each other and finally, I can see the recognition in her eyes. ¡°You¡¯re Sara Nelson!¡± I grimace. ¡°Holy shit, it¡¯s truly you! That grimace!¡± She grabs my shirt collar and pulls me into the room, then closes the door with a bang. ¡°Are you out of your mind? Where the fuck is your collar? What are you doing here? Do you know how dangerous it is here for someone like you?¡± Her rant goes on, while she walks into the living room. A big window shows the sprawling city behind. Doctor Silver quietly mumbles some curse words while I think about how to reply. Her reaction was quite intense, but not bad so far. I sit down on the white leather sofa. She finally composes herself and sits down on the armchair opposite. ¡°Now explain.¡± I take a deep breath. ¡°You see, I obviously got rid of my collar. In the process, I came into possession of a starship and an attached mission, I have to carry out. I won¡¯t go into details for now, just that the mission requires me to leave the republic. For that, I need the ship and the ship needs a crew. Now you can probably imagine, why I¡¯m here.¡± I pause for the dramatic effect. ¡°You¡¯re pretty much the only Doctor I know, and you were so nice to me back then. I know that¡¯s a bit of na?ve reasoning, but here I am¡­ Do you want to join my crew as our Doc?¡± ¡°You¡¯re crazy¡­¡± She shakes her head in disbelief but her trademark smile comes back. ¡°She got rid of her collar¡­ That has to mean something.¡± I don¡¯t think that second sentence was meant to be heard by me. It was pretty silent. ¡°But still, seeing all those young people at the academy realize what being a Mage here in the republic means¡­ I can¡¯t say I like it. You know, I applied to the academy because I thought I could get a glance at magical healing. I¡¯ve read about it before in some dubious online forums. It was quite a disappointment when I learned that there isn¡¯t any healing taught at the academy. Now I don¡¯t even know if this is possible at all¡­ Hmm, you¡¯ll probably cross more Mage friendly nations on your way to your destination, right? Where are you going anyway? Oh, and I need a bit more information than what you told me so far.¡± I smile back at her. ¡°Well, our destination is The Magicon Empire. I don¡¯t know if you¡¯ve heard about them, but they are the big shots out there in the galaxy. Due to circumstances, I found myself on Earth for the past few months.¡± Doctor Silver stares at me with wide eyes, but before she can reply, I continue. ¡°Yes Earth, it wasn¡¯t destroyed as everyone believes. That¡¯s false information that was spread deliberately to hide what happened there for real. And now I do have critical information, that needs to be delivered to the rulers of The Empire, as they were the ones that decided to hide the real happenings on Earth back then.¡± Her smile slipped a little during my short explanation due to her struggles to believe me, but now it¡¯s back in full force. ¡°Holy shit. You already had me with The Empire as our destination. I¡¯ve only heard rumors so far when I read about the healing, but that place must be amazing. If there is something like magical healing, than I¡¯ll find it there. And now you throw me a curveball with flippin¡¯ Earth¡­ Damn, I¡¯d be a complete moron if I say no to this. So yes, I¡¯m in. I¡¯ll be your Doctor all day, but call me Ronja.¡± I smile back at her. ¡°Alright, Ronja welcome to the Stargazer¡¯s crew. Now, you can take pretty much everything you want with you, as we¡¯ve got the space up there. Oh and do you have a tablet at hand? I can connect you to Maja and then you two can go over everything you need to set up a medical room up there.¡± She jumps up and walks over to a nearby shelf. Then she comes back with a tablet in her hand. ¡°Sure have, here. And you really mean everything? I''ve got some gym equipment in the back room¡­¡± I grab the tablet and whisper to S-57 to connect to it, so Maja can access it as well. He confirms and gets to work. ¡°You can for sure. Our gym room is still empty anyway.¡± The connection is established and Maja¡¯s voice drones through the speaker. I give the tablet back to Ronja and they both get to work. They mention things, I''ve never heard about, but they sound medical, so everything should be good. Then one last brilliant thought hits me and I quickly focus back on the Doctor. ¡°Hey Ronja, could you maybe equip me with a holographic interface?¡± She smiles. ¡°Sure can. Do you already have one or should I include it with our purchases?¡± I almost jump in jubilation. ¡°I still need one, so if we can afford one right now, please do so!¡± Chapter 50: Exfiltration (1) Chapter 50: Exfiltration (1) Location: Estriduros Republic; Estriduros System; above Estriduros; VS Stargazer The next few days were Busy with a capital B. All the things Alex ordered had to be stored somewhere and as we don¡¯t have any cargo bots; we were the ones carrying stuff. Sure, Jack¡¯s Telekinesis helped a lot, but Alex and I still had to help. Ronja meanwhile is still busy finalizing her medbay shopping spree and that¡¯s even more stuff to carry once it arrives. At least she was just as amazed by the Stargazer as everyone else. That made my day. Now though, I wait in anticipation. Not only did she manage to order a holographic interface for me, no she also bought one for Alex and Jack as well. Ronja herself already has one and Maja obviously doesn¡¯t need it. The package should arrive with all the other medical things, and it¡¯s scheduled for today. It¡¯s still a bit surreal¡­ I mean we order something, and it gets delivered the next day. In orbit! Anyway, once we arrived back on the ship, Maja told us the good news. She did manage to find everyone. Well, everyone except Greg and Trix, but they both aren¡¯t in the military. And even better, Simon is already on his way to the Estriduros System! We¡¯ve also managed to outline a rough plan to get him out of Star Force¡¯s clutches. It¡¯s going to be a wild ride I have to say. A chime in my ear shakes me out of my thoughts. The next delivery is here! I hope it¡¯s the exciting stuff. It is! The interfaces are finally here together with most of the medical supplies. That means we can set up our medical room on deck 03. Once that is done, Ronja can finally set me up with something I wanted to have since I was a kid. With that goal in mind, I work faster than ever, and a few hours later, everything is ready. I lay down on the bed ¨C this time it¡¯s an actual hospital bed, not the living room table like last time ¨C and Ronja uses a syringe after asking if it is okay. The next thing I know is reading the word ¡°initializing¡± right in the center of my vision once I open my eyes. It is done! I jump up and hug Ronja who is still standing nearby. ¡°Thank you!¡± She smiles, as always. ¡°You¡¯re most welcome.¡± I have to test that bad boy immediately. Where¡¯s Maja? Probably on the bridge¡­ Worth a try, it¡¯s not far anyway. I¡¯m in luck, she¡¯s there, together with Alex. Are we leaving already? I guess I was longer out than I thought. ¡°Hey girls,¡± I wave when they notice me. ¡°Maja, do you have a moment?¡± ¡°Sure thing, Alex you got this,¡± she winks at her and walks over to me. Alex fidgets a bit, but then sits down in the Captain¡¯s chair and takes over the controls. ¡°So what do you need? Everything went well, I hope?¡± ¡°It sure did, I was wondering if you could help me set it up?¡± ¡°I can, but you also could do it yourself¡­ It¡¯s not that hard.¡± ¡°Yeah, well, but what¡¯s your friendly neighborhood AI for if not for this?¡± I laugh a bit and she quickly joins in. In the background, I hear a snort from Alex. ¡°You¡¯re just lazy!¡± She shouts, and I pretend I didn¡¯t hear her. Then Maja gets to work and seconds later, I have a complete overlay in my vision. Everything I look at is suddenly named and labeled. Ugh, that¡¯s too much! ¡°Uh Maja, now it¡¯s distracting¡­ Can you have it just show the time and other important things at the top right or something and have everything else be either voice or gesture-activated? Maybe something like a home button, that lets me open up the menus if I want to use it more actively.¡± ¡°Gotcha,¡± Maja replies, and the view changes. Way better! Now that this is done, It¡¯s finally time to go after Simon.
Location: Estriduros Republic; Murati System; VS Stargazer A few days later, we arrive in the Murati System. It¡¯s another one bordering the Estriduros System and the one Simon¡¯s ship, the ERS Verdinum will cross on its way to the academy. It¡¯s also where we have planned our ¡°ambush¡± or more precisely my ambush as I¡¯m the only one able to teleport if things go wrong. True I¡¯m restrained by gravity, but we¡¯ve got a plan for that. Now we just have to wait. The Stargazer is on standby a few thousand kilometers from the wormhole. The Cloaking spell is hard at work, encompassing the whole ship thanks to the Magitech emitters around the hull. Jack is now able to cast it as well, so he can jump in in case anything fails with the cloaking. Our yacht waits on an asteroid on the other side of the wormhole in case I¡¯m too slow and the Verdinum jumps to the Estriduros System before I can get Simon out. It¡¯s our way back to the Stargazer if this case occurs. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. I spend the next three days practicing Telekinesis over and over. I¡¯m so close, but then it¡¯s time. The ERS Verdinum appears on our scanners. We all meet on the bridge and go over the last details. Alex will be steering the Stargazer, Jack is there to provide magical support and we all hope that Ronja stays without work, as having her working would mean something went wrong horribly. Maja will be hard at work infiltrating the ERS Verdinum¡¯s computer systems and I will do the actual infiltration of the other starship. For that, it¡¯s integral that our cloaking stays active all the time, as we will connect airlock to airlock so that I can cross over. When I look at the others, I see only determination. They are ready and so am I! ¡°Alright guys, this is it. Wish me luck. I¡¯m heading for the airlock, see you later.¡± ¡°Good luck!¡± ¡°You got this!¡± I smile and exit the bridge through the elevator, then I make my way to the airlock. I¡¯m carrying a signal enhancer so that I can stay connected to Maja even when I¡¯m on the other ship. It¡¯s running the old Earth frequency that Maja wasn¡¯t able to detect before she got her robotic body, so we are pretty confident that the signal will stay undetected. I don¡¯t even feel anything, but half an hour later, the light above the airlock suddenly turns green and Maja¡¯s voice in my ear gives me the go-ahead. We are connected! I take a deep breath and the airlock opens, then I step through. At the other end of the short tunnel is the hatch to the Verdinum. The very first starship I set foot on. At least the only one I can remember. Maja is deep in their system already, as the other airlock opens as soon as I near the door. Before I step inside, I cast the Cloaking spell and vanish from sight. Once inside, my holographic interface comes alive and shows me the deck plan of the Verdinum. This is so much better than holding a tablet! Let''s see, their airlocks are at the bottom as well and the bridge is at the top. That¡¯s where Simon will be during the jump, but we should be far enough away that I can get him before that. I tap the menu button and activate a virtual keyboard. I don¡¯t want to make a sound if I can avoid it. Then I tap a message to Maja. ¡®Can you lead me to Simon¡¯s cabin? And can you look for him in the meantime?¡¯ Her voice comes back through the AI chip behind my ear. ¡°I can lead you to his room and open the doors for you, but looking for him isn¡¯t possible right now. I¡¯m hard at work keeping our intrusion unnoticed and any further intrusion could blow our covers. Their systems must have gotten an upgrade.¡± I tap my confirmation and once I¡¯m finished, a green line appears on the deck plan. Now I just have to follow it. The first sliding door brings the first close call. I¡¯m walking toward it when it suddenly slides open and a man in a Star Force uniform walks through. He walks right in the middle of the hallway, and I have to press myself to the side to let him through. Then I quickly rush through the doorway before it can close again. Luckily, there are stairs next to the elevators, as using them would have been way too risky. I mean the elevator moving up and down without anyone inside? Yeah, that can be written off as normal but what if someone comes inside? It¡¯s a very small room¡­ So thanks for there being stairs! They lead me up to the second-highest deck, where the crew cabins are located according to the plan. Now that I look around, it¡¯s also where I lived during my short trip with that ship. I swallow down a chuckle at the nostalgic feeling and walk toward the bow of the ship. Simon¡¯s cabin is in the front third of the ship. Two minutes later, I stand before the door. Another quiet conversation with Maja later, has the door sliding open. There are no cameras inside, so we don¡¯t know if he¡¯s even there¡­ Just my luck! He isn¡¯t, of course. Dang it! Is he already on the bridge? But it¡¯s still more than an hour¡­ I sit down on the bed and furiously tap another message to Maja. ¡®We have to go with plan B. I¡¯ll get him out after the jump. Can you install a backdoor for S-57 until you have to disconnect?¡¯ ¡°Shit, plan B it is then. Good luck! I see what I can do for S-57¡­¡± I sigh, now that the door is closed again, I can relax a little. Good thing we planned for this. It takes two hours till Maja messages me that I¡¯m on my own now. They have disconnected and the Verdinum is getting ready for the jump. An announcement over the intercom warns of the jump in five minutes and exactly five minutes later, I can feel it with my Space Sense. The ship has entered the wormhole. I have to say, it¡¯s strange¡­ Jumping through a wormhole without my magic blocked and I¡¯m still not in charge of the jump. When I concentrate on my Space Sense, I can feel the smallest fluctuations in the Space Bubble around the ship, and even when Simon and his AI take corrective actions. All in all, it¡¯s quite the experience, but I¡¯m still glad when it¡¯s over. We should be back in the Estriduros System. Ten minutes later, the door slides open, and Simon enters. He¡¯s tall as ever and his brown eyes look exhausted. The spell taking its toll¡­ His hair has gotten a bit longer and ends now at shoulder length, at least that¡¯s what I estimate, as he has bound it together in a small ponytail. There are still some blue strands here and there though. Looks like it¡¯s been a while since he last visited a hairdresser. The door closes behind him and he walks over to his bed and falls over. Luckily, I''ve stood up before. That would have been awkward¡­ Not knowing how else to do it, I simply drop the Cloaking spell and appear in the middle of the room. ¡°WHAT THE FUCK?!¡± Simon jumps up in panic at my sudden appearance and I can¡¯t hold back a laugh. His face is too funny. ¡°Sara?!¡± He looks at me with wide eyes. ¡°How are you here? Wait that¡¯s a projection, right? Those damn bastards from engineering¡­ But how do they know about Sara?¡± I take that moment to step forward and flip his ear, then I speak up holding back another laugh. ¡°Can a projection do this? I¡¯m quite real, you know. Hey Simon, it¡¯s been a while.¡± He sits back down on his bed and buries his head in his hands. ¡°I¡¯m finally losing it¡­¡± I sit down and put an arm around him. A bit more serious, I face him. ¡°Simon, you¡¯re not losing it. I¡¯m sorry for startling you like this, but I didn¡¯t know how else to do it. I mean I can¡¯t change the spell.¡± He looks back up at me. ¡°You¡¯re really here¡­ How? Wait! You said spell.¡± His eyebrows reach his hairline. ¡°Your collar is gone!¡± I smile. ¡°It is. I can remove yours as well if you want. That¡¯s why I¡¯m here by the way. To get you out of here.¡± ¡°Of course I want to get rid of it! But still¡­ How? No offense, but you were the weakest of us all, and now. How are you even here on the ship.¡± Wow, this really did a number on him¡­ ¡°It¡¯s a long story¡­ The short version is that I got rid of the collar, and now have a ship that needs a crew. So far, I¡¯ve got Jack. You were the next closest one, next, we look for Lucy, Greg, and some others.¡± He takes a deep breath to calm down a bit. ¡°Okay¡­ So you can remove my collar. But we¡¯re still on a military ship. Hmm, if you¡¯re here, you got a plan, right?¡± Chapter 51: Exfiltration (2) Chapter 51: Exfiltration (2) Location: Estriduros Republic; Estriduros System; ERS Verdinum Simon takes a deep breath to calm down a bit. ¡°Okay¡­ So you can remove my collar. But we¡¯re still on a military ship. Hmm, If you¡¯re here, you got a plan, right?¡± ¡°I do. But it still depends if you want to join my crew. I¡¯m sorry for not giving you the full explanation right now, but we¡¯re a bit short on time. The original plan was to get you out of here before the jump, but you were already gone from your cabin.¡± ¡°You were here the whole time?¡± I nod. ¡°Holy shit. Nobody noticed anything. How did you get aboard?¡± ¡°Well, I just walked in¡­ My new AI hacked the whole ship.¡± ¡°New AI, unlocked magic¡­ You¡¯re full of surprises, aren¡¯t you?¡± He stands up and straightens his uniform. ¡°But yes, of course, I¡¯ll join you. A life in freedom. Who would say no to that?¡± A big grin finds its way to my face and I hug him. ¡°Good, then let¡¯s do this! Sit down please, I need to access your collar.¡± He sits down and I grab the old and trusted modified UC-cable I used to remove my own collar. The plug still fits into the collar and Maja attached a short wave transmitter at the other end so that S-57 can connect with the cable. He doesn¡¯t have Maja¡¯s body, so we still have to use the cable. It takes almost ten minutes, but then there is the telltale click and the collar snaps open. Simon takes a deep breath and touches his now free neck. ¡°Wow¡­ I can¡¯t believe this is happening. Thank you, Sara!¡± ¡°You¡¯re welcome. Now, how familiar are you with the crew? Do they recognize you on sight?¡± He nods. ¡°Yeah, I think so.¡± ¡°Dang it, okay then we¡¯re doing it the hard way, give me the collar please.¡± He hands me the ring of metal and I grab my energy blade. I activate it in a lower setting and it only reaches the length of a kitchen knife. Then I stab the inside of the collar a few times, thoroughly destroying the electronics and magical components inside. ¡°Okay, put it back on¡­ I can¡¯t hide you with my spell as I need to conserve power, so if anyone sees you, you can say you were ordered to go where we are going.¡± His smile drops a little, but he still grabs the collar and closes it around his neck. The smile returns when he notices that he still has his magic. Hah, what a little stabbing can change. I smirk. ¡°Where are we going anyway?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll take an escape pod out of the Verdinum, then I teleport to another ship and come back to collect you. The Verdinum¡¯s computers are still compromised, so they won¡¯t detect the escape pod launching and we should be long gone till they notice that you are gone.¡± Simon looks at me in confusion. ¡°What do you mean you teleport to another ship?¡± ¡°Weeell, it¡¯s another long story, but I know a spell to teleport myself anywhere within the range of one light year as long as there is no gravity. I can teach you the spell later on of course, but now we really should get going.¡± ¡°Okaaayy, I guess you know what you do¡­ I can¡¯t wait for a lengthy explanation. Let me grab some things, then I¡¯m ready.¡± He moves to his desk and grabs a few pictures and a few other things. Everything disappears in his pockets. Then he turns back to me and nods. ¡°Ready.¡± ¡°Alright, I¡¯m going to get invisible again. I¡¯ll touch your arm to lead you along the way. If we lose contact, just keep walking. I¡¯ll come back to you as soon as possible.¡± He nods, determination now on his face. ¡°S-57, show me the route and ready the pod. Maja should have left you a backdoor.¡± ¡°Affirmative, showing route now.¡± The route appears on my interface again. Looks like we have to walk down to the shuttle bay. I guess taking one near the bridge is too risky. I share a last determined look with Simon, then I concentrate on the Cloaking spell, and a short while later I go invisible. Simon takes in a sharp breath at my disappearance. I reach out and touch his arm. He stiffens a little but calms down shortly after. ¡°Let¡¯s get going,¡± I speak out loud for probably the last time. ¡°Okay,¡± Simon agrees. Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. The door opens at Simon¡¯s touch and we are out in the open! The hallway is empty. I nudge him toward the right in the direction of the next stairway according to my map. We reach it without issues and start our descent. We have to go down six decks, let¡¯s hope everyone else uses the elevator. No such luck, of course¡­ The first two decks go by just fine, but when we walk down further, a door below us opens and two Space Rangers enter the stairway and turn to walk upwards. I tap his arm with my other hand, then let go of him and walk along behind him. I can¡¯t bump into the Rangers! They reach our current level and everyone exchanges greetings. Luckily, they don¡¯t question Simon¡¯s presence here. Probably thinking he¡¯s just stretching his legs after the jump. Once we¡¯re a good distance away, I grab Simon¡¯s arm again and he lets out a relieved breath. A minute later we are down at the bottom. This time the door opens due to S-57¡¯s actions and we step into another hallway. The shuttle bay is at the other end of the hallway, so I slightly nudge Simon forward and we start walking again. It looks like we¡¯re in luck this time as we don¡¯t meet a single person. One last door separates us from our destination. I take a deep breath and signal S-57 to open it. The shuttle bay beyond is¡­ not empty. Shit! Then I recognize the woman. It¡¯s Captain Dolder! What is she doing here? ¡°Mage Storkis, what are you doing down here?¡± She wears a big frown on her face and looks at Simon expectantly. ¡°I uh, I¡¯m taking a walk?¡± Dang it. He¡¯s not prepared at all. I let go of his arm and slowly walk a bit closer to Captain Dolder. Next, I grab my gun which is also invisible, and ensure it¡¯s set for stun. Then I slowly aim. Sorry Captain Dolder¡­ Before I can shoot, she takes a slow step forward. ¡°Simon, we know each other back from the testing¡­ What is wrong? Is someone treating you badly? You can tell me.¡± Simon shakes his head and takes a step to the side. Closer to the escape pods. Smart boy! ¡°No, it¡¯s just¡­ Okay, I¡¯ll tell you. I¡¯m leaving. Please don¡¯t stop me. I don¡¯t want you to get hurt.¡± Huh, he must have guessed what I was about to do. Captain Dolder frowns a bit more. ¡°What do you mean? You can¡¯t leave. Your collar prevents that. Unless you managed to deactivate it¡­ But that¡¯s impossible.¡± She takes another step forward and Simon one back even closer to the pod. ¡°Simon stop! I can¡¯t let you leave. It¡¯s against protocol. We can find a solution.¡± She gets closer and closer and Simon slowly gets cornered close to the escape pod. I make a decision and aim my gun anew. ¡°Sorry Captain,¡± I whisper and pull the trigger. The blue laser bolt appears in mid-air and before she can react, It hits her in the face. I grimace. That¡¯s going to hurt when she wakes up, but I¡¯m not sure if her uniform is protected somehow. Captain Dolder¡¯s eyes bulge, and she looks around frantically. Then the stun takes effect and she drops like a boulder. I wince, that¡¯s going to hurt even more. I quickly rush back to Simon and tap his arm. He doesn¡¯t jump this time and presses the button at the hatch of the escape pod. It opens and we get in. Another pushed button has the hatch closing again and we both let out a relieved sigh. Now that we are inside the pod, I drop the stealth and reappear, then I call out to S-57. ¡°Get us out of here!¡± ¡°Affirmative. Starting launch sequence. Prepare for hard acceleration in five, four, ¡­¡± When he reaches zero, I grab the handrails and we shoot out of the Verdinum at breakneck pace. Simon laughs and grabs me in a one-armed hug. ¡°We did it!¡± I smile as well. ¡°We did indeed. But we¡¯re not done yet. S-57, were you able to hide our launch.¡± ¡°I was. But it¡¯s for naught when the Captain wakes up. You have half an hour tops.¡± True, that¡¯s an unfortunate complication. ¡°Alright, Simon. I¡¯ll go and collect the ship now. Hold tight, I¡¯ll be back before you know. S-57, you have the coordinates. Lock them in please.¡± ¡°Affirmative. Locking in¡­ Done.¡± Simon frowns in confusion. ¡°What do you mean? And what coordinates? The escape pod doesn¡¯t have that much maneuverability.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll see. I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯ll explain later. We¡¯re short on time. Just hold tight. See you soon.¡± Next focus on Personal Teleportation and focus on the coordinates, S-57 locked in. Everything is ready and I trigger the spell with a short wave toward Simon. Then I vanish before his eyes with a purple flash. The weird stretching of time appears again with my Space Sense and I can see his wide eyes and gaping mouth. Then I reappear inside the yacht with a smirk on my face. I¡¯ll never forget that look! But now I¡¯ve got work to do. I run to the bridge and jump into the chair. Quick taps on the right buttons have the yacht powering up. S-57 meanwhile plots an interception course for the escape pod, and less than five minutes later, we leave the asteroid behind and head toward Simon with a hard burn. We reach the escape pod some twenty minutes later and I ¨C together with S-57¡¯s help ¨C align the external hatches so that a connection can be made. Then I tell S-57 to hold it steady and rush back to the airlock. When both hatches open, I smile at a shell-shocked Simon. He looks at me with awe. I laugh a bit. ¡°Come over, Simon, we¡¯re short on time. Captain Dolder wakes up any minute now.¡± That shakes him out of it and he quickly steps through the hatches into the living room of the yacht. I tap a virtual button on my interface to close the door and S-57 disconnects us from the escape pod. ¡°Want to join me on the bridge? I can start explaining if you want.¡± ¡°Oh yeah, for sure. I feel like the dumb third wheel that doesn¡¯t know anything.¡± ¡°Sorry about that again¡­ Come on.¡± We both arrive at the bridge and sit down. I have S-57 plot the course back toward the Murati System, then I start explaining and tell him everything starting from my meeting with Maja. I only stay vague with the Worldender Ship, as it¡¯s not my story to share with others. Conor Valterion was clear on that. The information is too critical. We circle the Verdinum so that they don¡¯t get suspicious of our yacht and I notice the exact moment when they become aware of Simon¡¯s disappearance. The ship stops in place and sends out a handful of shuttles, probably all of them. An hour later it looks like they find the escape pod, but we are long gone by then as we¡¯ve reached the wormhole. Simon took my whole story with a good dose of awe and disbelief, but who wouldn¡¯t? I mean I almost didn¡¯t believe it myself when I was greeted with Miss Valterion. And then the magic and what we miss here in the republic¡­ ¡°Do you want to do the jump?¡± I ask Simon and he shrugs. ¡°I mean I could, but it¡¯s your ship¡­¡± ¡°Nah, you do it,¡± I smirk. ¡°See it as your job interview.¡± That gets a laugh out of him and he closes his eyes. ¡°Okay, okay¡­ Here we go.¡± The space bubble forms around the yacht, now that it''s way smaller, I notice some differences. It somehow looks more stable and even a bit thicker. Similar to the one time when I overcharged the spell with the battery. I can¡¯t wait to get stronger¡­ I can¡¯t say it often enough. Space Sense activates again and we enter the wormhole. I lean back in my chair and smile. I saved Simon almost completely on my own and the military doesn¡¯t even have a clue. I could get used to this. Chapter 52: Greg and Trix Chapter 52: Greg and Trix Location: Estriduros Republic; Bon Delaaz System; VS Stargazer With the addition of Simon, our crew consists of six people. We spent the last eleven days traveling to make it eight hopefully. That¡¯s why we cruised to the Bon Delaaz System after Maja finalized the transfer of all our money to the new accounts belonging to our fake IDs and MARA Deliveries. So why are we in the Bon Delaaz System? Well, it¡¯s simple. For one it¡¯s the home system of Solitur Transportation where Trix is working and secondly, it¡¯s also where Greg is currently residing with his security company. Simon was the last one who received news from him, and that was only two months ago, so chances are very high that he is still here. Even better, as we¡¯re in the same system now, we can simply send him a message and it should reach him without much delay. Now it¡¯s just the question of who gets to initiate contact¡­ We¡¯re all criminals in the eyes of the republic. Well, all except one of us. That¡¯s why we¡¯re currently all looking at Ronja. She¡¯s technically still on leave from the academy, so she¡¯s free to go where she wants. ¡°It has to be you, Ronja,¡± Jack starts. ¡°Even if you don¡¯t know Greg, a message from you won¡¯t ring any alarm bells. We just have to get an answer, then Maja can track him.¡± Ronja nods. ¡°I can try¡­ Let¡¯s hope he replies. You said it yourself; he doesn¡¯t know me.¡± It takes another day, then we¡¯re finally in orbit above planet Delaaz. Solitur Transportation has its headquarters inside one of the space stations above the planet and Ronja finally receives a message from Greg, even if it is an angry ¡®How did you get my contact data? Leave me alone!¡¯ followed by a block. It¡¯s enough for Maja, who traced it back to an address down on the planet. We all meet back at the bridge, and everyone looks at me expectantly. ¡°Well, it looks like we¡¯re going to split up again. Maja takes care of Solitur Transportation¡­ Now who wants to join me down on the planet looking for Greg?¡± ¡°I go with you,¡± Simon immediately replies. ¡°Yeah, me too,¡± comes from Jack. ¡°I smile. ¡°So the old academy gang reunited. It¡¯s just Lucy who¡¯s missing if Greg agrees to join. What about the others?¡± ¡°I think, I¡¯ll stay on the ship. I still have to sort a few things in the Medbay,¡± Ronja shrugs. ¡°If you need me, I¡¯ll join of course.¡± ¡°No, I think you¡¯re good. Alex, what about you?¡± Maja clears her throat. ¡°I think it would be good if Alex is joining me on the space station.¡± ¡°Huh, why?¡± Alex and I ask at the same time, then we look at each other and laugh. Maja shrugs. ¡°I figured, I go with the Space Rangers disguise again, but I noticed, that they are mostly in pairs if they go somewhere. So how about Alex dresses up as a Sergeant or something and joins me as my aide?¡± Hmm, if that¡¯s the case, why not? ¡°What do you think, Alex?¡± She shrugs as well. ¡°I can do that. If the uniform fits of course.¡± I clap my hands. ¡°Alright, it¡¯s settled then. Maja, Alex, you two get the Stargazer.¡± I look at Jack and Simon. ¡°We¡¯ll take the yacht down to the planet. Let¡¯s go!¡±
Location: Estriduros Republic; Bon Delaaz System; Delaaz; Zuril We land the yacht at Zuril spaceport, which is right next to the same-named city Maja traced Greg¡¯s message back to. S-57 connects to the city net and a bit later I¡¯ve got a map showing up on my interface. I send it to Jack and Simon. I feel a bit bad now as Simon takes out his tablet, while Jack taps in the air using his new interface as well. I have to ask him if he wants one too¡­ But that¡¯s something for later. He seems to be quite happy right now and is making great progress with the Personal Teleportation spell. Speaking of spells, I¡¯ve finally got a grip on Telekinesis! The others are a bit annoyed as I¡¯ve got things floating around on the Stargazer all the time, but hey it¡¯s Telekinesis. Something I''ve wanted to have since I first saw it. Now though, we have to act like normal human beings, meaning no Telekinesis or Teleportation. S-57 marks Greg¡¯s location on all our maps and I take a closer look. Huh? Simon is the one who voices my thoughts. ¡°It¡¯s a hospital?¡± ¡°Why would he be in a hospital? And why is he still there? I¡¯ve never been there for more than a few hours¡­ And I¡¯ve been hurt a lot as a kid.¡± Jack shakes his head in confusion. ¡°Looks like we have to go and take a look¡­ Let¡¯s hope he isn¡¯t hurt too bad.¡± The others agree and we all start walking toward the hospital. Half an hour of walking later, we arrive at a big white building with a giant red cross above the entrance. The sliding doors open up at our arrival and we step inside and greet the young brown-haired woman behind the wooden counter. ¡°Hello there, how can I help you today?¡± She asks cheerfully and I step forward. ¡°We¡¯re looking for our friend Gregory¡­¡± I have to think a moment, as I¡¯ve never used his last name. ¡°Franklin.¡± There it is, an everyday name, no wonder I forgot. The others all have quite uncommon names, just like me. Storkis, Raphdani, and Valterion. Franklin is the odd one when you look at it from our perspective¡­ Anyway, the woman looks into open air ¨C another holographic interface ¨C and comes back a short moment later. ¡°He¡¯s on level 6, room 609. And please be aware, that he¡¯s not in the best mood right now. I hope you can cheer him up.¡± Not in the best mood and still in the hospital? What¡¯s wrong with him? That doesn¡¯t sound good. We anxiously thank the woman and walk toward the elevator. Once inside, Simon breaks the silence. ¡°I hope it wasn¡¯t because of his job as a Mage¡­ He already lost his father who was an A&D Mage for Star Force¡­¡± Jack slowly nods. ¡°Yeah, that did a number on him.¡± My eyes go wide, finally hearing what everything was about back then. ¡°So that¡¯s why he hated being A&D so much back then! Dang, I sure hope the reason why he¡¯s here is something else.¡± A few minutes later, we anxiously stand before room 609. No one dares to knock. I sigh, someone has to do it. I lift my hand and knock at the door. If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. ¡°Come in¡­¡± a resigned voice answers a few heartbeats later. I grab the handle and push the door open. It¡¯s a typical hospital room besides the fact, that it¡¯s only a single bed. And inside said bed lies Greg with a sad expression on his face while reading something on his tablet. The rest of his body is covered by a big white sheet, so we can¡¯t see anything besides his head. His dark hair is unkempt, and his beard looks like it hasn¡¯t been groomed for over a week. At least he''s able to grow a proper beard now¡­ He doesn¡¯t even look up and mutters. ¡°You can drop the food on the nightstand, but then leave me alone please¡­¡± We look at each other, not knowing what to do. We haven¡¯t stepped through the door properly and are still standing there quite awkwardly. When he doesn¡¯t hear any food being put next to him, he slowly looks up. His gaze looks around the room, crosses over me and the others, and returns to his tablet. Then his eyes snap wide open and he focuses back on us. ¡°What? Jack, Simon, and Sara, what are you doing here?¡± We all chuckle and fully enter the room. The door closes behind us and Simon steps closer to the bed. ¡°Well, we¡¯re obviously not bringing your food. As for why we¡¯re here¡­ I guess Sara wants to tell you a bit of a story and offer you a job. Care to tell us how you ended up in a hospital of all things before that? Sara¡¯s story might take a while.¡± Greg smiles wryly and lifts an arm from under the blanket to lay the tablet on the nightstand. ¡°It¡¯s pretty obvious once you see it¡­¡± He uses his hand to flip the blanket aside and we all stare at him in disbelief. His right arm is missing! It ends with a stump right below the shoulder. ¡°What the hell,¡± Jack exclaims. ¡°When did this happen and why didn¡¯t they fix it?¡± He¡¯s right. That small nanite package inside the mediwand was enough to fix my calf, so a proper hospital should easily be able to fix an arm. I quickly fire up my interface and do a short search. There it is. Missing limbs can be regrown! So why didn¡¯t they do it? Greg¡¯s expression turns sad. ¡°Just last week¡­ We were hired as bodyguards for some random guy¡­ What we didn¡¯t know at that point was that he had a connection to a local drug cartel and stole from them. So when the hitmen came, we still tried to do our job and protect him¡­ But they were too many and my Novice Shields were overwhelmed time and time again. They kept shooting at us and a few of my colleagues were hit when my shields were down.¡± He pauses to swallow. ¡°Two of them even died¡­ The client escaped in the chaos, but no one noticed, and they kept shooting. I threw up barrier after barrier and we slowly retreated. My colleagues kept firing back and we were about to win¡­ only two hitmen remained and then it happened. My magic ran out and I just stood there stupefied. It had never happened before, as this was the first time we were ambushed that badly. Someone shoved me to the side and probably saved my life¡­ But the bullets and lasers still shredded my arm.¡± We all look at him in sympathy. But I don¡¯t think Simon and Jack know what it means when someone dies next to you¡­ I step closer to Greg and hug him. ¡°I¡¯m so sorry, I know how you must feel¡­¡± I think something in the tone of my voice showed that I really understand, and he hugs me back with his remaining arm. I can feel him shaking a bit. ¡°It¡¯s okay, we¡¯re here now.¡± When I release him, there are tears in his eyes and my own vision is blurry as well. I wipe my eyes and look at him. ¡°Can you explain why no one fixed your arm?¡± He sighs. ¡°It¡¯s because I¡¯m a Mage¡­ Everyone told me that they can¡¯t regrow my arm, as it interferes with my magic.¡± ¡°Bullshit!¡± Simon and Jack exclaim at the same time, and I scratch my chin in thought. Could this be true? But why should it? The magical core isn''t in our arms and while we often use our hand to point or direct a spell, it isn¡¯t necessary as far as I know. I notice that everyone is looking at me and I clear my throat. ¡°I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s true or not¡­ But I also don¡¯t see any reason why it should interfere with your magic. The only thing I can think of is that you can¡¯t cast anymore through that hand, but you still have another one, and well, you actually don¡¯t need your hands to cast anyway.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t?¡± That¡¯s Simon asking and I chuckle. ¡°No, or how would you teleport through your hand?¡± He facepalms. ¡°You¡¯re right¡­ So we can buy the things needed for a new arm and Ronja can take care of him?¡± ¡°Pretty much,¡± I nod and look back at Greg. ¡°As long as you want of course. I guess, it¡¯s now time I tell you a bit of what happened to me in the past months and what we are going to do in the future.¡± I sit down to tell him the shortened version of what happened. I¡¯m quite adept at it now, having told it several times. I do mention the part that it¡¯s possible to learn another class of magic, as he clearly still dislikes being an A&D Mage. This also brings his attention to our missing collars, and he even looks a bit happy when I tell him that I can remove his as well. It¡¯s not as strong a reaction as the others had, but still a reaction. Probably because of said fact with his dislike of his class. In the end, he agrees to join us under the condition that he doesn¡¯t have to use his magic if he doesn¡¯t want to, and that we get him a new arm. We happily agree and take care of his transport. Late in the evening, we¡¯re back at the Stargazer and introduce the now collarless Greg to the others. Ronja especially looks horrified when she sees his missing arm and hears the story behind it. She immediately takes him to the Medbay to start his treatment. Apparently, we already have everything she needs to regrow an arm. On the plus side, Maja and Alex managed to get information about Trix¡¯s whereabouts during their trip to Solitur Transportation¡¯s headquarters. They went in under the guise of looking for one Sara Nelson for recruitment to the military and were quite sad after hearing that she was killed during a pirate attack.
Location: Estriduros Republic; Ugwald System; VS Stargazer I still don¡¯t know if this is the universe making a joke at my expense or not, but Trix is still aboard the Solina, and they are currently in the Ugwald System. Yes, the Ugwald System, the system where I was kidnapped by pirates¡­ So here we are, a few days after we picked up Greg, currently cruising along with a fully deployed cloak around the Stargazer, slowly getting closer to the Solina. ¡°What does the scan say?¡± I ask Maja and she grins. ¡°They¡¯re just using electromagnetic shields to protect the ship from debris.¡± I mirror her grin. ¡°So we can jump there. Simon, are you sure you¡¯ve got the spell all done?¡± Instead of responding, I feel magic emanating from him and a second later he disappears, just to reappear next to me. ¡°I think I¡¯ve got it,¡± he smirks. ¡°Good, Alex, please cut all acceleration and keep us steady, that should make it easier for S-57 and Simon¡¯s AI to calculate the coordinates for our return jump.¡± ¡°Gotcha, Captain!¡± Alex hurries for the steering console and sits down to do her job. I glance back at Maja. ¡°You got us some coordinates?¡± ¡°I do. They¡¯ll put you into the engine room as there are good chances that Trix is there.¡± Alright, my second jump from ship to ship, even if I¡¯m not the one doing the spell this time. Stupid gravity restriction. I glance at Simon, and he nods. He¡¯s ready. He closes his eyes and focuses on the spell. Then I feel something intangible getting a hold of me and my Space Sense informs me that I can resist if I want. I don¡¯t resist of course and a few seconds later, we reappear inside the Solina. I guess, I just found out a new facet of my Space Sense¡­ A few meters away from us stands Trix who looks at us with very wide eyes. The tool she was holding slips out of her grip and lands on the ground with a clang. ¡°Aaaaahhh,¡± she shouts, and I quickly lift my hands to show her, that we come in peace. That¡¯s how they do it in the movies, right? Showing that they are unarmed. ¡°Hey Trix, it¡¯s me, Sara.¡± She takes a step back and shakes her head. ¡°No, you¡¯re supposed to be dead¡­ How can you be here? Everyone was informed that the Solano was lost, and you and Captain Amal Shan died to the pirates. Does that mean?¡± I shake my head, sadness starts to overcome me again. ¡°No, he isn¡¯t¡­ They killed him right before my eyes. I got taken in by the pirates and had to work for them¡­ Due to circumstances, I escaped and now have my own ship. That¡¯s why we¡¯re here¡­¡± I tell her a bit of the same old story and she ¡°oohs¡± and ¡°ahs¡± at the right points. In the end, I make her an offer as our engineer and she¡¯s now deep in thought. A few minutes later, she¡¯s still thinking, and I¡¯m glad that no one has entered the engine room until now. Looks like she¡¯s the only one on shift right now. Finally, she looks back up, ready to answer. ¡°First of all, I¡¯m glad you¡¯re still alive. We haven¡¯t known each other for long, but you¡¯re still part of the Solitur family¡­ And that¡¯s also one of the reasons why I have to decline your offer. You said that you don¡¯t plan to return¡­ I can¡¯t do that. My whole family works for Solitur Transportation. I¡¯m the third generation here, and even if I¡¯m the only woman here on the ship, I still like it. Also, I can¡¯t leave my parents behind. So yeah, thanks for considering me for your crew, but I can¡¯t accept, I¡¯m sorry.¡± I offer her a hand to shake. ¡°Don¡¯t be sorry, if you¡¯re happy, I¡¯d be cruel to pull you away from here. We¡¯ll take our leave then. It was nice seeing you again.¡± We shake hands, then I give her one final piece of advice before Simon jumps us back to the Stargazer. ¡°Oh, and please don¡¯t tell anyone that I¡¯m still alive. At least for the next month. Then we should be gone.¡± I wave her goodbye and Simon triggers the spell. We arrive back on our ship and tell the others the news. Then I can hear Simon mutter something to Jack. ¡°Why do I feel like a glorified taxi?¡± I break down in laughter and the others quickly join in. Chapter 53: Interlude 7 – Shay Chapter 53: Interlude 7 ¨C Shay Location: Estriduros Republic; Sequra System; ERS Flotina The past years have been quite the experience for the young woman from Acordus 3. She joined the Space Rangers more than four years ago, and her special application isn¡¯t the only thing marked in her file. She stands before the mirror inside of her cabin on the Cruiser Flotina and smiles. Blue eyes, framed by shoulder-length black hair, stare back at her. Sergeant Shay Jensen is ready for today¡¯s duties. At least she thinks so as there is no way she could have predicted what would happen today. Being a Sergeant at age 22 is quite the achievement and she knows it. She didn¡¯t get arrogant though and leads her squad of Privates with confidence. They all have been together for a long time and act like a well-oiled machine. From pirate subjugation over first aid after catastrophes to preventing terrorism. They¡¯ve done everything and Shay is very proud, that she hasn¡¯t lost a single one of her subordinates so far. Shay steps out of her cabin, and heads for the common room of the Rangers. As the Flotina is scheduled to have a full day of flight, the Rangers have training day. This means running laps around the ship and pumping weights in the gym. The afternoon calls for tactical training as always. She steps inside the common room and all the Privates already here nod at her in respect. ¡°Good morning, Sergeant!¡± Salutations are for officers! At least that¡¯s her opinion, and she stopped everyone from saluting her in her first week as a Sergeant over a year ago. ¡°Morning guys, anything to report?¡± One of them, a tall, dark-haired man ¨C Private Kurts ¨C nods. ¡°Yeah, one of the bridge guys was here earlier. Said Captain Turner wants to talk to you after lunch.¡± Huh, why would the Captain of the ship want to talk to me? He¡¯s not in my chain of command¡­ I hope it¡¯s not about that again¡­ ¡°Okay, do you know what this is about?¡± She asks and the man shakes his head. ¡°Not a clue, he left right after. Probably afraid of the real men down here.¡± Shay and the other female Rangers glare at him and he just chuckles. ¡°You know what I mean¡­¡± The morning passes as usual except Private Kurts is doing a lot of extra laps and after lunch, Shay finds herself knocking at the door of the Captain¡¯s office right next to the bridge. ¡°Come in,¡± the deep voice of Captain Turner replies and the door slides open. Shay takes one step forward and stops to salute the Captain on the doorstep. ¡°Sergeant Jensen here as ordered, Captain.¡± The bald man in his early sixties with a short trimmed white beard and grey eyes smiles and beckons her toward the empty seat opposite him. ¡°No need for the stiff formalities, Sergeant. Would you like some tea?¡± He points at the thermos flask on the desk. Shay sits down and smiles awkwardly. Ugh, I¡¯m not good at acting informally with superior officers¡­ Even if he¡¯s Star Force and not technically responsible for me. ¡°I¡¯m more of a coffee girl, but sure, I¡¯ll take a cup if you¡¯re offering.¡± The man laughs. ¡°Hah, the benefits of youth. If I had a coffee now, I wouldn¡¯t be able to sleep at all tonight.¡± He grabs the flask and fills up two empty cups. This is so awkward. It¡¯s not the same thing happening again, right? That would be just my luck. The Captain must have noticed her discomfort and lifts his hands after he finishes pouring the tea. ¡°This is not what you think this is. I¡¯ve read your file and I¡¯m sorry for what you¡¯ve been through.¡± Shay lets out a sigh of relief. The last time a superior officer wanted to take advantage of her sexually didn¡¯t end well for the man but also put a lot of stress onto Shay¡¯s shoulders. Court hearings, endless questionings, and on top of it, transferal to a new ship. This was 10 months ago, right after her promotion to Sergeant. She can still hear the voices of her fellow Sergeants aboard the Estrella: ¡°You just got promoted because you fucked him¡­¡± She didn¡¯t of course. Shay immediately reported the man when he tried to take advantage of her. Nothing happened between them, but that didn¡¯t stop the rumor mill. In the end, Shay was glad to transfer, as she almost couldn¡¯t take the comments from the others anymore. At least her Privates stayed loyal. She was their squad leader before her promotion and luckily, they all joined her transfer to the Flotina after the whole affair. She looks back up at the Captain. ¡°Thanks for saying that¡­ I just got a bit uncomfortable here¡­ This is exactly like it started with him back then.¡± The Captain grimaces. ¡°Sorry, that wasn¡¯t my intention¡­ But unfortunately, the whole affair is why I called you here today.¡± Fuck, it won¡¯t leave me alone anytime soon¡­ Damn, that fucking Major! ¡°Does it ever stop?¡± Shay shakes her head and sips on her tea. At least it tastes good. ¡°Ah fuck, I¡¯m just going to say it,¡± the Captain shakes his head. ¡°We received a message this morning stating that there are new developments in your case and that they need you back in court to do a few more hearings¡­¡± This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. Ah come on, I¡¯ve already told them everything ten times or something. Isn¡¯t this enough? Just lock that guy away and be done with it! Shay hangs her head. ¡°So much for I¡¯m finally done with it¡­ Are we heading back to Estriduros then?¡± ¡°I¡¯m afraid not¡­ I haven¡¯t informed you Rangers yet, but the Flotina is heading for the Olovis System to join the war effort against Dakarti.¡± ¡°What does this mean for me then?¡± Captain Turner lets out a heavy sigh. ¡°It means I lose one of the most promising Rangers I have on my whole ship¡­ Ranger Command is sending a small ship to pick you up this evening. I¡¯m to officially release you from your duties aboard the Flotina right before that. I¡¯m doing it right now, to give you a bit of time to pack and say your goodbyes. Again, I¡¯m sorry.¡± He stands up and straightens his uniform. Shay quickly stands up as well and salutes. ¡°I, Captain Timothy Turner, hereby release you from your duties aboard the ERS Flotina. You may be at ease, Sergeant.¡± Shay stops saluting and dips her head a little, sadness clear in her eyes. ¡°I stand relieved. Thanks for having me here, Captain. Even if it wasn¡¯t that long.¡± The day passes quickly, and Shay says her goodbyes to the other Space Rangers on the Flotina. Everyone is sad, that she leaves and those who know her story get very angry. She¡¯s now sitting together with her squad of ten Privates who stayed with her throughout the incident. They share stories of their past missions and laugh a lot. But most of all, everyone throws colorful insults at the asshole Major whose fault the whole situation is. A while later Shay is back in her cabin and starts to pack her belongings. At least I don¡¯t have much stuff¡­ Everything should fit inside my large Ranger backpack. She packs her clothes and a few personal items. She¡¯s never been one for jewellery, that¡¯s why she starts a bit when she finds a small bracelet between two civilian shirts she kept for downtime on space stations. Huh, that¡¯s Sara¡¯s bracelet! I wonder how she¡¯s doing¡­ I never heard from her again. At least I¡¯ve got a bit of contact with Thomas from time to time, but she completely disappeared¡­ I wonder why. She said she was going to come back to get it after her time at the academy. I¡¯ve never found her in any military personnel file though. Maybe she¡¯s employed somewhere else. But why did she never contact me? Hmm, well, I promised her to keep it, so I guess into the backpack it goes. Shay finishes packing and sits down on her bed to wait. Half an hour later, she gets a ping on her tablet. Her shuttle is here! A bit later she stands before the airlock, Captain Turner next to her to see her off. They salute each other for the last time, then the Captain steps back and Shay presses the panel to open the airlock. It opens with a silent hiss and shows her the connector tube beyond the outer hatch. The door on the other side is still closed and Shay shrugs and steps inside. The door she just stepped through closes and only then does the outer hatch open. I guess the principle of an airlock still applies even if everything is pressurized¡­ Then, finally, her way into the connector tube is free and she leaves the Flotina fully behind. The door in front of her starts to open, the moment she enters the tube. I wonder why it wasn¡¯t open already. Well, those ship people know better than me. Another airlock cycle later and she is about to step inside her new ship, only to stop mid-stride. What the hell is this? That¡¯s no military ship! And it¡¯s tiny? Right beyond her vision is a small living room with a couch, a table, and a small kitchen counter at the side. To the right at the end of a room is a small hallway that ends with a door after a short distance. Left and right of the hallway is one door each. And right in the middle stand two smiling women in Space Ranger uniforms. A Major! Holy shit and she¡¯s so young¡­ The other one¡¯s a Sergeant like me and she looks the same age. Something¡¯s off here! Either way, Shay stands at attention and salutes them both. ¡°Sergeant Shay Jensen reporting as ordered!¡± The airlock closes behind her and She feels the tube disconnecting with a slight shudder. Only then do the others return the salute. That¡¯s sloppy as hell. Does the Sergeant even know what she is doing? Before she can think further, the platinum-blonde Major with blue eyes smiles widely and addresses her without any kind of formality. ¡°So you are the famous Shay, nice to meet you, I¡¯m Maja and this is Alex.¡± She points at the black-haired Sergeant next to her. What is happening? This is a joke, right? ¡°Uhhh¡­¡± The Sergeant punches the Majors''s shoulder and Shays''s eyes go wide. That¡¯s not how you treat your superiors! Someone is pranking me. It must be. ¡°I think you broke her, Maja.¡± ¡°Oh well, everything will be clear in an hour¡­¡± She looks back at Shay and points at the table. ¡°Are you hungry?¡± Shay can¡¯t hold it back anymore and blurts out, the consequences of offending a Major be damned. ¡°What the actual fuck is happening here? Who are you guys? And why the hell did you come to take me who knows where? Fuck, I¡¯m going insane!¡± The Major, Maja, starts laughing. ¡°Oh my, she won¡¯t like your foul mouth at all¡­ But anyway, you should see it for yourself. We¡¯re almost at the main ship, just a little bit of patience. But I can assure you, that nothing¡¯s going to happen to you.¡± Shay just stares with her mouth agape. Then she shakes her head and sits down at the table. I guess, I¡¯ll have to sit it out¡­ Even if I can take them both out, what do I do then? I don¡¯t even know if there are more people behind the doors just waiting for me to do something stupid. ¡°I could eat something right now,¡± she mutters, and the Major brightens. ¡°Splendid! Your meal is coming right up.¡± She then rushes to the kitchen, grabs a can of something out of a cupboard, and puts it in the heater. Half a minute later it¡¯s finished, and both women join her at the table. Shay starts to eat in silence but gets annoyed after a few minutes. ¡°Are you going to stare at me like that the whole time?¡± The Sergeant shrugs. ¡°What else is there to do?¡± Shay scowls. ¡°You could start by telling me what the hell is going on,¡± she lifts a finger to stop them from responding. ¡°And don¡¯t tell me you¡¯ll see in an hour again. I want to know right fucking now!¡± She slams her fist down on the table to punctuate her sentence. The two women share a look and both shrug. Alex, the Sergeant starts to talk. ¡°Well, the gist of it is that we want to offer you a job. Our Captain asked for you specifically and here we are.¡± The blonde Major continues. ¡°But¡­ Further details have to wait until you meet her, I¡¯m sorry. If you decline what I don¡¯t think you will, we can fly you back to your ship or wherever you want though.¡± A job? And they were looking for me specifically? This gets weirder by the minute. But I have to admit, I¡¯m also a bit intrigued now¡­ ¡°Okaaayyy,¡± Shay stretches the word before continuing. ¡°So when do I meet this Captain of yours?¡± Maja, the Major looks to the side for a second, then replies. ¡°We arrive in five minutes, then you can meet her right away.¡± Pretty much exactly five minutes later, Shay feels the ship settling down somewhere and hears the engines powering down. Both women stand up and beckon her to follow them. Shay gets up as well and they all walk toward the airlock she entered the ship through earlier. The moment of truth! The airlock opens, this time both hatches at the same time and a small ramp extends to lead down to the bottom. Shay catches a glimpse of a few people standing outside, but the women before her block her vision to see more details. Then the Alex woman rushes forward and greets one of the people outside with a kiss. Shay notices him as one of three men standing there at the right. Then her gaze swipes further to the left, her vision now clear after Alex left. Shay stops dead in her tracks and stares. Her thoughts grind to a halt as well. There right in the middle stands a young woman with light red hair, deep green eyes, a few freckles, and a big smirk on her face. She lifts her hand and waves lazily. ¡°Sara,¡± Shay whispers, not believing her eyes. Then they both rush forward and hug each other tightly. Chapter 54: Two To Go Chapter 54: Two To Go Location: Estriduros Republic; Sequra System; VS Stargazer The door of the yacht opens slowly, and I can barely contain my excitement. Ever since Maja contacted me that they have Shay aboard, I''ve been pacing the hangar up and down. Now they are finally here. The door is fully open at last, and Maja and Alex step forward. Right behind them, I can see a bit of black hair. Shay! Alex runs ahead and hurries to kiss Jack, but I don¡¯t care. My focus is fully on the woman behind. She looks around, confused. I guess, she still doesn¡¯t know what all this is about. Then I notice the exact moment, she notices me, as she goes completely still and stares. I grin and wave. Then we both run forward and hug each other as soon as we meet. ¡°Sara,¡± she whispers, and my reply isn¡¯t much louder. ¡°Hey, Shay. Long time no see.¡± We both laugh and all the tension bleeds away. Just two old friends hugging in the middle of a hangar bay. A while later, we release each other, and Shay sets down her backpack and starts searching for something. A minute later, she lets out a shout of triumph and holds up a small bracelet with a pendant. My bracelet! I tear up again while she closes it around my wrist. ¡°Thank you, Shay!¡± ¡°You¡¯re welcome. But now, I kinda want an explanation¡­ What is this? Why are you here and what¡¯s the meaning of those two fake Rangers over there?¡± She points at Maja and Alex, and I laugh. So much for Maja can play a believable Ranger. ¡°Sure thing, why don¡¯t you follow me to the mess hall?¡± What follows is a lengthy explanation of everything that happened. This time I even include my time at the academy and if Shay wasn¡¯t convinced to join us till now, then she is now, as I¡¯ve just told her that we are planning to pick up Thomas, her long-time crush, as well. In the end, Shay obviously agrees to join our crew, and the others introduce themselves to her. I look around with a pleased expression on my face. We are already eight people. It¡¯s a bit surreal, but we only have two more to go, then we can finally leave. Greg even has both his arms again. Ronja did a solid job over the past few days. The only thing is that he can¡¯t push magic through this arm anymore as I expected. But it doesn¡¯t matter too much for him, as he avoids using his magic anyway. At least he looked a bit hopeful when I told him about the possibility of getting him a second core. Speaking of magic core. ¡°Hey Shay, do you still want to be a Mage?¡± She raises an eyebrow. ¡°Uhh, yeah, for sure¡­ Is this possible?¡± I shrug. ¡°I don¡¯t know for certain, but I still have a Utility core at hand¡­ Should we try it?¡± She jumps up. ¡°YES!¡± I glance at Ronja and Maja. ¡°Are you two up for the task?¡± They share a look and nod. ¡°Nice, then let¡¯s go.¡± We all stand up and while the four of us head toward the Medbay, Alex and the others go to the bridge. ¡°We start flying toward Lucy,¡± Alex shouts. ¡°Take your time, Simon can do the jump.¡± Convenient. Now we can fully concentrate on turning Shay into a Mage and still fly toward our next goal. Shay lies down on the bed and while Ronja and Maja explain everything to her and sedate her, I run to my cabin and grab the core. I stay outside during the procedure, as I don¡¯t want to see my friend cut open. Half an hour later, Maja opens the door with a smile. Looks like everything worked out. Ten minutes later, Shay opens her eyes. ¡°Did it work?¡± Ronja smiles and nods. ¡°Yeah, you now have a Utility core inside you.¡± Shay smiles broadly. ¡°Thanks, now how do I test it?¡± I quickly sit down next to her and explain the basics of magic theory like feeling the core and moving magic around internally. Shay closes her eyes to try. Then she frowns¡­ and frowns even more. ¡°I can¡¯t feel anything¡­ Are you sure it worked?¡± Why doesn¡¯t she feel anythi¡­ I slam my hand against my forehead. ¡°I''m such an idiot!¡± How could I forget about this¡­ The core I found on Earth doesn¡¯t pull in magic naturally. It has to be supplied by a steady stream of magic then it converts it to Utility magic. I start to explain the issue to Shay, and she gets a sad expression. ¡°Well, it was worth a shot¡­ Thanks anyway.¡± There has to be a way, right? Maybe a magic magnet or something¡­ I mean it¡¯s been 11,000 years of development. But there is still one thing I can try before that. ¡°Maybe we find something additional to fix it once we reach another nation, but here, let me try something first¡­ Maybe it works.¡± I close my eyes and emit my magic toward Shay. Once it reaches her lower abdomen, I lose control of a small bit and it gets pulled into what I guess is her core. YES! Shay¡¯s eyes suddenly go wide. ¡°Is this¡­?¡± I nod. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m currently funneling my magic into you,¡± I point at the magical conduit at the wall. ¡°Can you touch this? Then try to pull as long as there is magic in your core. Maybe it works?¡± She stands up and walks over to try exactly what I said. I follow closely and when I feel the magic in the conduit moving into her, I cut off my own magic. ¡°Does it still work?¡± I ask her, and she nods breathlessly. ¡°It does! Wow, it feels amazing!¡± I smile at her. ¡°There we go. At least we¡¯ve got a makeshift solution now. One of the others just has to jumpstart your magic, then you can start practicing spells and once we find a fix, you¡¯re already proficient in casting spells.¡± If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. She lets go of the conduit and hugs me. ¡°Thanks, Sara! Now let¡¯s join the others. I want to see the bridge too.¡±
Location: Estriduros Republic; Border Region near the Blueridge Alliance; Hugurd Station; VS Stargazer It took another two weeks, but we have now reached Hugurd Station close to the border with the Blueridge Alliance. According to Maja¡¯s information, Lucy¡¯s Cruiser, the ERS Topal is patrolling the region here. Thanks to Shay we know that even the military ships take some downtime at various space stations along their patrol route, that¡¯s why we are currently docking with the station. We just have to wait for the cruiser to stop here¡­ During the two weeks of traveling, everyone got to know Shay, and I think we all bonded closely. Whether it was practicing magic, doing some light sparring in the gym, or just talking about things. We didn¡¯t get bored and now we¡¯re about to finalize one of our last steps before we can leave. Maja signals through the intercom that docking is complete, and I join Shay and Greg at the airlock. We¡¯re about to explore the station. The others decided to stay on the ship for a little while longer. I think Alex and Jack enjoy their alone time in one of the fancy bathrooms¡­ Anyway, the airlock opens, and we step out of the Stargazer and head for the open areas inside the station. We look around, but soon notice, that it¡¯s just another station¡­ Nothing noteworthy so we just buy a few necessities and return to the ship. Quite boring I have to say. I hope Lucy¡¯s ship doesn¡¯t take too long. Maja calculated that they should be here in three or four days according to their planned route. ¡°Hey, over here,¡± Greg points to the right and I look over. It¡¯s a bar. ¡°Wanna grab a drink?¡± I shrug. ¡°Sure, why not? You¡¯re joining us, Shay?¡± ¡°Of course, I have to show you guys how drinking is done with the Rangers!¡± She laughs and we step inside. We all start with a beer, and as the hours pass, I feel like we tried everything on the menu. We all have to help each other on our way back to the ship, but we finally reach the Stargazer and I somehow find my way to my cabin and collapse into my bed. Ughhhh, the next morning is hell! My head is killing me! ¡°Ouch,¡± I groan and rub my temples. A cold shower is no help and I drag myself to Ronja¡¯s Medbay afterwards. She¡¯s a lifesaver and hands me an anti-hangover pill. It works pretty fast and an hour later, I¡¯m functioning again. One good thing came with our bar trip at least. I think, I now know where we can contact Lucy once she reaches the station: The bar! Three days later, Maja wakes me up rather roughly by shouting through the chip behind my ear. ¡°Sara, it¡¯s time, the Topal is arriving!¡± I let out a loud groan and am about to turn over to continue sleeping when her words register in my brain. My eyes snap wide open and I hurry to put on some clothes. Then I exit my room and take the nearby elevator directly to the bridge. Maja is already there of course and talking lazily with Shay, the others arrive within the next five minutes. I look through the window, not seeing anything. ¡°So where is it?¡± Maja chuckles. ¡°Patience, you can¡¯t miss it. It should be visible shortly.¡± She was right, of course. Two minutes later a Massive ship flies past our window, heading for a docking arm on the other side of the station. I mean the Stargazer is in no way tiny, but compared to the Cruiser¡­ Yeah, let¡¯s just say it¡¯s like we¡¯re sitting in our small yacht and watching the Stargazer. Maja helpfully brings up a schematic in my holographic interface and I gasp when I read the dimensions. 640 meters long, 250 meters in width at the widest point, and another 150 meters in height. Wow, this thing can¡¯t be flown through wormholes by anyone lower than Senior rank¡­ But that also means they don¡¯t need wormholes at all. Come to think of it, Shay¡¯s ship was also a cruiser. It looked much smaller, but we also stayed much further away¡­ Only Maja and Alex came close. ¡°Maja, there¡¯s at least a Senior Space Mage aboard. Are you sure you can fake Lucy¡¯s location long enough for us to escape?¡± That¡¯s pretty much our plan. We head out for the station, talk to her and if she agrees to join us, Maja takes off her collar, throws it somewhere on the station, and lets it send the signal that Lucy is still there. We on the other hand run like hell in the meantime and escape through the closest wormhole and hopefully the next few after that as well. Luckily there are a few clustered pretty close together here, so they can only guess where we went to. ¡°Yeah, if no one is actively looking for her, everything should be good. Maybe we can send a message to her superior that she is spending the night with someone or something¡­¡± I snort at that, and Maja continues. ¡°I can also leave behind a fake trail if they manage to discover her disappearance. There¡¯s a freighter scheduled to leave in eight hours, if we time it right, we can leave at the same time, and I¡¯ll lay a hidden trail leading to the freighter.¡± ¡°Alright, that¡¯s good enough for me. Keep us informed once Lucy steps onto the station.¡± I simply sit down on the Captain¡¯s chair and enjoy the view. The docking maneuver of such a large ship is quite eye-catching. In the meantime, I chat lazily with the others, and before long another few hours have passed. Then the long-awaited signal arrives, and we all straighten up. Lucy is on the station! The outgoing team consisting of Maja, Simon, Jack, and me meets at the airlock some ten minutes later. I''ve got a steady stream of her location in the top right corner of my interface and Maja monitors her as well. Greg decided to stay behind, saying he didn¡¯t want to be a hindrance with his one-armed magic. He wouldn¡¯t be of course, but we all understand his reasoning. We share one last nod of readiness, then we step back onto the station and head for the communal area. From the looks of it, Lucy is currently shopping for some cosmetics. But approaching her right there might be a bad idea. I glance at Maja. ¡°Can you send her a coupon for the bar? If we can catch her in there, it¡¯s probably our best bet.¡± Maja nods and goes silent for a moment. ¡°Got it, it should pop up once she rolls it open.¡± ¡°Nice, Maja, let¡¯s head for the bar then, everyone. But keep it cool with the alcohol¡­¡± The others laugh at my expense, my little hangover story reached everyone¡¯s ears pretty fast. At least I didn¡¯t do something embarrassing¡­ At least I think so. Anyway, we sit down in a dark corner of the bar and Jack describes Lucy to the bartender. She is to send her to us once she enters the bar. After that, we all sit at the table and watch Lucy¡¯s journey through the station. Simon is the only one still with a tablet, Jack and I both enjoy our interfaces. ¡°Oh, I think, she¡¯s heading here!¡± Jack exclaims excitedly and I think he¡¯s right. Lucy is only a few hundred meters away from the bar, steadily coming closer. Then, five minutes later, she steps inside. I immediately recognize her. Well, it¡¯s pretty easy as I¡¯ve got her twin brother sitting next to me. She walks up to the counter and is about to show the coupon when the bartender points in our direction and she turns. Her brown eyes widen when she sees us, and she rushes over. ¡°What are you guys doing here?!¡± ¡°Hey sis,¡± Jack replies smugly and points at the empty seat next to Simon. ¡°Sit down, we¡¯ve got a lot to talk about.¡± Lucy complies and looks each of us up and down after she sits. I can literally see her mind working and we all notice the exact moment when she notices our missing collars. ¡°Your collars!¡± She half whispers, half shouts, and her eyes go wide. ¡°Where are they?¡± I clear my throat and start with a short explanation. Pretty much the same as I''ve told all the others minus the details like my last name or that Maja is an AI. Still, Lucy looks quite excited, and it doesn¡¯t take long until she agrees to join us. Especially after she hears that we¡¯ve already reunited the rest of the gang. I lean over and whisper into her ear. ¡°There¡¯s even more¡­ Magic is way bigger than you know. I can show you after we¡¯re on my ship.¡± Lucy nods in excitement. ¡°I¡¯d like to see that. Can we go? Oh, and what about the Topal? They¡¯re going to miss me if I don¡¯t report back in the evening.¡± This time it¡¯s Maja who answers. ¡°I can fake the signal of your collar, letting them think you¡¯re still walking around the station. We should be long gone until they notice. But yeah, we should hurry. Can you follow me to the restrooms? Then I¡¯m going to remove the collar.¡± ¡°Sure, are you a hacker or something?¡± Maja smirks. ¡°Yeah, something like that. Come on!¡± They start to leave, and I call after them. ¡°We¡¯re going to finish our drinks, then we meet you guys on the ship!¡± ¡°Alright,¡± Maja answers, then they turn a corner and leave for the restrooms. I glance at the others and smile. ¡°Only one left, right?¡± Simon asks and I nod. ¡°Yeah, just Thomas, then we¡¯re done!¡± Chapter 55: Getting Thomas Chapter 55: Getting Thomas Location: Estriduros Republic; Border Region near the Blueridge Alliance; Hugurd Station; VS Stargazer Half an hour or so later, we are all back on the Stargazer, and Maja and Alex take care of our departure. I flip through a few pages on my interface till I find what I''m looking for. The freighter, Maja talked about earlier, left some ten minutes ago, and Maja left some breadcrumbs behind, which tell that Lucy is aboard that ship. From the looks of it, they are quite hidden, but if Star Force looks closely, they¡¯ll find them. Which means everything should work out. Just this moment a slight rumble goes through the Stargazer. We¡¯re free from the docking arms and the ship slowly flies backward before turning and heading out. Perfect timing! Now we just have to jump outta here and we should be good. Then we can finally head back to the Olovis System to grab Thomas. I chuckle softly. Funny how I end up in that System all the time¡­ That said, I tap Lucy¡¯s arm and she moves her gaze away from the front-facing window to look at me. ¡°Wanna do a quick tour through the ship?¡± She smiles and agrees, so the two of us leave the bridge and I show her everything. Meanwhile, I tell her most of the other things I left out before. In the end, we¡¯re standing before the magic battery on deck 04 and I''ve just finished showing her my Utility magic. This time I used the Communication spell I''ve finally finished to learn from Jack. Lucy gasps. ¡°So not only was everything we were told bullshit, but you¡¯re also telling me that you¡¯re pretty much a Noble? Oh, and I can¡¯t wrap my head around the fact that Maja is your AI! I mean she¡¯s walking and talking and everything¡­ And I asked her if she was a hacker¡­ That¡¯s so embarrassing.¡± I laugh and grab her in a tight hug. Then one particular sentence registers in my mind. I¡¯m part of some Noble line! I wonder if it¡¯s something like the Knights of those old movies or something¡­ I guess I¡¯ll find out soon. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Lucy. I guess Maja found it quite amusing¡­ But after everything I told you, you sure that you are still with me?¡± Lucy struggles out of my hug, grabs my shoulders, and holds me at arm''s length. She looks me directly in her eyes, hers sparkle quite beautifully. ¡°Sara, I¡¯ve already made my decision. I¡¯m with you. I want to explore new things¡­ maybe just as much as you. Remember our promise back at the academy?¡± Oh, yes! We wanted to find out if there¡¯s more to magic than we were told¡­ She must have seen it in my eyes because she starts to chuckle. ¡°I guess we were right about that¡­ But it looks like you¡¯re quite a bit ahead in magical broadness. Can¡¯t have you running ahead, can I?¡± I start chuckling as well, then we both laugh out loud. Finally, I wipe off a tear and can speak again. ¡°Okay, sorry for asking¡­ I just wanted to be sure. Welcome to the crew again then! Oh, and there are two more things, but we can¡¯t use both of them right now.¡± That gets her attention and I ask her if she¡¯s got a tablet with her. She nods. ¡°Yeah, got it right here. Maja even looked it over already and deleted Star Force¡¯s spy programs.¡± ¡°Perfect, here watch this.¡± I send her one of the video files from the War of Earth, one showing Conor and Sam throwing out attack spell after attack spell. Lucy watches the video with an open mouth, then suddenly she exclaims. ¡°I knew it! Hah, I just knew it. A&D isn¡¯t only about shields and weak attack spells! Do you have them with you?¡± She looks at me expectantly. ¡°No, sorry,¡± I shake my head. ¡°They only left a few spells behind that were essential for the ship¡­ But the second thing is almost as good. We just can¡¯t use it till we¡¯re out of the republic.¡± This time I send her a schematic of the Stargazer and highlight our two big magical guns at the bow of the ship. ¡°Those are the Magitech answer to attack spells. Magical guns! They draw power from the battery right here but require an A&D Mage to activate them.¡± Lucy grins widely and looks at the schematic with love in her eyes. ¡°Oh, you two¡­ We¡¯re going to become good friends,¡± she whispers. Oh my, what have I awakened here? Location: Estriduros Republic; Olovis System; Border Station 07; VS Stargazer Everything worked out as planned. The Topal noticed that Lucy was missing an hour before we did our first jump, but instead of following us, they did a non-wormhole jump and forced the freighter to stop. Before they noticed Maja¡¯s fake trail, we were long gone. For the next few days, we flew full speed to the closest wormhole available and just jumped, then finally Maja and Alex deemed it safe, and we started heading for the Olovis System. And here we are, two weeks after we managed to recruit Lucy, we¡¯re now docking with Border Station 07. We¡¯re quite lucky that Thomas is on this one and not on one of the others, as BS 07 is the only one here, that is a combination of a military and a civilian station. I guess Thomas is here because he is quite strong, and they only want the strongest to shield civilians? That¡¯s at least a plus point for the republic¡­ But due to the half-military nature of the station, there are going to be heavy restrictions. We aren¡¯t allowed to bring any weapons and there are strict rules to follow, otherwise, you¡¯ll end up in prison quickly. The thing that has me worried a bit is that our IDs are going to be put to the test! That¡¯s the last thing that makes BS 07 special and also the main reason why there is a civilian sector on a military station: Everyone who wants to leave the republic toward the Dakarti Federation, be it freighters for trade, or whoever else has to go through customs here on the station. Otherwise, their ships will be simply shot down when they attempt to access the wormhole. Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. But if our IDs work out, this makes our plan to get Thomas pretty simple. We just have to enter the station, go through the customs process, and Maja can hack the hell out of the station to send a message to Thomas so that we can meet up. It¡¯s also the last time that hacking is going to be so easy for Maja, as this is probably the last Estriduros Republic computer system we will see. After that, the code won¡¯t be familiar to her anymore, but I¡¯m still confident. I mean, she could hack things on Earth, even if it took her a bit longer. We gather near the airlock on deck 00 and I look around. It¡¯s starting to get cozy in the hallway¡­ Hell, we¡¯re already nine people and are about to get another one for our crew. ¡°Everyone ready?¡± I ask and I get nods or yesses from everyone. ¡°Alright, open up Maja, let¡¯s hope Don Fernando didn¡¯t screw us over!¡± The door starts to open when Maja replies. ¡°He didn¡¯t. I checked them, they¡¯ll work, don¡¯t worry.¡± We exit the ship and I take point and walk right down the docking arm. Bright green arrows on the floor point the way to the customs office. Not that they were needed as we can¡¯t walk anywhere else. The way is framed by a big metal fence that reaches the roof on one side and the outer wall of the docking arm blocks the other side. Behind the fence are three Space Rangers patrolling the docking arm with heavy weapons in their hands. I keep looking ahead and set a brisk pace. The docking arm terminates into another hallway, that is slightly bent. We can either walk left or right, but the arrow pointing left, and the scowling Ranger not far away make the decision very easy, and I turn to the left. The others follow me, and we walk down the new hallway. The floor is meshed metal and makes a rather annoying sound with each step. It feels like I¡¯m walking right into a prison¡­ We continue walking and from time to time the wall opens up on the left and I can see other docking arms, similar to the one we entered through. Then finally, after almost ten minutes of walking, another green arrow points to the right and we exit the hallway into a much bigger room. There are twenty armored cubicles next to each other with big, reinforced glass panels at the front. Only five of them are occupied though. Must be a quiet time right now. ¡°Alright,¡± a gruff voice barks from the right. I turn and see another ranger with a big bushy beard under his helmet. ¡°Split up and prepare those IDs. You¡¯re nine, so two to each cubicle, and one goes alone. Chop, chop. You¡¯ve got a crew of fifty coming behind you!¡± We split up in a hurry, just like he said. I¡¯m the one who ends up alone, so I walk toward the rightmost cubicle. A middle-aged, brown-haired woman with grey streaks and a friendly face greets me. ¡°Hello, please hand me your ID.¡± She smiles when I lay the small card down on the sliding tray. She activates the mechanism, and my ID slides into the cubicle. She picks it up. ¡°Alright, Miss Sara Valtron, you plan to visit the Dakarti Federation? May I ask for your reason?¡± I nod nervously. So far everything works out. ¡°Yeah, my company, MARA Deliveries managed to secure a contract to deliver a shipment of the federation¡¯s prized marble to Delon Shipwrights in the Bon Delaaz System for their new luxury liners.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good to hear. You picked the right moment to cross. The warfront has been quiet for the past week. Can you show me the contract?¡± ¡°Sure, got it on my interface. Do you have an open connection to send it to? Oh, and don¡¯t you find it strange, that pretty much all trade continues even if we¡¯re at war with them?¡± That gets a laugh out of her. ¡°Oh, if I¡¯d get money for every time someone asks this, I could retire right now. The short answer is, that while both nations fight against each other for every meter of space along the border, both are still dependent on trade between each other. I guess if they weren¡¯t so liberate with that dangerous magic, everything would be fine.¡± I have to suppress a grimace, looks like I found the first person who shares the anti-Mage beliefs of the government. The woman taps something in the air. ¡°There, you can send the contract to me now.¡± I do as she asks, and a short while later, she winks me through. I did it! I¡¯ve successfully checked out of the republic and am free to go to the Dakarti Federation. A place where Mages are welcome, at least from what I¡¯ve heard. Some of the others are already waiting for me and from the looks of it, Greg, Simon, and Lucy are just finishing up. They join us five minutes later, and we walk further into the station under the disguise of buying a few more supplies. Maja is already hard at work breaching the station¡¯s network. Once she¡¯s in, it should be a cakewalk. We find a nice-looking restaurant and order something to eat. I lean over to Maja. ¡°How does it look?¡± She grins. ¡°I¡¯m in! There¡¯s something quite interesting,¡± she whispers. ¡°He¡¯s got contact with a smuggler, who gets him stuff from time to time. I can use that to have him come to the civilian sector. Then you can catch him and ask if he wants to join.¡± ¡°Good, tell me when he¡¯s close. I think, I¡¯ll take Shay with me, but you others better return to the Stargazer sooner or later. I should be able to handle the collar.¡± I pat the small bag I¡¯ve got with me. It contains a tablet, the old trusted modified UC-cable, and a prepared ID card for Thomas. We finish eating and I turn to the others and speak loudly. ¡°Alright, you guys ready the ship for departure, I¡¯ll go grab the last things we need. Shay, you¡¯re with me.¡± The others smile and nod, clearly catching my double meaning, then they leave toward the ship. Shay joins me and I follow Maja¡¯s directions on my interface. It leads us to a less busy part of the station. On the way, Shay remembers that we should get some civilian clothes for Thomas, and we do a quick detour into a store. Now equipped with everything we need we reach our destination. To the left is a secure-looking door, that says military personnel only, and to the right are restrooms. Perfect! According to Maja¡¯s message on my interface, Thomas is currently inside the male restrooms waiting for his smuggler contact, so I take a deep breath and step inside. There he stands. I stop walking because I immediately recognize him, even if it¡¯s been more than six years since I saw him last. He¡¯s still tall as ever and his hair is cut short in military style. He must have heard the door as he starts to speak without turning. ¡°What¡¯s so urgent Stan? Why did you message me so panicky?¡± Next to me, there is a silent gasp. Shay whispers. ¡°Thomas, he¡¯s really here¡­¡± I put an arm around her shoulder and smile. ¡°Yes,¡± I whisper back. ¡°Let¡¯s see how he reacts.¡± I clear my throat and he turns. He takes a quick look at us and frowns. ¡°That¡¯s the male restr¡­ Holy Shit! Sara?? ¡­ And, and Shay?¡± His expression quickly changes from annoyance to pure happiness, and he rushes over to hug us. Ooof. He acquired quite the bulk over the years. ¡°What are you guys doing here?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t breathe,¡± I wheeze out, and he quickly releases us from the hug, looking quite embarrassed. ¡°Sorry, but seriously, what are you doing here?¡± He looks at my neck in confusion. ¡°And I thought you were a Mage as well?¡± I grin. ¡°Oh, I am a Mage and Shay is one too now, but I lost my collar and she never had one.¡± I wink. ¡°That¡¯s also why we are here¡­ I can¡¯t tell you much right now, but we¡¯re leaving the republic. I¡¯ve got a ship and I¡¯d love to have you as part of my crew. So what do you say? Leaving the republic and all the collar and control stuff behind?¡± His eyes grow wider with every word that I say. ¡°For real?¡± Shay nods while I remain grinning, and he continues. ¡°I¡­ uh sure I want to join¡­ But how? The collar restricts me to the station.¡± I take out the tablet and cable while Shay hands him the new clothes. ¡°We¡¯ve thought of that of course. Now hold still.¡± I plug in the cable and let Maja¡¯s program do the rest. A bit later, the collar snaps open and I throw it into the trash. ¡°Now put on your clothes and here, memorize your new name.¡± I hand him the ID and Shay and I turn around so that he can change. A minute later, he¡¯s ready and we all head out. Everything goes smoothly and we just have to scan our IDs at a terminal right before entering the docking arm that leads to the Stargazer. Even Thomas¡¯s new ID works perfectly. I guess Maja messed with the system and made it look like he entered the station with us. That said, we still hurry down the docking arm and once we¡¯re back at the ship, I let out a long sigh of relief. We¡¯ve finally done it. The crew is complete. Bye Estriduros Republic! Hopefully forever! Chapter 56: Dakarti Federation Chapter 56: Dakarti Federation Location: Estriduros Republic; Olovis System; VS Stargazer We escape BS 07 without issues and Alex sets a course for the nearby wormhole. It takes two hours of travel, which I take to catch up with Thomas. He said he wants to talk first and see the ship later, so I let him choose a cabin and we both sit down on his bed afterward. He doesn¡¯t want the bigger cabin opposite to mine, saying it feels weird getting the biggest cabin as the last person to join. I shrug at his response. Not that it matters¡­ I guess I¡¯ll ask Jack later if he and Alex want an upgrade as they are the only ones sharing a cabin so far. As he was at the academy before me, I let him start and he tells me about his time there. His experience was quite different, as he didn¡¯t find a close friend group, so he was more isolated there. Being a Senior Mage didn¡¯t help either, as the others were jealous of him. Just when he is about to start talking about his experiences with Star Force, I hear Maja¡¯s voice in my ear. ¡°Sara, we need you on the bridge! It looks like Star Force noticed Thomas¡¯s disappearance. They¡¯re hot on our heels. A ship just jumped right behind us. They demand our surrender.¡± ¡°Shit!¡± I can¡¯t stop myself from swearing this time. ¡°I¡¯ll be right there. Cut the gravity.¡± I shout a hasty explanation to Thomas, and he says he¡¯ll come to the bridge as well. Then gravity turns off and I teleport to the bridge. I look around and catch on the situation. For the first time, more than one of the bridge consoles are occupied. Alex at the helm, Jack next to her to give support, and Lucy sits at the tactical console, ready to throw up a shield at any moment. ¡°What¡¯s our status?¡± I ask right after appearing behind them. A second later, gravity is active again and Maja shows me a tactical map with us in the middle, the wormhole before us, and a Cruiser hot on our heels. ¡°We''re close to the wormhole,¡± she starts with a frown. ¡°But we won¡¯t make it in time¡­ They gave us five minutes to surrender, but it takes us ten to jump.¡± Shoot, they timed their ultimatum right¡­ ¡°Can we outlast them with our shields, Lucy?¡± She shrugs without turning around. ¡°Maybe? I don¡¯t know¡­ We¡¯ve never tested them, and we also don¡¯t know how serious they are. A cruiser sure packs a punch if they want to. Especially if they let loose with their missiles.¡± ¡°Too risky then. Alright, what other options do we have? Surrendering is of course not an option.¡± I look at Jack and he stares back. Our eyes widen at the same time. ¡°That¡¯s it!¡± I shout and he cries out at the same time. ¡°Engine Enhancement!¡± We both grin at each other. That boost to our engines is both unexpected and should let us reach the wormhole just in time. ¡°Maja, I need another jump. This time to the engines.¡± Jack shakes his head, grinning even wider. ¡°No need. I finally figured out the last bit of Remote Control that was bothering me. I can chain the engine spell to it and activate it from here.¡± ¡°Nice, do it! Full power, don¡¯t slow down, I can get us through the wormhole at full speed.¡± He nods and closes his eyes to concentrate. In the meantime, Thomas has reached the bridge as well and stands behind us all. He has an awkward expression on his face. Does he feel guilty? ¡°It¡¯s not your fault, Tom. Go help out Lucy with the shields. Once we speed up, they¡¯ll shoot for sure.¡± He nods and rushes over. ¡°Okay.¡± They both start discussing tactics and Jack opens his eyes, telling me he¡¯s ready. ¡°Do it!¡± I shout, then I start readying the Wormhole spell. I¡¯ve got to trigger it at the perfect moment. ¡°Everyone hold on!¡± Jack exclaims, then he triggers the spell and the Stargazer shoots forward. Thomas and Lucy trigger their respective Shielding spells at the same time. Just in time because Star Force of course noticed our sudden acceleration and starts firing their railguns and lasers. ¡°Brace for impact!¡± Maja shouts and the first lasers hit right after. The railgun projectiles are not far behind, but our shields hold steady for now. The power of two Senior Mages, I guess. We¡¯re getting closer and closer to the wormhole, and I turn everything out. I¡¯m fully concentrated. Nothing can distract me now. After what felt like an eternity, we¡¯re there and I trigger the spell. It¡¯s rough, but we make it and enter the wormhole. ¡°We¡¯ve made it,¡± I wheeze out, then turn to Jack. ¡°Cut the engine spell, then be ready to cloak us. It¡¯s pretty much guaranteed that they follow us. Let them think we messed up the jump and got lost in between.¡± Jack grins. ¡°Good idea. Got it. Just tell me when.¡± It¡¯s a long jump, it takes almost two hours, but when we reappear in real space, Jack cloaks the whole ship immediately and we quickly move away from the wormhole. We¡¯re currently in between both nations, a neutral wormhole hub so to speak. The next wormhole that leads to the Dakarti Federation is a few hours away. The Cruiser appears less than ten minutes later and immediately fires out intense scanning pulses. Luckily, our Cloaking spell holds, and we continue flying undetected. The Cruiser stays a while longer, but then they return to the republic through the wormhole. Looks like they don¡¯t want to enrage the federation right now and write us off as lost. I stand up and walk to the center of the bridge. ¡°Alright guys, we did it. We left the republic behind and had our first combat engagement, even if we didn¡¯t fire back, we succeeded! Now onto the federation!¡± Everyone cheers and I walk over to Thomas and tap his arm. ¡°Hey Tom, you okay?¡± ¡°Yeah, that was crazy¡­ almost as crazy as my last encounter on a Star Force ship.¡± ¡°Huh, you had something like this before you were transferred to the station?¡± ¡°Yeah, I was about to tell you earlier. I can continue if you want.¡± I nod and we walk to the back of the bridge and grab some chairs to sit down. We¡¯ve got a bit of time till we have to jump again. Thomas restarts his story. After the academy followed Star Force training and different assignments on different ships¡­ Next, he tells me about Space Force training and his first job on a starship. That¡¯s when things start to get more interesting¡­ ¡°So then on my last ship, the ERS Zeloris, I finally had the exciting encounter, I mentioned earlier. I was able to use my magic to its fullest and defend the ship against some trigger-happy pirates. Actually, that was only about half a year ago. Right in the Olovis System where we¡¯ve just been.¡± Wait, in that System? About half a year ago? Does that mean? ¡°Uh, Tom¡­ your exciting encounter was it part of a wormhole blockade to catch someone which ended up with a destroyed wormhole?¡± I grimace while asking that and he looks back at me with a confused expression and wide eyes. ¡°Err, yes? That¡¯s it exactly¡­ How do you know that? I thought Star Force kept everything under wraps¡­¡± ¡°No way!¡± I exclaim and everyone looks at us questioningly. Oh my¡­ So I missed Thomas a second time almost just as closely as back in the academy. I can¡¯t believe he was on the ship that shot down the Solano. ¡°Thomas is the one who shot me down before everything!¡± Stolen novel; please report. Now everyone has a shocked expression, especially Thomas. I chuckle a bit. Now that everything is over, it¡¯s quite funny I have to say¡­ ¡°Well Tom, it¡¯s a long story and I think it¡¯s best if I start at the beginning to give you some context¡­ Everything started back in the academy when the Space Magic instructor taught me a second spell¡­¡± ¡°¡­ You see, that¡¯s how I ended up as a Space Mage on a pirate ship in the Olovis System.¡± Thomas¡¯s eyes almost spring out of his head. ¡°Holy shit!¡± I raise an eyebrow. ¡°Uh, sorry¡­ But you¡¯re telling me that my ship really shot yours down? That I almost killed you? Oh my god, I¡¯m so sorry!¡± He hugs me and I pat his back. ¡°Don¡¯t be, that saved me from that idiot of a pirate Captain¡­ Actually, that situation started everything you see right here. I mean, to survive the missile I did a hail Mary and used the Personal Teleportation spell to jump to another ship, right in the middle of the military blockade¡­¡± Next follows the classic tale about Maja, Earth, me being a Valterion, and everything else that happened till now. Thomas almost can¡¯t believe it but is very happy that I found out my family name. He knows how much I hated Nelson. My retelling took quite a while and we¡¯ve reached the next wormhole in the meantime. It¡¯s been quite the day, and everyone agrees to wait till the next day before we take the jump. The next morning, we all eat breakfast together and everyone finally gets the chance to talk a bit more to Thomas. After food and a lot of talking, we head back to the bridge. It¡¯s time to do the jump. This time it¡¯s Simon¡¯s turn, so I stand in the back with the others while Alex is doing her thing at the helm. We¡¯ve decided to drop the cloak before jumping. We¡¯re about to enter a nation that doesn¡¯t suppress Mages, so who knows what their scanners can do? And nothing spells trouble more clearly than a cloaked ship coming from the Estriduros Republic! Shay looks a bit nervous and glances at Thomas the whole time, so I nudge her and whisper in her ear. ¡°You should talk to him, you know.¡± She winces. ¡°That obvious, huh?¡± I laugh and nod. ¡°Oh yes, that obvious!¡±
Location: Dakarti Federation; Gendi System; VS Stargazer We¡¯ve made it! Simon has just finished the jump, and we enter the Gendi System. We are now completely inside the Dakarti Federation. Everyone on the bridge cheers, and I see Shay leaning onto Thomas. I grin, looks like they talked during the jump. ¡°Alright, everyone,¡± I walk to the front-facing window and turn to face my whole crew. ¡°Our first step is done. We¡¯ve entered the Dakarti Federation, and we don¡¯t have to fear being discovered as a Mage anymore. If no one is against it, I suggest we cross this system as fast as possible and head for the next. With a bit more distance to the war front, everything should be much quieter, and we can look for more information about The Empire.¡± The others all agree, especially the Mages among us. More distance to those blasted collars is always better. I¡¯m about to continue with my speech when Maja interrupts. ¡°Sara, we¡¯re being hailed, the signal comes from a relay station close to the wormhole, but I can¡¯t trace it further!¡± She sounds distressed. A signal that can hide from our sensors and Maja¡¯s processing capabilities¡­ Yeah, that¡¯s justified. ¡°Put it onscreen, if you can¡¯t trace it, what other choice do we have? We better not ignore it in case it¡¯s Dakarti¡¯s military.¡± The biggest screen to my right comes alive and shows a middle-aged man with dark skin and a black buzz cut. His intense gaze almost pierces the screen, and he looks very annoyed. ¡°Unknown republic vessel, this is Captain Rogers from the DFS Tilda. Identify yourself, lower your shields, and wait for further instructions! Hostile action will be answered with lethal force!¡± Holy shit! ¡°Maja, where are they? What do I do?¡± Luckily Maja must have muted me, as the man keeps staring in annoyance. ¡°Answer him, just tell him that we fled the republic. But hurry. I can¡¯t hold up the video connection forever. I¡¯ll lower the shields. We¡¯ve only got the electromagnetic ones activated anyway.¡± Dang it! Who voted me for Captain again? I gulp, take a deep breath, and stare at the camera. ¡°Hello Captain Rogers, this is the Stargazer,¡± I start panicky. ¡°I¡¯m Sara Valtron and we pretty much fled from the republic¡­¡± I curse under my breath. Why did I speak so informally? ¡°We¡¯re, uh, just passing through?¡± The other Captain frowns but looks like he understands my panic at least a bit. His tone softens a bit when he replies. ¡°You¡¯ve got a hell of a lot of weapons around your ship for just passing through¡­ We¡¯ll have to inspect you. Prepare to be boarded, Rogers out.¡± The screen cuts off and then my Space Sense goes haywire. ¡°Guys, we¡¯ve got something big coming!¡± I shout just when there is a massive purple flash right before us. One word: HUGE! I guess the DFS Tilda is a full-blown Battleship. ¡°Weapons are locking onto us!¡± Alex shouts from the piloting console. ¡°Let them, not that we can do anything against this behemoth,¡± Maja sounds a lot calmer now. ¡°They¡¯ve just sent a message. We are to await their boarding party.¡± I sit down on the Captain¡¯s chair, breathing heavily. ¡°That¡¯s not the Welcome I expected¡­ But I can understand them. We¡¯re an unknown factor here.¡± ¡°So what are we going to do?¡± Jack asks, currently holding his wife¡¯s hand. He must have walked over when I was distracted. Everyone starts looking at me. I sigh. ¡°Guys, I don¡¯t know more than you. If you haven¡¯t noticed, I¡¯ve got no plan for how to handle them, but I guess we prepare for the worst and hope for the best. Can you put the deck plan on screen, Maja?¡± The plan appears and I walk over, inwardly cursing our lack of holograms. Would have been way more convenient. I point at the airlocks. ¡°Okay, that¡¯s where they¡¯ll be coming in, so that¡¯s where we¡¯ll be waiting for them. But not all of us. Alex, you stay on the bridge as our pilot. Greg, you¡¯re with her. I know you don¡¯t like your magic but be ready to use your shields in case something happens. Same with you, Ronja, you stay in the Medbay together with Lucy or Thomas, you guys decide who goes. The others are with me. I¡¯m going to pose as a Utility Mage, so don¡¯t tell them I¡¯m Space in case they have a way to detect Mages. All clear?¡± Everyone nods and Jack even mumbles ¡°Yes, Captain,¡± so I clap my hands and lead the way. ¡°Then let¡¯s do this, follow me.¡± We quickly head down. Thomas decided to go with Maja, so Lucy is currently walking next to me. I must act pretty nervous because Lucy nudges my arm and asks. ¡°Are you alright?¡± I shrug. ¡°Not really, but what can I do? We can¡¯t act like fools before them¡­ Good thing they haven¡¯t detected our real guns so far. I hope that doesn¡¯t change once they board¡­ I mean there¡¯s magic in the air everywhere on the Stargazer.¡± ¡°True, I¡¯ve never felt something like this¡­¡± We arrive at the airlock and position ourselves near the one on the port side. Simon turns to ask. ¡°Do you have visual, Maja?¡± ¡°I do, they started a shuttle about five minutes ago. I¡¯ve also blocked a remote hacking attempt, so they might be a bit angry?¡± I grimace. ¡°That¡¯s going to bite us, but good job. I don¡¯t want them in our systems. Even if you have all the sensible data in your own storage¡­ This is still a Valterion ship.¡± ¡°They have docked, be ready,¡± Maja announces, and I put on my game face. The light above the airlock turns green and I nod to Maja to open it. It opens with a silent hiss, and we get our first look at the federation¡¯s equivalent to the Space Rangers. Shay takes in a sharp breath. ¡°They look dangerous,¡± she whispers, and I can only agree. Dangerous is the right word. I can see a squad of eight people coming in, four rows of two next to each other. The front two project an angled Shield spell each and the others behind them hold their guns menacingly. They wear heavy armor and full face-covering helmets, so I can¡¯t detect if they are male or female. ¡°Lay down your weapons and hands up,¡± a deep, but still female voice shouts and we quickly comply by raising our hands. Not that we had any weapons with us. ¡°Sara, our sensors just detected a highly encrypted signal with magical traces.¡± Maja¡¯s voice in my ear almost startled me. What¡¯s that signal for? Suddenly my Space Sense activates, and I turn around. A second squad of soldiers suddenly appears behind us with a panting Space Mage between them. We¡¯re surrounded. Even if I can¡¯t see their faces, they look even more angry than the first squad. ¡°Drop the magic! And where¡¯s your Mage? You¡¯ve got ten seconds!¡± A male voice shouts. Shoot, they see the lingering Magic from our battery as aggression! Before my thoughts registered, I¡¯ve stepped forward. Almost all the guns suddenly point at me. I gulp heavily. ¡°Wait!¡± I cry out. ¡°I can explain. We¡¯re not doing anything, what you feel is our power grid.¡± I imagine them getting confused looks, but at least some of them lower their weapons a bit. Now they¡¯re just aiming at my torso instead of my face. ¡°Explain!¡± The same male voice from earlier shouts. I can¡¯t help but shrug. ¡°It¡¯s what I said. We¡¯ve got a larger-than-average battery on our topmost deck. The magic in the air is what emanates out of it.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll have to show me,¡± his tone is a bit softer now. ¡°Let¡¯s go. Your crew can wait with the rest of G-Squad.¡± G-Squad. Is that the name of their Rangers or just the squad¡¯s name? I step closer to the man who has just spoken. I notice he wears a different insignia on his armor. Must be their leader. ¡°Follow me.¡± He and two of his eight-man squad step out of the formation and fall in behind me. I call the elevator and we step inside. I shift around uncomfortably during the ride upward. We arrive on deck 04 with a *ding* and when the doors open and the even thicker magic hits us, the leader takes a step back and breaths heavily. ¡°What the fuck¡­? This thing is ten times bigger than on the Tilda! Why?¡± Now it¡¯s time to gamble. I clear my throat. ¡°I can¡¯t tell you that. We¡¯re on our way back to The Empire to report to the Valterions.¡± I hold my breath. I hope a Mage-friendly nation knows about The Empire. It was only mentioned in a footnote back in the republic. The man takes a step back and almost drops his weapon while lowering it as fast as possible. The other two are not far behind. ¡°Fuck, why haven¡¯t you told us earlier? We should have known¡­ The republic doesn¡¯t produce Mage ships. You¡¯re of course free to proceed. On behalf of the Dakarti Protectors, I apologize for the rough treatment. Please don¡¯t think badly of us. I guess Captain Rogers wants to meet you now¡­ Just to discuss the best route for you. Let me call him real quick. You won¡¯t face any more problems, Envoy.¡± Huh, Envoy? I¡¯ve been called a lot of things over the years but never Envoy. I wonder why? But I guess, I have to play the part now. That guy did a complete 180¡­ I clear my throat. ¡°You are excused soldier. Please proceed with calling the Captain. But I wonder how you recognized me.¡± He chuckles. ¡°You must be pretty new. I guess the others wanted you to find out on your own. He points at my hair. There are not many people with the signature Valterion hair and eye color out there in the wider galaxy. Especially not here. You''re the first person I see except for the one Valterion envoy I saw as a kid on TV. We should have noticed earlier... The military gets briefed on such things, but I guess the Captain thought your hair was colored. Oh, and I¡¯m Major Jackson by the way.¡± So that¡¯s why I¡¯ve never seen many people with my shade of light red hair¡­ I laugh, continuing to play the part. ¡°Wow, they played me bad¡­¡± Chapter 57: Envoy Chapter 57: Envoy Location: Dakarti Federation; Gendi System; VS Stargazer So here I am now. Falsely recognized as an Envoy from the Valterion Family of The Empire. I guess my career as an actress starts now. I mean being an Envoy is still more believable than what happened for real, right? Major Jackson is still on the call with Captain Rogers from the Tilda. I was quite surprised that they sent over a Major, who feels very strong magically speaking. At least upper end of Senior. But I guess it makes sense. I mean I would freak out as well if I suddenly detected a huge quantity of magic. Major Jackson turns back to me. ¡°Okay, Captain Rogers is ready to meet you. Are you fine with me taking you along for the jump?¡± Is he a Space Mage too? But why was there another one panting when they jumped over? ¡°Uhh, yes, I guess. But let me inform my crew real quick. By the way, are you a Space Mage too?¡± He nods. ¡°Sure, go ahead and yeah, I recently acquired a Junior Space core. Best decision I¡¯ve ever made let me tell you.¡± Wow, it¡¯s still weird hearing the big soldier speaking so casually after his sudden 180. I don¡¯t have to type anything to Maja, as she was already listening in, but she decides that now is the right moment to reply. ¡°The same is happening down here, Sara. They all lowered their weapons and look quite embarrassed. The female leader from the first squad just told me that they¡¯ll leave in the next few minutes, so all is good on our side. Now you just have to convince the Captain. No pressure. We get everything ready for our departure in the meantime. Good luck!¡± ¡°Okay, Major Jackson. I¡¯m ready.¡± He does a short check with his fellow soldiers as well and then I feel his magic enveloping me. Again, I get the feeling that I can resist if I want, but I don¡¯t. We disappear. A fraction of a second later, I find myself in a closed room, about five meters squared. The walls are blank metal, and the room is completely empty. I feel a slight dose of magic in the air, but it¡¯s much less than on the Stargazer. Major Jackson and his two subordinates appear around me and the Major taps something on an invisible screen before him. Then one of the walls slides open and shows a hallway beyond. He beckons me to follow him, and I quickly step outside. I raise an eyebrow in question. He chuckles. ¡°It¡¯s one of our jump rooms on the ship. They are close to important locations, and we are to leave them as soon as possible to make way for future jumps. Just to avoid collisions,¡± he shrugs. ¡°Well, it shouldn¡¯t matter right now, as we aren¡¯t part of a fleet where people switch ships more often, so there aren¡¯t many jumps. We don¡¯t have that many Space Mages anyway, but it¡¯s hard to shrug off protocol.¡± Hmm, it¡¯s quite genius¡­ I mean having a dedicated room that¡¯s always empty as a jump destination enables safe jumps all over. I don¡¯t want to imagine jumping right into another person, ugh¡­ Not everyone has access to Space Sense right away, so that¡¯s a superb substitute. The Major must have interpreted my silence as a disagreement or something because he is quick to add. ¡°I can understand your confusion. Why would we need something like this if our AIs could just calculate for an empty place on the ship? But let me tell you, compared to what you probably know, ours are way more basic. They are good for navigation and a bit of teleporting around but that¡¯s it.¡± Ugh, I hope he doesn¡¯t think of me as a snob or something now. But from what he told me right now, I was Extremely lucky with my Hail Mary jump from the pirate ship back then with S-57 calculating the jump. Who knows what would have happened if the ship wasn¡¯t almost empty? Hmm, I did have Space Sense though, so maybe everything was good? Anyway, time for another channeling of Actress Sara. ¡°Sorry Major, it¡¯s just hard to wrap my head around such things sometimes. I mean we weren¡¯t even supposed to end up here anyway¡­¡± He barks a laugh. ¡°Don¡¯t be sorry, it¡¯s just what it is. You can¡¯t help it anyway.¡± He points at another door before us. It looks heavily reinforced. ¡°That¡¯s the bridge by the way. Unfortunately, I can¡¯t let you inside. But the door right next to it is your destination. The Captain¡¯s office. He should be already waiting for you. If we don¡¯t see each other again, I wish you a nice trip back home.¡± He actually salutes me. Right fist to the heart and a slight bow of the head. I can¡¯t help myself and return the salute. ¡°Thanks, Major, see you!¡± I turn around and knock at the indicated door. ¡°Come in!¡± The voice of Captain Rogers sounds through the door, and it starts sliding open. I turn my head quickly and give a short last nod to Major Jackson, then I step through into the Captain¡¯s office. I¡¯ve only seen his head before but holy smokes, this man is packed! He could easily replace any bouncer at even the toughest of establishments. His big arms are almost too large to fit into his dark green uniform with golden stars on his shoulders. Maybe it¡¯s a customized design to fit him? His brown eyes study me intensely, but the earlier hostility is completely gone. ¡°Please sit down,¡± he points at a grav chair opposite him, and I comply. ¡°Sorry for making such a fuss with our arrival, Captain.¡± He waves me off, even showing a small smile. ¡°Ahh, don¡¯t worry. It was a good training exercise for my crew. Now, I¡¯ve been told that not only are you on a mission for the Valterion Ducal family, but you¡¯re also a Valterion yourself?¡± He continues to mumble under his breath, clearly not intending for me to hear. ¡°I should have known with the hair¡­¡± He clears his throat. ¡°Anyway, what I¡¯m meaning to ask is why did you introduce yourself as Valtron? Even if it¡¯s meant to disguise yourself, it¡¯s pretty weak, you know? It¡¯s almost the same name.¡± Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. I grimace a bit. ¡°Yeah well, first of all, Sara Valterion at your service!¡± I offer him my hand to shake, which he quickly does. His large black hand completely swallowing mine. ¡°As for the name¡­ It was a last-minute white lie; you see your ship is pretty intimidating up close and we just escaped a Cruiser of the republic that was chasing us through the wormhole. We didn¡¯t know in what kind of nation we ended up here and if you even know about The Empire. The republic doesn¡¯t from what I managed to grab from their networks. Me telling my name to Major Jackson was my last Hail Mary when he got very nervous about the high magical density on the Stargazer.¡± Captain Rogers nods slowly. ¡°Okay, that explains that at least. But why don¡¯t you know? I mean you should have been briefed about where you are sent to, right?¡± I manage a chuckle. ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s the next issue¡­¡± Man, it¡¯s very hard to spin that tale¡­ I really should look into acting jobs. ¡°You see, our original mission was nowhere close to this section of the galaxy. We were traveling through a wormhole in the Starseeker Kingdom when it suddenly collapsed.¡± Thanks, Miss Baker for the name of that nation. ¡°My best guess is that an asteroid collided with one of the wormhole rings, but I don¡¯t know for sure¡­ Anyway, thanks to the fast reaction of my AI and crew, we managed to stabilize somewhat in hyperspace, and we exited through the deployment of a strong gravitational anchor. You can guess where we ended up.¡± He snorts. ¡°Right in the Estriduros Republic.¡± I nod. ¡°Bingo! Then we learned about the treatment of Mages there and decided to leave as soon as possible. And now we¡¯re here, searching for a way home. We found out about the war between your two nations, but not the reason for it. But from what I¡¯ve seen so far, it¡¯s the good old difference in ideologies, right?¡± I let out a long breath. I hope that was enough bullshitting now. I don¡¯t know if I can spin the tale further¡­ It¡¯s just a matter of time till I mess something up. ¡°Oh my,¡± he leans back in his chair. ¡°That¡¯s not even close to what I expected of the day when I got up this morning¡­ Getting lost in a wormhole¡­ I can¡¯t imagine one of our Mages would manage to save themselves. Your crew and you must be quite exceptional. But coming back to the war, you are right, of course. We want to free the republic¡¯s Mages, while their government wants to enslave ours.¡± He scratches his chin, focusing on my face again. ¡°Now that you are here in the federation, you have nothing to fear anymore, and I can have the Tilda¡¯s AI calculate the best route to your home if you want.¡± ¡°That would be great, thanks. We¡¯re pretty much lost here. We planned to look for it ourselves on the planet but getting it from you right now would be way more convenient.¡± ¡°I can imagine. Just one more thing. I plan to give you diplomatic codes so that you can avoid further inspections here in our nation and a few of our allies along your route. But before that, I need you to confirm your identity. I¡¯m sorry, even if you have the looks, it could still be faked, and protocol dictates to always have verification before giving out codes for foreign Envoys.¡± I shake my head, smiling. ¡°Oh, don¡¯t worry, no need to justify yourself. I completely understand. I mean I would be suspicious of myself as well if I were in your shoes. Just let me call my crew real quick and they¡¯ll send it over.¡± I hope what I have in mind will be enough, otherwise, I¡¯m screwed. I can¡¯t believe I stayed so composed right now, holy smokes¡­ He leans to the right to grab a tablet. ¡°Alright, you can use the tablet to use the Tilda¡¯s communication suite to make your call.¡± I hold up my hands. ¡°No need, Captain. I¡¯ve got it.¡± He raises an eyebrow in question, and I quickly connect my cores to power up my Utility core. I deliberately let a bit of the magic slip into the environment. Now I get to see if he¡¯s a Mage as well. If so, he must be either very weak, which I doubt, or he¡¯s got superb control of his magical aura as I can¡¯t feel a single thing from him. He twitches a bit, then he nods in understanding. Ahh, there it is, gotcha! I let the connection dissolve again and focus on the Communication spell. Once it settles in, I connect my cores again and trigger the spell. I¡¯m fast enough to do it in seconds now, so he didn¡¯t notice the short delay. I reach out and find Jack over at the Stargazer and form a connection. My fellow Utility Mage is way easier to connect to and shines like a beacon to my magic. ¡°Jack?¡± I call out into the spell and a second later he replies. ¡°Sara, is that you? Are you alright? The others start to get worried. You¡¯ve been gone for a while.¡± ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m alright. I¡¯ll be back soon as well. Tell Maja I¡¯ll be probably teleporting back, she knows what to do. And have her send over the files that confirm my identity as Sara Valterion, please. Captain Rogers needs a verification so that he can give us diplomatic codes which should help us avoid situations like this in the future.¡± Jack starts to laugh. ¡°Of course, you would manage to get something like this! Hang on, I¡¯ll go talk to her.¡± He is silent for a minute then comes back to me. ¡°Okay, she said, she¡¯ll send the files over. You¡¯ve got anything else?¡± ¡°No, thanks, Jack. See you later!¡± ¡°Alright, see you.¡± He cuts the connection and I focus back on the Captain. ¡°The files should be on the way to you.¡± He nods, staring at empty air. ¡°Yes, I¡¯ve already got it, thanks. Looks like everything checks out. Thanks for your understanding, Envoy. Do you have something where I can send your codes to, or should I send them back to your ship? Also, quite impressive to already have dual cores at your young age.¡± ¡°Oh, you can call me Sara,¡± I smile. ¡°And you can send the codes and the route directly to my interface if you have them already. One sec, let me open a connection.¡± I tap the menu button on the right side of my interface and then proceed to open up a wireless access point. ¡°There, it¡¯s open. And speaking of cores, yeah that¡¯s another special thing of me¡­ You see, I¡¯m only a Novice in Space magic, so I¡¯ll need a gravity-free room later to jump back.¡± I grimace. The man starts to laugh. ¡°Oh, that¡¯s a relief¡­ Don¡¯t get me wrong, I can imagine the annoyance of being a Novice, but it¡¯s also extremely reassuring for me. I was afraid the whole time that I almost blew up a scion of the main Valterion line. But you being only a Novice puts you into one of the branch families. No offense, right?¡± Oh wow, that was quite the insult, right? But on the other hand, it¡¯s also pretty much the first confirmation I have about my position in the Valterion family. Not that I had any dreams of being the kid of the Duke and Duchess anyway, I mean my parents died on that freighter. Or maybe that was another secret diplomatic mission, and I was born during it? Who knows? Anyway, I decide to let my actress persona slide the insult and only grimace a bit more. ¡°Non taken, Captain, but be aware that not all of the other Valterions are so chill. Now are we finished? I fear my crew is starting to miss me.¡± The Captain blanches a bit. At least he now realizes what he said¡­ ¡°Ugh, sorry. Yes, we¡¯re finished. Come, I lead you back to the jump room. We can deactivate gravity in there. He stands up hastily and a wave of his hand opens the door. I follow him outside and we walk side by side toward the same jump room I entered the ship through. ¡°Alright, Envoy, I hope you¡¯ll find your way home soon and I¡¯d be very glad if you have the one or other good word about the federation.¡± He salutes me just like Major Jackson before, and then gravity turns off. ¡°Thank you, Captain Rogers. I¡¯ll see what I can do. Goodbye!¡± With that, I channel my magic into the Personal Teleportation spell and disappear from the DFS Tilda. Chapter 58: Diplomatic Privileges Chapter 58: Diplomatic Privileges Location: Dakarti Federation; Gendi System; VS Stargazer S-57 calculated my jump coordinates so that I reappear in the middle of the Stargazer¡¯s bridge. I¡¯m informed by my Space Sense a second before, that almost everyone is waiting for me there, so it¡¯s quite funny to see them all jump at my appearance. Thomas even throws up a Shield spell around my crew. ¡°Good reactions, Tom!¡± I smirk. ¡°God damn, you gave me a heart attack!¡± He complains but is now grinning as well. Then he notices my scowl and the grin slips away. ¡°Sorry, I¡¯ve been around a lot of swearing people those past six years. It¡¯s hard not to adopt their habits.¡± That response manages to release all the tension I accumulated during my meeting with the Captain and I laugh. ¡°Shit Tom, my dislike for swearing is just a habit of me too, but keep it down, if possible, please?¡± I look at him innocently, knowing that I just swore as well. ¡°Anyway, I¡¯ve just started my acting career and told the Captain what he wanted to hear. So now we¡¯ve got diplomatic codes and can do pretty much whatever we want here in the federation!¡± ¡°For real, everything?¡± Simon asks from the side, and I grin at him. ¡°Yeah, we¡¯re exempt from any inspections, but we shouldn¡¯t overuse this privilege. I say we get what we need in the next few systems, then leave for The Empire or whatever nations we have to cross before.¡± ¡°Ugh, you¡¯re no fun,¡± Shay complains weakly. I look around grinning when I see a few frowns on the other¡¯s faces. ¡°Chill guys. I don¡¯t mean we won¡¯t use the privilege at all! We still have a very much empty ship to fill and old tech to upgrade.¡± Then suddenly Maja interjects as the voice of reason. ¡°Don¡¯t get too excited guys, while I can exchange our money at pretty much a one-to-one ratio, we still don¡¯t have too much of it and I know Sara¡¯s attitude toward stealing.¡± That dampens our enthusiasm greatly. Meanwhile, the Tilda starts flying away from us and disappears in a purple flash soon after. We¡¯re alone now and Alex starts powering up our engines again. ¡°So, we head for the planet, and look what we can get?¡± She asks and I nod. ¡°Yeah, maybe everything is cheap here¡­¡± Not that I believe it myself. Suddenly Greg jumps up. ¡°Guys, I¡¯ve got it!¡± Everyone turns to him, and he blushes, then he¡¯s quick to continue. ¡°Remember the introduction to magic back at the academy?¡± The five other Mages including me nod slowly, not knowing what he wants to tell us. ¡°The instructor told us about the attacking spell that can be used to mine asteroids, right?¡± Lucy nods. ¡°Yes, but we¡¯ve never learned it¡­¡± Greg gins. ¡°Yeah, but Sara, you said we have those magical guns, right?¡± A big grin starts to form on my face as well. I think I get what he wants to suggest. ¡°Brilliant idea Greg, you think you¡¯re up to it?¡± Now I get the questioning looks and I point at Greg. ¡°Your idea, you¡¯re going to explain!¡± He sighs. ¡°Fine¡­ So, imagine we use those guns and fire a weak pulse at a few asteroids. If it¡¯s weak enough, say Novice power without much support from the batteries, it shouldn¡¯t pulverize the asteroid right away and maybe if we get the right angle,¡± he glances at Maja and she nods, ¡°we can simply crack the asteroid and collect the parts. If we get one with precious metals or a huge amount of tristanium, we can earn quite a bit of money.¡± ¡°Ooohh, nice!¡± Lucy exclaims. ¡°But I want to test them first at full power.¡± ¡°Sure, sure. But let¡¯s head for the planet first. Let¡¯s see what we can buy with the money we have,¡± I have to break her enthusiasm a bit. ¡°But then Maja can look for an uninhabited system that has little traffic, and we can shoot down a few asteroids.¡± This time everyone agrees, and I slump down on the Captain¡¯s chair that I had slowly floating over to me while talking. It¡¯s been a long day. ¡°How long till we arrive, Alex?¡± ¡°About seven hours with our current speed. I can speed up and make it in five if you want though.¡± I shake my head. ¡°Nah, seven is fine.¡±
Location: Dakarti Federation; Gendi System; above Flipon; VS Stargazer Sara, they want us to dock at the military space station above the planet for inspection and customs. Should we comply?¡± Maja¡¯s soft voice in my ear wakes me up a few hours after I laid down to sleep in my cabin. I yawn loudly, then reply. ¡°No, send them our diplomatic codes¡­ Time to enjoy the privileges. Let¡¯s head for one of the commercial stations instead. Maybe you find one that sells holographic technology for starships at a reasonable price. I¡¯ll be on the bridge in a few minutes as well, see you.¡± This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. Now that I¡¯m awake, I¡¯m not able to sleep anymore, so I get up and take a quick shower. A trip to my wardrobe has me picking a new shipsuit that I make mostly transparent except for the obvious parts and grabbing a fancy-looking blue blouse and a black skirt to put on above. For footwear, I grab my trusted magnetic sneakers. I mean I¡¯m an important Envoy of the Valterion Duchy now, so I have to look the part. I wonder if there are magnetic heels? I guess, I have to take the other girls out for a shopping trip soon. A glance into a nearby mirror has me smiling. I look Good! Only my light red hair is a bit unruly and hangs down my back in waves, where it stops about halfway down. Looks like a stop at a hairdresser is on the list as well. Anyway, now fully clothed, I step out of my cabin and take the express lift to the bridge on my left. Maja greets me upon entering. Except for her and Greg who gives me a lazy wave, the bridge is currently empty. ¡°Good morning, where are the others?¡± Greg shrugs. ¡°I guess they are still sleeping?¡± ¡°Most are, yes,¡± Maja answers. ¡°But Thomas and Shay are already enjoying some breakfast.¡± Uh-huh, Shay and Thomas. So they finally had their talk? ¡°Okay, let them enjoy their meal, but send everyone else up here once they wake up. I don¡¯t want anyone to disturb those two.¡± ¡°Done, they have a message on their tablets or interfaces. Now, we¡¯re about half an hour out from a commercial station that should have most of the things we need. I don¡¯t know about the holotech though. Oh, and the military station came back to us, confirming that we¡¯re exempt from the inspection.¡± ¡°Great,¡± I reply, then I notice the big grins on Maja¡¯s and Greg¡¯s faces. ¡°There¡¯s more?¡± ¡°Yup. They forwarded a message from Captain Rogers, here let me send it to you.¡± A ping on my interface informs me of a new message and I tap the icon to open it. While reading my eyes go wide. ¡°For real?¡± ¡°Yes, the Captain really left you one million Fed-Creds as an apology. I¡¯ve put them on hold for now as there are issues with our Estriduros bank account. I told them I needed your approval to accept the money. That pleased them for now.¡± ¡°Holy smokes. He must have felt really sorry for indirectly insulting me. Not that I cared, but still, wow. So what do you mean with issues with the bank account?¡± Maja points at a screen where a strange logo is displayed. ¡°This is the Banking Union. Their secure blockchain connects a lot of nations together so that people don¡¯t have any banking issues when they cross borders. The problem is that the Estriduros Republic isn¡¯t part of this union while the Dakarti Federation and more importantly the Magicon Empire are. So you see our issue here. We claim to come from The Empire, but we don¡¯t have an account with the Banking Union.¡± ¡°Shoot, can you fix this?¡± Maja nods. ¡°Yes, I¡¯m already finished, but I need to finalize everything once we dock with the station. I¡¯ll use the cover of MARA Deliveries again so if anyone asks, this is our account during this mission. I can¡¯t simply set up an account under Sara Valterion, that would raise too many red flags.¡± I sigh in relief. That would have been very bad¡­ All my acting with the Captain would have been for nothing if we were caught upon banking issues. ¡°Good, if they ask why you¡¯ve put them on hold for so long, simply tell them that I¡¯m sleeping of fatigue from emergency jumping through the republic or something.¡± ¡°Will do, we¡¯re about to dock anyway. Then I should have everything set up in five minutes.¡± Thirty minutes later, everything is done. We¡¯re docked to the commercial station and Maja even managed to convert our Estriduros money to Fed-Creds. Including the million from the Captain, we now have quite the sum to spend. Everyone gathers on the bridge again. It¡¯s quite funny, originally, I thought the living room on deck 01 would be our go-to room for situations like this but we always end up on the bridge. ¡°So there has been a new development,¡± I start and the others stop what they are doing to look at me. ¡°We were gifted one million Fed-Creds from Captain Rogers, so does anyone have any urgent needs?¡± Thomas raises his hand and I laugh at the action. ¡°Tommy, there is no need for that, just tell us, we¡¯re not in school anymore.¡± He blushes and puts his hand in a smooth motion behind his head for a scratch before the others notice his mistake. From the smirks all around it was Very successful. ¡°Well, you guys pretty much caught me with my pants down on the station. The clothes I wear are pretty much the only things I own right now¡­¡± Oh shoot, he¡¯s right! We stopped for everyone to buy some necessities, but we had to escape immediately after getting Thomas. ¡°Right, sorry about that¡­ I was planning a clothes-shopping trip anyway so you can join if you want.¡± ¡°Oh, gladly!¡± He replies. ¡°Me too!¡± Comes a shout from Lucy and Ronja, Maja, and Alex quickly voice their interest in joining as well. Looks like we¡¯re doing a Girl¡¯s trip with Thomas as the pack mule. I look at Shay, she¡¯s the only one missing. ¡°What about you?¡± ¡°Nah,¡± she replies. ¡°I¡¯d rather go and look for some weapons¡­ I¡¯ll give Maja my measurements and you can get me a few things. But nothing pink or too fancy!¡± ¡°Alright, sure. You should be all linked to the MARA Deliveries account, so simply buy what you want. If you¡¯re unsure about the sum, just call Maja.¡± Everyone nods, then we head out. It¡¯s quite a big station and there are lots of people. One thing immediately catches my eye: While there aren¡¯t a lot of Mages, some of them use their magic openly without any care! A thin man has a coffee cup floating next to him, and a blonde woman simply waves a hand, and a whole stack of clothes she just bought begins floating next to her. Both are very obvious examples of Telekinesis, and a big smile finds a way to my face. I can do that too now! Lucy notices my smile and asks. ¡°What has you so excited?¡± I point at the woman as the man already disappeared around a corner. ¡°I can¡¯t wait to float my own purchases around like this. This is so convenient!¡± Lucy¡¯s eyes go wide, and she covers her gaping mouth with a hand. ¡°Oooohh, now I want a Utility core as well!¡± Then she looks at me innocently. ¡°Are you going to carry my things as well, pretty please?¡± She even batters her eyelashes, and I can¡¯t refuse. ¡°Sure, whatever you want. Just not too much, I mean we have Tom as the pack mule for a reason.¡± There is a loud groan emanating from Thomas and I laugh out loud. We¡¯ve so needed this! The constant fear of being found out and caught in the republic is gone. Turns out there are magnetic heels! Lucy and I both bought a few pairs and are very excited to try them out in zero gravity as soon as we are on our way. All in all, we¡¯ve bought quite a lot of clothes, but now everyone should be ready for any occasion that may occur in the future. I floated almost all the things we bought around us while we were on the station, wearing a big smile on my face constantly. Now that everyone is back on the ship, we all stow away our new things while Alex is readying the Stargazer for departure. Maja also found a supplier for shipwide holotech, but unfortunately, it¡¯s out of our current price range. But she is hopeful that we earn enough, after selling the materials of a few asteroids, even if it¡¯s mostly unrefined after our crude mining. This is also our next stop. Maja found an almost empty star system along our route to The Empire. It¡¯s another one of those refill-stop systems between two wormholes, so we can fly out a bit till we find suitable asteroids and can gun them down undisturbed. Chapter 59: Asteroid Go Boom Chapter 59: Asteroid Go Boom Location: Dakarti Federation; System X-17; VS Stargazer ¡°Come on, go faster!¡± Lucy paces up and down the bridge and won¡¯t stop complaining to Alex whose frown gets deeper and deeper by the minute. I wonder when she¡¯s going to snap. I wish I had some popcorn. Watching those two from my vantage point in the Captain¡¯s chair is amusing as hell. We¡¯re currently heading out into uninhabited space in a system that is simply called X-17. It only contains a refill station close to a gas giant and a few wormholes leading to other systems of the federation. Nothing here is of great value, therefore the star system is only used as a waystation. They didn¡¯t even bother to give it a proper name. Hence, it¡¯s called X-17. The 17th useless system inside the federation. There are probably more, but neither Maja nor everyone else on the Stargazer bothered to look further, as our route already went through X-17. Now, I do wonder how many such systems are inside the borders of the Estriduros Republic. I¡¯ve been to a few, and even lived inside one for a while at the pirate base¡­ Well, it doesn¡¯t matter, we¡¯re gone from the republic, and I don¡¯t plan on returning. Also, it looks like Alex is finally about to snap. ¡°For fuck¡¯s sake, Lucy! Sit down, your constant pacing doesn¡¯t make us faster and I¡¯m this close to just spacing you!¡± She holds up her right hand, her thumb and forefinger are almost touching. I guess a sheet of paper would fit in between, but that¡¯s it. Lucy stops pacing. ¡°Oh, sorry¡­ But how long does it take?¡± Alex just throws up her hand and sighs in exasperation. ¡°Aaaaahh, it¡¯ll take as long as it takes. Maybe an hour. I still have to find an asteroid that¡¯s not valuable at all if you simply want to destroy it. Well, Maja has to find it but you know what I mean. And then there¡¯s you constantly pacing around when I need to concentrate on flying the ship. Just go and grab something to eat¡­ I¡¯ll call you as soon as we¡¯re ready.¡± Lucy blushes a bit in embarrassment. ¡°I didn¡¯t mean to annoy you¡­ it¡¯s just, I mean, I really want to test those guns. I want to contribute to the crew. Everyone kinda has their job, but with me and Thomas¡­ This redundancy¡¯s not really needed. And I mean those guns do sound very interesting. Don¡¯t you agree, Sara?¡± She glances up at me. I quickly shake my hand. ¡°Oh no, don¡¯t involve me here. I¡¯m simply enjoying the show! You guys should start requesting money. It¡¯s been quite the play so far: ¡°Tales of the Stargazer ¨C War on the Bridge.¡± That has us all three break out in laughter and the tension between Alex and Lucy is washed away soon. Lucy even sits down next to Alex and watches what she is doing. Less than an hour later, the long-awaited signal is finally here. Maja enters the bridge with a big smile. ¡°Found one!¡± She exclaims and Lucy jumps up Very quickly. ¡°Finally! Now what do I do?¡± I smirk when I have to stop her in her tracks again. ¡°Chill, first we have to uncloak the guns. Then you can try them out. From what I understand, using them should be pretty straightforward. You just have to use the tactical station over there.¡± I say that while pointing at a station a bit to the right, very closely to some of the bigger screens on the walls of the bridge. Lucy quickly rushes over, and I open up the ship menu on my interface and select the magical power grid. There I confirm the deactivation of the Magitech emitters for the stealth field around the two guns. They turn red in the visual representation, and a few taps later, I bring up a visual of the Stargazer¡¯s hull showing the now visible twin guns facing frontwards. There you are! Two beauties, ready to be used for probably the first time ever. Well maybe they did test shots during production but that¡¯s still an 11,000-year gap. ¡°They are ready, Lucy!¡± I call out, and she pumps her right fist into the air in jubilation. ¡°Nice, finally. Now, let me just try them out¡­¡± She looks at the screen before her and taps it a few times. Curiously, I walk over and look over her shoulder. The screen shows a small schematic of the guns to the right, currently flashing red, and something resembling crosshairs fills out the center. It¡¯s currently centered on the asteroid I can see through the window as well. It¡¯s a smaller one and still a good distance away. Lucy has her left hand resting on what looks weirdly similar to the Mage testing orb while her right taps a red button below the screen from time to time. She starts to swear under her breath, and I can see a small frown creeping onto her face even from my position behind her. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± She sighs. ¡°It feels like I¡¯m missing something¡­ I¡¯ve got everything lined up, but every time I pull the trigger,¡± she points at the red button, pushing it again in the process, ¡°it drains a bit of my magic through the connector orb, but that¡¯s it. Nothing happens.¡± I glance at the red-colored representation of the guns again. It¡¯s the same color the stealth emitters had after I cut them off the magical power grid. Is that it? ¡°Uhh, have you enabled the connection to the power grid yet?¡± She freezes, then smacks her forehead. ¡°Of course! Dude, I¡¯m so dumb¡­¡± The problem is quickly solved and suddenly the small icon of the weapons turns green. They are ready. I can practically feel Lucy smiling, as I¡¯m too smiling broadly. ¡°Go for it, Lucy!¡± I tell her encouragingly and this is all she needs. Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. She takes a deep breath, then taps the red firing button with her free hand. Then suddenly, I feel a great amount of magic moving around and it starts to gather below us, right where the guns are affixed to the hull. The power reaches a peak and suddenly two bright red balls of condensed magical energy move away from the Stargazer at great speeds. I follow their path through the front-facing window and a few seconds later, they impact the asteroid simultaneously. Saying that the asteroid is obliterated, is a massive understatement. One second the space rock is there, floating around aimlessly, the next it is simply gone! Not even pulverized, it looks like it was destroyed at an atomic level. Hadn¡¯t I seen it just a minute before, I¡¯d say there never was an asteroid out there. ¡°Holy shit!¡± Lucy¡¯s shout shakes me out of my disbelief. This time I don¡¯t even call her out on her swearing as it¡¯s completely justified. Holy shit indeed! ¡°So much for using those guns for farming¡­¡± Maja chuckles darkly and this breaks the tension. All four of us currently on the bridge break down in loud laughter. ¡°Well, it was worth a shot¡­¡± Lucy gets out before laughing again. ¡°Ugh, that was a bad one,¡± Alex says while still laughing. It takes a minute, but then we stop laughing and turn serious again. ¡°Okay, let¡¯s say we don¡¯t get the power output lower. That pretty much shoots this way of earning money down.¡± I raise an eyebrow when the others groan at my bad pun. ¡°Come on, that was better than Lucy¡¯s earlier¡­¡± They just groan louder. ¡°Anyway, that means no upgrade for the Stargazer right now. So, I¡¯d say we just move on and try again in The Empire. Our information should get us a shipload of money. Wanna try a few more times?¡± Lucy nods enthusiastically. ¡°Yes, but let¡¯s call up the others. I bet they want to see it too. Maybe Thomas and Greg want to try it as well.¡± I glance at Maja, and she smiles. ¡°Way ahead of you. They are already on their way. We should also check the battery for energy expenditure. We might need a more regular charging schedule for the Mages from now on.¡± Maybe¡­ But I can¡¯t imagine a few shots putting a dent in our reserves. How would other ships with smaller batteries use guns like this if it would drain ours considerably? ¡°It¡¯s at least worth a look but I think we should be good for now.¡± Just as I finish speaking, the door in the back opens and Simon steps through together with Thomas. ¡°The hell guys! What was that?¡± Simon asks and I just point at Lucy while smirking. ¡°Ask her. It was all her doing.¡± She starts glaring daggers at me but still starts to explain. Meanwhile, the others have arrived and Jack voices his outrage. ¡°You guys could have called us! I wanted to see those guns too!¡± ¡°Chill, Jack. We¡¯re already heading for the next asteroid. We¡¯ve still got plenty of testing to do.¡± My words seem to appease him, and he sits down on an empty grav chair joining the others who are already seated around the bridge. I have to say the bridge is getting quite crowded when filled with ten people all sitting down. At least we¡¯ve got enough chairs floating around¡­ Well, we now have enough chairs. Maja got most of the chairs yesterday from the living room on deck 01 which doesn¡¯t see much use. So, we just sit there and talk about whatever comes to mind while watching the stars outside. Again and again, I just sigh internally. It¡¯s so beautiful¡­ We¡¯re only specks here in vast space. And still, we¡¯re here to explore it. I can¡¯t wait to see more. Finally, Maja has the ship closing into the next closest asteroid. The rock gets bigger and bigger the closer we get. It¡¯s about ten times the size of the last one, so compared to the Stargazer, it¡¯s monstrous! I jump up when I get an idea. ¡°Alright, first who wants to take the shot this time?¡± I ask while looking at Lucy, Greg, and Thomas. They all look excited, even Greg. Jack kicks his sister''s leg, and she sighs in defeat. ¡°I¡¯ll sit this one out. I¡¯ve already done it once.¡± Then Greg glances at Thomas. ¡°Mind if I go first? I¡¯m only a Novice, so there¡¯s a good chance that there is something left after I¡¯m done.¡± Thomas nods. ¡°Sure, go ahead. I think we¡¯ll be using those guns plenty in the future. I¡¯ll just try them then.¡± Greg smiles broadly and has his chair floating over to the tactical console. Then he takes a deep breath and places his hand on the connector orb and taps the screen to align the crosshairs. ¡°Hey Maja, are you assisting with the aiming? It seems a bit simple just to touch where you want to shoot¡­¡± Maja turns to look at me and shakes her head. ¡°Not much, only a little fine-tuning. It is really that simple. I think a lot also comes through the magical connection. Something like the orb reads where you intend to aim. Just like when you are using Telekinesis. You¡¯re also focusing on what you want to lift.¡± Huh, that makes sense. ¡°Thanks, Maja!¡± She mouths ¡®You¡¯re welcome,¡¯ as in the exact moment, Greg speaks up. ¡°I¡¯m ready. I¡¯m aiming a bit to the right side of the asteroid so that there is hopefully something left after the shot. But I don¡¯t know if I even do any damage. I mean I¡¯m much weaker than Lucy.¡± He is weaker, yes. But I have the feeling that he¡¯s going to be surprised. I mean the guns are fueled by the battery. Let¡¯s see¡­ Again, there is this feeling of a massive amount of magical power gathering below us. From the wide eyes of the other Mages, I guess they feel it too. Then twin orbs shoot out from the Stargazer toward the asteroid. Just like Greg said, they don¡¯t go for the center but hit a good bit to the right. There is a short moment of blinding light when both orbs impact the asteroid and I imagine a massive boom if there was any air. When everything clears up, there is a huge junk of the asteroid missing. Basically, a whole quarter of the rock was vaporized. Greg sits there, open-mouthed. ¡°Holy smokes¡­ I did this!¡± Simon starts clapping and soon everyone joins in. Greg is grinning broadly. It looks like he¡¯s finally a bit happy with his magic. ¡°Alright, you¡¯re next, Thomas!¡± He stands up and waves for Thomas to take his seat. ¡°Let¡¯s see what a Senior Mage can do.¡± Turns out, he can do exactly the same. Thomas aims at the left part of the asteroid and a bit later another quarter of the floating rock has disappeared. Greg stares open-mouthed and I take that moment to share my theory. ¡°I guess those guns are independent of a Mage¡¯s power. I mean you all see the result.¡± That earns me a few chuckles. ¡°But what I mean to tell you is that the guns are fueled by the battery. The orb only takes a minuscule amount of magic from the Mage at the tactical console. Just enough to aim and prime the guns. All the work is done by the battery! That makes me think that there also should be a way to limit the available power¡­ I mean, we don¡¯t want to vaporize everything we hit.¡± The others stare at me, but then slowly they all start to nod. ¡°That makes a lot of sense,¡± Simon says. ¡°I mean there¡¯s no way Greg or hell even Thomas and Lucy could unleash such devastation on their own.¡± I shrug. ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­ Maybe we¡¯re just lacking the spells? I mean the recording back from Earth, there were a lot of powerful spells¡­ Wait, we¡¯re not in the republic anymore. Wanna bet we can find some A&D spells that are actual attacks?¡± ¡°Hell yeah!¡± Thomas and Lucy shout in unison. Chapter 60: Lydia Chapter 60: Lydia Location: Dakarti Federation; Previs System; Previs Prime; Kultrin After a day of trial and error with Maja and Lucy, we found a hidden function, that lets us regulate the power fed to the magical guns. The result is still the same though. Anything they hit gets vaporized, even if it¡¯s a smaller area with less power. That shut down any further ideas of mining pretty quickly and we started looking into other things like new spells. Turns out most spells are just available to purchase here in the Dakarti Federation. They are expensive though and A&D ones are suspiciously absent. After our unsuccessful mining of those asteroids, we decided to stop in the Previs System ¨C the last system before we leave the federation behind ¨C and look for all things magical. And boy are there a lot of things we missed in the Estriduros Republic. We¡¯re currently in the city of Kultrin and it is just so different compared to for example Duros. First of all, it¡¯s smaller. Secondly, there is this lingering magic in the air. Way less than on the Stargazer, or the Tilda, but it¡¯s still there, emanating from every building, slowly spilling out to the streets. I guess this is the magical power grid I¡¯ve read about back on Earth. My guess is confirmed once we check into our hotel. We use our fake Estriduros IDs, not telling the receptionist about our diplomatic status as we don¡¯t want to abuse it too much. It feels more wrong, every time I think of using them. When she notices that some of us are Mages, she is very happy to answer every question we have. ¡°Oh my god,¡± she starts. ¡°I can¡¯t imagine what you¡¯ve been through. Being collared upon detection as a Mage must be so bad. I¡¯m glad you escaped. Here, let me upgrade your rooms on the house. You can now enjoy all the benefits of our in-house magic without extra costs. That¡¯s the least I can do.¡± Oh wow, that is unexpected. I can understand her reaction¡­ It¡¯s been hell with the collar, and I guess the federation is as great with anti-Estriduros propaganda as the republic is with anti-Dakarti. But what I don¡¯t get is the extra costs for using the magical amenities in here¡­ Guess I have to play dumb. ¡°What do you mean with in-house magic?¡± I ask her and I¡¯m pretty sure, I nailed the confused expression on my face, as she blanches. ¡°Oh, sorry. I¡¯m so dumb, of course, you don¡¯t know about all those things! Hmm, my shift¡¯s over in an hour. We can meet up in the hotel¡¯s restaurant and I can explain everything to you if you guys want, of course. I¡¯m Lydia by the way.¡± I nod enthusiastically. ¡°Sure, that would be great, thanks. Everything is so overwhelming here. I still can¡¯t wrap my head around the fact that magic is used so liberally here.¡± ¡°Nice, then I see you guys in an hour!¡± We say goodbye to Lydia for now and call down one of the elevators to reach our rooms on floor 34. We have to split up and do two trips, as we can¡¯t fit all ten of us into a single cabin. Then a bit later we reach our rooms. I¡¯m sharing with Maja and the others all quickly find their roommates. I grin broadly when Shay snatches Thomas at the collar and pulls him into a room. That¡¯s one way to get your roomie. Anyway, the room is nice, but nothing fancy. Two beds, a bathroom with shower and tub, and holoprojectors at the roof of the main room that can show you whatever you want. Oh, and we¡¯ve got a balcony! But I wonder what the magical amenities are. I mean the only thing I know is the magical oven back from the old commercial on Earth, but I don¡¯t need an oven here in the hotel¡­ Sure, I could ask Maja to look it up, but Lydia was so enthusiastic, and I mean an hour of waiting isn¡¯t too long. I¡¯m just taking a bath in the meantime, I guess. An hour later, we reunite in the hotel¡¯s restaurant. It¡¯s on the 79th floor, right below the penthouse suite, so we¡¯ve got a nice view over the city. Lydia waves from a large table at the back of the room, right next to the big window showing the outside. I sit down next to her, and the others take the seats around us. Maja decided to stay in our room as she doesn¡¯t want Lydia to ask why she doesn¡¯t eat anything. ¡°Hey Lydia, thanks for meeting us here. We¡¯ve got a lot of questions.¡± She laughs softly and puts a strand of auburn hair behind her ear. ¡°Hah, I can imagine. But let¡¯s order first, then we can talk. Do you guys all have an interface, or do you need tablets? Oh, and where is the pretty blonde from earlier?¡± Her green eyes sparkle when she mentions Maja. Is she interested in her? That would be kinda funny¡­ Everyone around me suddenly gets a partner. First Jack with Alex, then Shay and Thomas, and now Maja? Well, we do have space on the Stargazer¡­ And Maja¡¯s body is functional for the most part. Anyway, that¡¯s not important right now and would need a much longer discussion with Maja being an AI and all. I must have stared at her face for a long time as she suddenly clears her throat. ¡°You okay?¡± Shoot, now she must think I¡¯m interested in her! Dang it, I¡¯m not built for things like this. I look away awkwardly. ¡°Sorry, got lost in my thoughts¡­ Yes, we do need a few tablets, a few of us have interfaces, but not all. An about Maja, that¡¯s the blonde, she doesn¡¯t feel so well and decided to stay in her room to relax.¡± ¡°No problem,¡± she smirks. ¡°At least you had a good view, I hope.¡± Damn, that light skin. There¡¯s no way of hiding my blush¡­ Guess, I have to own it now. ¡°Sure,¡± I wink at her and now she blushes too. Gotcha evened the score. ¡°Now shall we order?¡± ¡°Yes, let¡¯s do that. I¡¯ll get you all some tablets.¡± Suddenly a strand of magic fills the air around me and I look for the source. Turns out it is the table we¡¯re sitting at. I look at Lydia with wide eyes. Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. ¡°The table is Magitech?¡± ¡°Yeah, look over there,¡± she points a bit to my right, and there I see a few rolled-up tablets floating over. It¡¯s just like the oven commercial! A telekinetic module built into our table. Wow! ¡°That¡¯s amazing,¡± I tell her, and she smiles. ¡°That¡¯s only the beginning. Wait till I tell you about the other magical functions the hotel has. Sometimes I feel like I¡¯m a Mage too.¡± Meanwhile, the tablets land on the table, and everyone without an interface grabs one. Then we all start to order, and I can¡¯t help myself and ask Lydia. ¡°Would you like to be a Mage?¡± She snorts. ¡°Of course, I¡¯d like to be a Mage! That¡¯s the one wish I have had since I was a little girl¡­ But there¡¯s no way I can afford an awakening core.¡± Her expression turns sad, and I glance at Shay. Looks like I was right and there is a way to turn someone into a Mage. And I bet everything I own that it¡¯s not the makeshift solution we did for Shay. ¡°What¡¯s an awakening core?¡± ¡°Oh, of course, you don¡¯t know about all those things¡­ Where should I start? Do you guys know about multi-class Mages?¡± Looks like the others finally have an interest in the conversation, as Jack is the one to answer her. ¡°We do, but that¡¯s not thanks to the republic¡­ We found out on our own.¡± ¡°Oh good¡­ Well not good of the republic, but good for me. That spares me from explaining that everything you¡¯ve learned was false.¡± That earns her a few chuckles, then she continues. ¡°Now about the cores. As you now probably know, you can implant a second core to unlock a second class of magic. What¡¯s special is that those things don¡¯t collect magic power naturally. They must be powered by channeling magic from your original core. You¡¯re with me so far?¡± She looks around questioningly. When she gets nods from everyone, she goes on. ¡°That¡¯s also the reason why they can¡¯t be used to awake magic inside a normal human. I mean you could implant such a core but without the ability to collect power from the surroundings they are pretty much useless.¡± Shay is working very hard to suppress a grimace. Luckily Lydia doesn¡¯t seem to notice. ¡°That¡¯s where awakening cores come in. They still can¡¯t advance naturally in power levels just like the other artificial cores, but they can accumulate magic power naturally.¡± That¡¯s exactly what we need! ¡°Wow, that would be cool to get.¡± Shay and Alex both nod along enthusiastically when I say this, and Lydia frowns a bit. ¡°Yeah, I know,¡± she starts. ¡°I¡¯ve been dreaming of getting one for so long, but I simply can¡¯t afford it¡­ Those idiots from the nation of Terthia have a monopoly on distributing those cores in our region of the galaxy and they shamelessly exploit it!¡± Oh, I can see that¡¯s a sore point. Better to change the topic. Thomas thinks the same. ¡°Well, I guess this is out of our price range as well¡­ But we¡¯re also interested in new A&D spells, especially the A part. Is there a way to get them?¡± Lydia gapes at him. ¡°You¡¯re an A&D Mage?¡± When Thomas nods, she covers her mouth with her hand. ¡°Oh my god. No one would go for A&D here! It¡¯s pretty much useless if you don¡¯t join the military and even there, you¡¯ll sometimes get a second core upon enlisting to use for A&D. That¡¯s also where you get A&D spells. They are not available to the public, except for the basic Shield spell, so it¡¯s always Utility what one goes for.¡± Thomas grimaces and Lucy and Greg can¡¯t hide their scowls either. ¡°It¡¯s not that we had a choice¡­¡± Greg sounds a bit angry, and I can understand him completely. He¡¯s the one who struggles the most with being A&D. Lydia blanches. ¡°Shit, I¡¯m so sorry. I didn¡¯t mean it like this.¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay, we get it. We¡¯ve got a plan for the future,¡± Thomas looks at me questioningly and I give him a thumbs-up. We do have a plan: Getting a boatload of money for delivering the news from Earth. ¡°Oh, you have? What is it?¡± She looks pretty excited I have to say. ¡°Well, you see, the Previs System is not our destination. We¡¯re just passing through, actually. We¡¯re heading for The Empire.¡± I grin when her eyes go wide as saucers. ¡°T¡­ The Empire? With a capital T and all? That¡¯s so far away¡­ How do you even plan to get there?¡± Do I feel bad for keeping her in suspense? No, not at all. It¡¯s quite fun. I wave my hand around the table, encompassing all of us. ¡°Meet MARA Deliveries. That¡¯s our way there. We simply grab a few contracts and deliver the goods along the route.¡± I¡¯ve just come up with that¡­ We hadn¡¯t thought about using our cover company at all, but I have to say that¡¯s quite genius. I mean we¡¯re traveling either way, why not earn some money along the way? The others stare at me with wide eyes, probably realizing how smart I am. I grin when I hear Maja¡¯s voice in my head. She was clearly listening in. ¡°That¡¯s a splendid idea, Sara. I¡¯m already looking for suitable contracts. I¡¯ll keep you posted.¡± ¡°You guys have a ship?!¡± Lydia half asks half shouts, and we all nod in agreement. ¡°Wow, I wish you needed a receptionist¡­¡± Am I sometimes impulsive with my decisions? Yes. Do I have regrets? No, not at all. So I look at Lydia, right into her green eyes that remind me of my own. ¡°Do you want to join us?¡± Her jaw drops and she just stares. Then her mouth opens and closes without a word coming out. Finally, she finds her voice, even if it''s barely a whisper. ¡°For real?¡± There is real hope in her eyes. ¡°Yeah, we don¡¯t really need a receptionist, but I think your magical knowledge will be invaluable right now. I mean we¡¯re pretty much running on trial and error right now¡­ Look at Shay, Ronja and I implanted her with a Utility core. Now she can use magic, but only as long as one of us works as a jump starter.¡± I point at both of them when I tell the names and Lydia looks between them with still wide eyes. ¡°You did what? Where did you even get one? They¡¯re not cheap either!¡± Shay chuckles. ¡°Trade secret but at least I can use a bit of magic right now. Can¡¯t wait to get one of those awakening cores.¡± Lydia almost sputters in disbelief. ¡°You say that like that¡¯s a given¡­ Didn¡¯t you listen to me earlier? They are expensive as hell. And I mean like CEO of a multi-planet company expensive.¡± Now everyone looks at me with a pointed expression. Lydia catches on and turns to look back at me. And I can¡¯t help myself and shrug. ¡°Trade secret.¡± ¡°Awww, come on! Okay, okay, I bite. Let¡¯s say all this is possible and I join you. What are we going to do? And what will my job be exactly?¡± I¡¯m about to reply when I see something in the corner of my eye. I turn and now it¡¯s my turn to stare. I mean I should have expected it, but still. There, ten plates are floating out of the kitchen, and head straight for our table. They are joined by various drinks floating along. ¡°Wow¡­¡± I breathe out silently. After our food arrived, I turn to Lydia and point at my food. She nods in understanding but seems a bit annoyed to be kept in suspense even longer. I shrug and we all dig in with gusto. After eating, I focus back on Lydia and take a deep breath. ¡°It¡¯s not exactly a job per se. More like a place in a crew of friends. We¡¯re all new to this and pretty much clueless about a lot of things, especially magic. That¡¯s where you come in. For now, let¡¯s just say you¡¯ll be getting a place on our ship, the Stargazer, and we take you on an adventure through the galaxy. You can probably guess that I¡¯m leaving a lot out for now, but that¡¯s a story I¡¯ll tell you once we are aboard. I promise it¡¯s worth it.¡± I conclude my short speech with a smile, cringing internally. That was so bad! I hope I didn¡¯t drive her off. She takes a deep breath, and everyone stares at her expectingly. ¡°Okay, this probably gets me kidnapped and sold into slavery,¡± she chuckles a bit. ¡°But yeah, I¡¯m in!¡± Now everyone cheers and I tap a quick message at Maja. ¡°Are we clear?¡± Her reply is quick. ¡°Yeah, nothing is listening in, and I can activate the privacy setting of the table if you want.¡± ¡°Do it,¡± I type, and a second later, the surrounding sounds dim. ¡°Nice. I promise you, that you won¡¯t regret it. I stand for it with my name. Sara Valterion.¡± ¡°WHAT???!!!¡± Chapter 61: Leaving the Federation Chapter 61: Leaving the Federation Location: Dakarti Federation; Previs System; Previs Prime; Kultrin ¡°WHAT???!!!¡± Lydia shouts after I introduced myself as Sara Valterion, and we all laugh at her reaction. ¡°You should see your face,¡± Simon snorts, while Lydia struggles with how to take the news. I¡¯m just glad that Maja activated the privacy barrier. Lydia''s shout was Very loud. Come to think of it, this barrier is different than the one from Don Fernando back in Duros. It¡¯s magical this time. That should be an A&D spell originally, right? But it¡¯s clear that it also originates from the table, so another nice piece of Magitech. Would be handy to have something like this on my wrist, just like the shield¡­ I focus back at Lydia who looks at me in disbelief. ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s true, but not as you might think. I¡¯m more of a lost child in the wide galaxy. I recently found out that I carry at least some Valterion blood, so we¡¯re heading there to look where I fit into all of this. I grew up as an orphan. Apparently, my parents were killed by pirates. So yeah, here I am. Probably part of one of the most magical families in the galaxy but with the magical knowledge of an infant. Considering my weak power as a Novice, it gets even better.¡± I shrug and before I know, Lydia hugs me. ¡°Oh my god, I¡¯m so sorry about your parents!¡± We just sit there, and I awkwardly hug her back. Finally, she releases me and then there is determination in her eyes. ¡°I¡¯m glad, I said yes. I promise you we¡¯ll get to the bottom of this.¡± We continue to talk a bit more, but I don¡¯t tell her about our greater mission just yet. Still, it feels good to be a bit more open right from the beginning. Hiding everything back in the republic was so much harder. Now I¡¯m just a Mage among many. I can really get used to this. The others join the conversation here and there, and a few hours and a few drinks later, we say our goodbyes and return to our rooms. Lydia goes home to get her affairs in order. She¡¯s all alone here on Previs Prime. Her parents are both part of the military and are currently somewhere on a starship in the federation. She said she¡¯ll leave them a message as she¡¯s not close with them anyway. The next day starts just as exciting. Lydia invites us to a currently unoccupied suite in the hotel for a demonstration of the hotel''s Magitech which is included during our stay. We completely forgot about it in all the excitement yesterday. Not that we need it anymore, as we decided today is our last day in the federation. But learning about Magitech is always nice. Maybe we can use some of it on the Stargazer if it¡¯s not too expensive? So now we all stand in a half circle inside a luxurious suite, which is a mess come to think of it, while Lydia stands before us, bubbling with excitement. ¡°Are you ready?¡± She asks, and we all nod. She waves her hand, hiding the interaction with her holographic interface. ¡°Behold the best invention ever made for hotel staff.¡± Suddenly almost everything starts to float! Used towels fly into the shower and get cleaned with a combination of magic and water, the bedsheets fold themselves and get draped onto the bed. An unseen force fluffs the cushions, and all the dirt in the room collects itself in a corner where a small flame vaporizes it. We all stand there, mouths agape. It took less than two minutes and now the room is completely clean and new people can move in. ¡°Holy shit!¡± Alex is the first one to find her voice. I can only agree, even if I had voiced it differently. This is just Magitech¡­ Preprogrammed procedures. I think I¡¯m still too narrow-minded when it comes to the scope of magic. ¡°So, there¡¯s that,¡± Lydia tells us with amusement. ¡°We also have a telekinetic minibar, just like in the restaurant yesterday. ¡°Pretty much everything mundane can be done with Magitech.¡± ¡°Wow¡­ That¡¯s insane, but also so cool. Do you know how much this room cleaning thing is?¡± I ask her with a hopeful expression. I know exactly where to use it. I mean who wants to clean their own room? ¡°Well, I don¡¯t know the exact price, but they aren¡¯t that expensive. They¡¯re pretty much mass products now. The expensive part is the connection to the city¡¯s magical power grid. Every bit of power you extract from it costs you money, as the Mages fueling the batteries and with them, the grid, don¡¯t work for free.¡± That makes sense and it¡¯s actually perfect. If there is one thing we don¡¯t have to worry about, then it¡¯s the power of the Stargazer¡¯s power grid. And even if, we have enough Mages to refill the battery. ¡°Maja, can you get us one for every cabin before we leave? Oh, and Telekinesis modules for the bridge and mess hall.¡± ¡°Wait, what?¡± Lydia exclaims and I smirk. This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. ¡°What did you expect? I mean we don¡¯t let you explain all that stuff for nothing.¡± Maja isn¡¯t idle either and quickly replies. ¡°I¡¯ve got everything, but we have to pick it up. There is no delivery option to orbit.¡± ¡°No problem. Jack, Simon can you go and pick them up later? Maybe Jack¡¯s Telekinesis comes in handy.¡± They both agree of course, and this also concludes our business in the hotel. Lydia goes to contact her boss to tell them that she quits, and we others meanwhile go to pack the few things we brought here with us. We meet in the hotel lobby about an hour later. Lydia joins us with a wide smile. ¡°I¡¯m ready! Just quit my job and told my landlord that the apartment will be free come tomorrow morning. I just have to grab my stuff. Well at least the things I can take with me. We can donate the rest¡­¡± Alex starts laughing. ¡°Don¡¯t worry Lydia. You can keep all your things. You¡¯ll see once we show you the ship.¡± ¡°Oh? Okay¡­ Can you guys help me with moving then?¡± ¡°Sure thing, Thomas and Greg, can you help me?¡± Alex asks and they both agree. Maja also decides to join them which leaves me alone with Lucy, Shay, and Ronja. The others quickly leave to do their things and we all stay there in the lobby, not knowing what to do. Shay is the one to break the silence. ¡°So, what now?¡± Yeah, here we are, not knowing what to do. I shrug. Ronja comes to the rescue. ¡°How about some girl¡¯s time?¡± Everyone nods eagerly. Looks like it¡¯s decided then. ¡°Sounds good! Lead the way.¡± What follows is a nice but expensive tour through a lot of beauty salons here in the city. We all get our nails done ¨C purple for me, of course. And I manage to throw in a bit of a haircut. My hair now stops a bit below my shoulders and shines nicely. In the evening, we meet back up with the others at the spaceport where our yacht is parked. I don¡¯t know if we can keep calling it yacht¡­ It¡¯s more like a glorified shuttle for us. Anyway, the others weren¡¯t idle either and the yacht is packed! It seems Lydia had way more stuff in her apartment than we all expected. Add in all those cases filled with our new Magitech devices, you get a loaded-up yacht. How can we even fit eleven people in there now? ¡°Uhh, guys¡­ where do we fit in here?¡± Ronja is as confused as I am and waves her hand to indicate all of us. Maja puts her hand on Simon¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Well, we left one of the two cabins empty, and Simon was so nice and volunteered to be our taxi.¡± Simon frowns. ¡°I was? From my understanding, you asked me if I want to train my magic¡­¡± ¡°Yeah, well I mean this is training, right? You¡¯ll get to jump back and forth, carrying each of us inside.¡± ¡°Sure, sure, call it what you want. It¡¯s not that there is any other option now. You guys didn¡¯t even leave a walkway.¡± Alex chuckles. ¡°It was just so much stuff¡­ and when Simon and Jack came back with the Magitech things, it was even more. So the logical explanation was to throw magic at the problem and Simon is the only one capable of transporting people right now.¡± Ouch, that hurt¡­ Even if she didn¡¯t mean it that way. At least, I felt a bit less exhausted after the last few jumps through the federation. Maybe if I do most of the jumps, I can reach Junior rank during our trip. I think I¡¯m actually quite close. Lucy nudges my arm. ¡°You okay?¡± She asks with a concerned voice. I must have made a weird expression when I thought about that¡­ ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m good. Just my general annoyance of being only Novice rank.¡± ¡°Oh, I understand. Let¡¯s hope you¡¯ll leave it behind you soon.¡± I give her a thumbs-up as a response and Simon finally settled into his taxi role. He manages to get two of us inside with each jump, so after five trips from him, we are all inside. Maja stops hiding her AI nature and starts controlling the ship from the cabin. No need to get into the bridge this way. Lydia looks around questioningly and I point at Maja. ¡°Ask her.¡± She quickly does so, and Maja¡¯s answer is simple. ¡°Oh, that¡¯s easy. I¡¯m an AI.¡± She says that with a non-nonsense expression and Lydia first starts laughing. When no one joins in, her laughter dies in her throat and her eyes go wide. ¡°For real? That¡¯s so cool!¡± She starts giggling with excitement. I decide to use that moment to start a more thorough explanation of our situation. As hard as it sounds, Lydia is now under our control. If she reacts badly to my story, which I don¡¯t think she will, she still can¡¯t tell it to anyone else. In the end, we arrive close to the Stargazer with a Lydia who switches between excitement and disbelief almost every second. When Maja sends a live stream from the yacht¡¯s cameras to her holographic interface, she completely loses it. Looks like I was right, and she has a good reaction, I chuckle. Locking her up would have been hard. I guess I¡¯m still a good judge of character. Alex sits down next to her and puts an arm around her shoulder. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, all of us had that reaction not too long ago. Surprising us every minute is a Sara special. Just wait till we¡¯re inside.¡± Lydia shrugs. ¡°Well, what more can there be? I¡¯m sure I¡¯ve seen everything now.¡± There is a loud snort from Greg. ¡°Just you wait.¡± Ten hours of unloading and showing her the ship later, Lydia finally composed herself and joins us on the bridge. We¡¯re currently approaching the wormhole that leads out of the Dakarti Federation. ¡°I can¡¯t believe this is really happening,¡± she says. ¡°Now I¡¯m standing here, about to leave my home behind. Just wow.¡± I stand next to her, she¡¯s a bit shorter than me, but lighten up her auburn hair a bit and she could play a distant cousin of mine. I smile at that thought and we both stand there for a good five minutes and watch the wormhole growing bigger. ¡°You know, I always dreamt of fleeing from the Estriduros Republic¡­ But you, we¡¯ve ripped you out of your whole life. That takes courage! I promise to get you an awakening core as soon as possible.¡± She leans her head on my shoulder. ¡°Thanks, Sara.¡± Finally, we¡¯re close enough to the wormhole. As we aren¡¯t hunted anymore, we follow protocol and slow down to almost a standstill. I sit down on the Captain¡¯s chair and exchange looks with Alex at the helm. She confirms her readiness and I nod. Next, I turn to Maja who has just entered the bridge. She just nods and I understand. She¡¯s ready too, as always. I glance at Lydia who is standing next to me, clearly not knowing what to do. So I concentrate a bit and grab one of the other grav chairs on the bridge and have it float next to me. ¡°Here, sit down and enjoy the show.¡± I smile at her, and she nods thankfully and sits down. In the meantime, Maja announced over the intercom, informing the others of the imminent wormhole jump and the associated switch-off of gravity on the Stargazer. Then it¡¯s my turn. I focus on the Wormhole Navigation spell. It comes to me as naturally as breathing and five seconds later, I activate it and the wormhole swallows our ship. We¡¯re one step closer to The Empire now. I wonder what else awaits us along the way. Chapter 62: First Aid Chapter 62: First Aid Location: Red Sun Alliance; Lotin System; VS Stargazer It¡¯s been almost two months since we left the Dakarti Federation and we all fell into a bit of a routine during that time. Alex flies the ship whenever she¡¯s able or wants to and Maja takes care of the remainder of the day. That way we never stop except for short refill stops at dedicated refill stations. Our five Mages and Shay, spend most of our days training our magic and I can now proudly say, that I broke through to Junior rank. It felt like a flipped switch¡­ One moment I was a Novice, the next I just knew that something good happened. Considering my training, the only logical consequence was advancement. So, I immediately tested it and what can I say? I¡¯m no longer restricted by gravity! The day it happened, we all celebrated, and Greg cooked us a feast. That day we learned that he is quite good, and we named him our ship¡¯s chef. I spent the remainder of that day jumping with gravity activated from and to every room of the Stargazer while laughing manically. The only thing Shay doesn¡¯t do is charging the magical batteries of the ship with the remaining parts of our power after we finish training. This way we keep the battery pretty much on the same level, despite our liberal use of the new Magitech devices. In the evenings, Shay teaches everyone interested some basic self-defense moves and we finally started using the common room on deck 01 to watch movies or play games whenever we feel like it. Lydia is still a wellspring of information about all things magic and continues to teach us a lot of things. Unfortunately, she stopped any advances she might have had at getting closer to Maja after she learned about her AI nature¡­ I didn¡¯t press her or anything and decided to just wait and see what happens. I mean, I¡¯m like the worst person to ask for relationship advice anyway. Lydia also started to be the public relations person of MARA Deliveries and takes care of all the meetings with potential customers. As a former receptionist, this role comes to her somewhat naturally. Speaking of customers. We continued what we started in the federation and try to get a contract to deliver stuff in every system we visit, or at least whenever our storage bays are empty. Most of the money we earn is immediately used to buy fuel, but we also managed to put a bit of money on the side. Lydia is positive that we could afford a Novice-level awakening core right now, but we all agree that we want to aim higher than Novice. This rank comes with too many restrictions. Maybe we even avoid buying those things completely and negotiate them into the reward we hopefully get from the Valterions. According to our maps, we crossed the halfway point about a week ago, so another month or two and we arrive at The Empire. In the Axtendus Duchy from what the maps tell me. So, we still have to travel a bit until we reach the Valterion Duchy. But enough talk about our trip so far. We just entered the Lotin System of the Red Sun Alliance and are heading toward the single inhabited planet to deliver a load of tristanium. It¡¯s a small system, barely populated, and reminds me of the Acordus System. What qualifies it as part of the alliance is the prominent red sun that shines brightly. Simon just left the bridge after finishing the jump to sleep off his fatigue. Since we¡¯re now both Junior rank, I noticed another difference. Jumping the Stargazer seems to exhaust him way more than me. I¡¯m barely winded anymore since my breakthrough but Simon always needs a few minutes to recover, and he mostly just goes to sleep as he says that¡¯s way more relaxing. I wonder if this is another thing, I can write to my magical weirdness with Space Sense and all. Anyway, Maja is currently at the helm as Alex decided to spend some private time with her husband. The others are probably training or something, so I¡¯m alone with Maja. Suddenly, she stills completely. It¡¯s been a long while since she forgot about her boy so thoroughly, so I immediately notice that something is wrong. I jump up and rush over to her. ¡°What is wrong?¡± It takes a second, then she regains control of her body. ¡°I just received a distress call. Someone¡¯s in trouble! They¡¯re also close to us. About an hour or so with full speed.¡± "Shoot, that doesn¡¯t sound good! Is it legit though? I mean it could be just as well some pirates wanting to ambush us..." Maja nods slowly. "You¡¯re right, let me check... One moment... Yeah, there it is. The distress call is legit." ¡°Okay, we have to help them as soon as possible! Call everyone, especially Ronja. Maybe there are injured people.¡± ¡°Already done. They are on their way. I also sent a message to the planet that we respond to the distress call, as I can¡¯t detect any military ships here in the system.¡± ¡°Good thinking. Let me just enhance our engines for a bit more juice.¡± Ah yes, that¡¯s another spell I finally learned: Remote Control, so I don¡¯t have to rush to the engine bay anymore. So, I close my eyes and focus. The connection between my two cores is now way smoother as they are of the equal power rank now and about 30 seconds later, I feel a slight increase of our acceleration until the gravity generators compensate. Pulling up the engine information on my interface, I see, that they are now connected to the magical power grid. Everything worked out, so I push a bit more power to the engines with the RC spell. Maja takes a hard right turn, and we are soon on a different course than before. I hope we are on time. About an hour later, the starship in question appears on our scanners. Maja zooms in and puts it on the main screen. Ronja takes in a sharp breath. ¡°Shit, that doesn¡¯t look good!¡± She¡¯s right. The ship is dead in the water. The exhausts are pretty much gone, and the hull looks like Swiss Cheese. The ship is a freighter. A big one too. Our scanner shows it at 1000 meters in length. It¡¯s almost half of that in width and height too. This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. That¡¯s another thing we learned from Lydia when we first saw a ship this big. Apparently, Magitech enables a Space Mage to go beyond the ship size restrictions that come with each power level. But back to the freighter in question. Most of the containers are floating next to the dead ship and are full of holes as well. At least those that stayed mostly intact. A quick analysis from Maja shows that about ten percent of the containers are missing. Probably the valuable stuff. This screams so Pirate! ¡°Do you detect any life signs?¡± Ronja asks and Maja nods. ¡°Yeah, most of them are clustered in the front module where the bridge and crew quarters should be but there are also two close to the engines in the back. They are also the ones who seem hurt the most. I barely detect the second one.¡± Ronja looks at me pleadingly. ¡°We have to help them!¡± ¡°Yes! Simon, can you get them? Right into the Medbay. Ronja go and get ready. We others try to contact the bridge.¡± Simon nods and a few seconds later, he disappears. Ronja also runs out of the bridge to prepare for patients. Maja meanwhile tries to form a connection. ¡°I think their communications are dead¡­ I guess the distress call is the only thing that went out before,¡± she replies a short while later. That¡¯s bad. But not the end of the world. We do have magic. ¡°Jack, your turn. See if you can connect to someone over there.¡± ¡°Got it,¡± he sits down and closes his eyes. A few seconds later I hear his side of the conversation. He must have decided to speak out loud for our sake. ¡°Can you hear me? ¡­ Good, this is the Stargazer speaking. We heard your distress call¡­ Yes, we have¡­ They should be rescued already¡­ Yes, I understand¡­ We¡¯ll send them over, hold on. Stargazer out!¡± He opens his eyes again and gives us a summary. ¡°They are mostly okay on the bridge, pirates tricked them, saying they were here to do an inspection, then fired at them without warning. They caught a full broadside. Life support is gone, but they have enough oxygen in their emergency shipsuits. I told them that we are already rescuing the survivors in the engine bay. They await you now on the bridge, Sara.¡± ¡°Okay, thanks, Jack. Alex, hold the Stargazer at this distance for now. Tom and Shay, you are both with me. Maja, you come over once Simon is back. Lucy, your job is to keep the Stargazer safe. Greg, you¡¯re on gun duty if needed, and lastly Lydia, you¡¯ve got the comms if the planet replies.¡± My short speech comes with a certain intensity and suddenly everyone stands a bit straighter, and they all reply with ¡°Aye Captain!¡± I almost laugh at that but hold off as it¡¯s not the right moment. Then everyone follows their orders and Thomas and Shay stand next to me. I envelop them with my now less restricted Personal Teleportation spell and trigger it. My Space Sense gives me a short view of the bridge we¡¯re about to appear in and it also seems that I now have the option to delay my reappearance a bit if I want to. That is exactly what I do, as a lot of people on the bridge wear guns and have nervous expressions on their faces. It''s not that I can¡¯t understand them¡­ I mean I¡¯d probably react the same in their situation. ¡°Tom, get ready to shield us once we reappear!¡± He looks confused, clearly not expecting the delay in our jump, but gives me a minuscule nod. That¡¯s enough for me and I let the teleportation finish. We reappear in the trademark purple flash and Thomas immediately throws up a translucent barrier. Just in time, as one of the nervous sailors jumped at our appearance and accidentally pulled the trigger. The green laser bolt hits our shield and dissipates. An older man immediately cries out. ¡°Steve! Hold your fire!¡± And the man, Steve, lowers the gun in embarrassment. Then the older man turns to us. ¡°Sorry about that. I¡¯m Carl Myers, the Captain of this ship. Thanks for your help¡­ I hope you understand our situation and don¡¯t think badly of Steve¡¯s reaction. Can you tell us more about our engineers already?¡± ¡°No worries, Captain. You see, we came prepared. I¡¯m Sara, this is Thomas and Shay. But no, I don¡¯t have any new information besides that we rescued two people from the engine bay. Our doctor is currently treating them.¡± Captain Myers¡¯ head drops. ¡°Only two¡­ Shit. Damn pirates!¡± That harsh reality stops me right in my tracks. They lost people in the attack! ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Captain¡­ How can we help you now?¡± He shakes his head. ¡°Nothing you could have done¡­ The ship¡¯s pretty much gone, and the pirates have already fled. I wish I could hunt them down! Can you bring us to the planet so I can try to put together a salvage crew or at least contact my company and ask for a pickup or something?¡± ¡°Sure, that¡¯s the least we could do. We¡¯ll also be hunting down the pirates. I promise you that!¡± I simply can¡¯t resist. Pirates are the scum of the galaxy. They took so much from me. But now I¡¯ve got the ship to stop them. MARA Deliveries will work as part-time pirate hunters from now on! Captain Myers looks surprised. ¡°You will? Are you crazy? Look at what they did with our ship¡­ They will rip your small vessel apart even if you¡¯ve got an A&D Mage.¡± ¡°Leave that to us, Captain. The Stargazer can handle it.¡± He lifts his hands in defeat. ¡°Okay, okay, not my thing to decide. But can you bring us to the planet first? It¡¯s not that I don¡¯t trust your judgment¡­ It¡¯s just I think I need a planet under my feet for a while.¡± Maja and Simon use that exact moment to appear on the bridge with another purple flash. Perfect timing, I have to say. Well, I guess Maja was listening in already. Half of the crew jumps again, but this time no one pulls the trigger. ¡°Captain, meet Maja and Simon. They took care of your injured engineers.¡± He sighs in relief. ¡°Thank you, truly. Can you give me an update already?¡± Maja nods. ¡°Yeah, both of them were in bad condition, but we got them stabilized. They¡¯ll be fine.¡± ¡°Thanks for saving them! But now, can you get us out of here?¡± Maja steps forward, now all business. ¡°Yes, do you have an airlock here? The alternative would be to teleport every one of you.¡± ¡°We¡¯ve got an airlock that should still be functional¡­ But you have to take care of the debris.¡± ¡°No problem. We¡¯ll send a shuttle over,¡± I reply and turn to the others. ¡°Can you help them pack their things? I¡¯ll go get the shuttle.¡± The others nod, and I teleport back to the Stargazer. I give the others a short status update and ask Greg and Alex to join me. ¡°Greg, I need you to shield the yacht. We¡¯ll be flying in the debris field and Lucy has to keep the Stargazer secure. Can you do this?¡± He swallows but nods. Good. I grab them both and jump right into the yacht. Alex starts the engines and I press the button on my interface to open the hangar bay. Two minutes later, we fly toward the crippled freighter. Greg sits down and closes his eyes, then a see-through barrier appears around the ship. I can see small distortions where his Novice power struggles a bit, but it should be enough. I was right. Greg¡¯s shield repels all the debris we fly through and five minutes later, Alex docks at the airlock. After equalizing the pressure, the crew of the freighter walks in and stares at the luxurious interior in wonder. I chuckle and tell them to make themselves comfortable. We then return to the Stargazer where I tell them what¡¯s going to happen now. ¡°Alright, this is where I¡¯ll say goodbye.¡± That earns me some confused glances and I continue. ¡°Simon and Thomas will accompany you to the planet with the yacht here. I¡¯m going to hunt some pirates.¡± A bit of further explanation later, we transfer the now stabilized patients from the Medbay to the yacht. Ronja assured everyone that they would be fine now and a quick checkup in a hospital on the planet would be enough to get them back on their feet. Then the yacht leaves again with Thomas, Simon, Alex, and the freighter crew. For the rest of us, it¡¯s pirate hunting time! Chapter 63: Pirate Hunt Chapter 63: Pirate Hunt Location: Red Sun Alliance; Lotin System; VS Stargazer Captain Myers gave us the direction in which the pirates escaped. It¡¯s even further from the planet than we already are. In a straight line, there is nothing for a very long while. The pirates would just cross the whole system out in the open. But we¡¯re now looking at Maja¡¯s calculation on the big view screen. If you only add a slight curve to the projected flight path, the possible destination of the pirate ship changes drastically. It leads right into a thick asteroid belt that circles the entire Lotin System. I¡¯ve noticed before, but now it comes to my mind again. This is a bit of a strange system¡­ The asteroid belt is Very far out. In fact, it¡¯s so far out, that the three wormholes leading to and from the system are closer to the single red sun than the belt. At least none of those wormholes are even close to the calculated route the pirates have taken. That only leaves one conclusion, okay, maybe two, but they are the same. Shay is the first to voice it. ¡°They¡¯re based out there!¡± Greg is quick with a follow-up. ¡°Or they¡¯re waiting till the heat dies down.¡± My thoughts exactly. ¡°How sure are you with that route, Maja?¡± ¡°Almost a hundred percent. Thanks to Captain Myers, I knew where to look. From there our sensors immediately picked up faint exhaust particles. They lead right along the projected path. As far as our scanners reach at least, and that¡¯s pretty far. I¡¯ve got their route confirmed halfway to the asteroid belt. And it will only improve once we start following.¡± That brings a predatory grin to my face. For the first time, I can do something against pirates! They¡¯ve always taken from me. First my parents, then Captain Amal. Now it¡¯s my turn! ¡°It¡¯s settled then. Let¡¯s catch them. You all know what to do.¡± That gets me nods all around and I turn to Lucy. ¡°Hey, can you come with me? I want to try something.¡± ¡°Uhh, sure? But you know that I have to take care of our shields once we¡¯re close, right?¡± ¡°Yup, that¡¯s why I want to talk to you¡­ I¡¯ve got an idea. Actually, Lydia do you mind joining us as well?¡± The auburn-haired girl in question doesn¡¯t hesitate a second. ¡°Not at all, where to?¡± ¡°Deck 04,¡± it¡¯s all I have to say, to have their eyes widen slightly. It¡¯s our magical center after all. Home of the batteries. So we leave the bridge and take the elevator one deck higher. No need to teleport this time. Once we arrive, they look at me expectantly. I take a deep breath and start explaining my idea. ¡°You both know that the ship is surrounded by Magitech emitters to sustain the stealth field, right?¡± They nod. ¡°Good, so here¡¯s what I¡¯m thinking. What if we use a Shield spell from Lucy on them instead of the Cloaking spell? Would that work? It would be an additional layer of protection in case they have their own A&D Mage. And if they have, I¡¯d bet everything that they know more than just defensive spells. You saw what destruction Sam Valterion was able to unleash in the recordings from Earth.¡± Lucy blanches a bit and Lydia looks distinctly uncomfortable. She clears her throat. ¡°I¡¯m not familiar enough with the Red Sun Alliance, but it¡¯s certainly possible that they have A&D spells available outside of the military¡­ Hell, those pirates could also be military dropouts, who knows? So yeah, there is definitively a chance of them having an A&D Mage.¡± She¡¯s quiet for a little bit more and scratches her chin, thinking. ¡°Hmm, normally the disadvantage of Magitech is that they are only usable for a single thing. In our case, it would be stealth. But¡­¡± she stretches the word. ¡°It could be also possible that they were built with the purpose of protection. I know this stretches it a bit, but let¡¯s say stealth protects us from sight¡­ Maybe the emitters can also protect us from damage. I guess, we have to try.¡± I nod and turn to Lucy. ¡°Okay, let¡¯s just try it. Here¡¯s how I connect the Cloaking spell to them¡­¡± Unfortunately, Lydia¡¯s stretching of the word protection didn¡¯t apply to the Magitech around the Stargazer, and Lucy didn¡¯t manage to connect any of her shield spells to them. A bit of a bummer¡­ but now we know at least. I guess we have to go with stealth then. Meaning we are now a few hours later nearing the asteroid belt while fully invisible. At least this should catch the pirates with their pants down. That¡¯s what we thought at least¡­
Turns out they must have kept an eye out on who reacts to the crippled freighter. So when we near the first asteroids, still following the exhaust particles from the pirate ship, a loud ding turns our attention to the scanner console. Maja, quick on the uptake, immediately corrects our course and we¡¯re now decelerating as much as possible while also taking a hard left. Stolen story; please report. ¡°What was that?¡± Shay groans after we all get our bearings again after the hard change of direction, where the grav generators are not quite able to keep up instantly. ¡°They left a scanning buoy behind. It¡¯s also sending out a strong magical pulse every few seconds. We detected it quickly enough and managed to avoid the magic so far. The normal scans are of no concern due to our Cloak, but I¡¯m not so sure about the magical scan. It¡¯s new ground for us¡­ Better safe than sorry.¡± ¡°You¡¯re right, Maja,¡± I start, then continue voicing my thoughts with a frown. ¡°They must have seen us starting the pursuit¡­ Looks like they are waiting here to ambush us. I guess, they think they can take us¡­ We haven¡¯t shown our big guns so far, they are cloaked all the time. That pretty much confirms their A&D Mage¡­ I mean the Stargazer isn¡¯t light on weapons. Add in our sudden disappearance, I guess they became a little bit nervous and left the buoy. Any ideas? I¡¯d say charging right in would be bad, right?¡± Lucy and Shay both wince audible. ¡°Absolutely,¡± Shay says and looks at Lucy. ¡°Did you have any tactical training? I only know the part when we¡¯re about to enter a ship and try to take over.¡± ¡°Not really,¡± Lucy sighs. ¡°We were always told that we are the defense of a ship¡­ No need for offensive tactics. Best would be circling the buoy and coming from another direction, I¡¯d say.¡± ¡°My thoughts as well,¡± Maja enters the conversation and brings up a map of our sector of the star system on the screen. The buoy is marked in bright red with red and orange circles around it. ¡°The red circle indicates the magical scanner range. The orange one is the normal one. We can fly through the orange zone undetected, as long as our Cloak is up. If we enter the red zone, I¡¯m pretty sure that they¡¯ll detect us. They will also get suspicious if we don¡¯t enter the scanning range in the next few hours¡­ They saw us start the pursuit, so they expect us here sometime. The trail leads right by the buoy.¡± ¡°Okay, so we circle a bit and try to come at them from behind. I guess they are somewhere close to the buoy to be able to react in time. Lucy, I need you to be ready to throw up a shield as soon as we find them. The same goes for you, Maja. We need the normal shields as additional protection. Shay, go grab a gun and be ready to defend the bridge. They shouldn¡¯t be able to as long as we are shielded, but who knows if they somehow manage to teleport someone in here.¡± They all nod and take their positions. Shay comes back a few minutes later, fully geared up with a big laser rifle in her hands. Maja gets the Stargazer moving again and we fly a good bit parallel to the asteroid belt until we turn right and enter it. I walk up to Jack, Lydia, and Greg who are sitting at a table in the back. Ronja has already left for the Medbay about an hour ago, saying she¡¯ll prepare just in case. ¡°Hey guys.¡± I sit down with them. ¡°It¡¯s going to be our first battle soon. I don¡¯t know how safe we will be, even if I¡¯m pretty confident of the Stargazer¡¯s capabilities.¡± I look each of them in the eyes. ¡°So you now have to decide if you want to stay here or if you''d rather go back to your cabins or maybe join Ronja.¡± Jack shakes his head immediately. ¡°Hell no! There¡¯s no chance that I¡¯m gonna miss this.¡± Lydia looks a bit frightened but shakes her head as well. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m¡­ I¡¯m staying too.¡± That leaves Greg¡­ I could use his A&D magic, but I won¡¯t ask him. It¡¯s his decision if he wants to help. And it looks like he knows it as he struggles. Finally, after about a minute of silence, he speaks with a grimace. ¡°Do you need my help?¡± Ah, dang it. Why didn¡¯t he just say yes or no? I shrug at his question. ¡°I could use your magic, yes. But it¡¯s also your decision. I know how you feel about A&D¡­ Lucy should be able to handle everything alone.¡± He frowns and asks with a weak voice. ¡°What about the guns?¡± I sigh. ¡°It¡¯s not optimal, but Lucy should be able to multitask. I don¡¯t even know if we need them.¡± Now everyone at the table is silent. Greg is deep in thought and Jack puts an arm on his shoulder to comfort him. Lydia looks at me questioningly, but I shake my head slightly and type a message on my interface at her. ¡°Not my story to tell.¡± She nods her understanding. Five minutes later, a shiver goes through Greg, and he takes a deep breath and looks up at me. ¡°I¡¯ll do it. This one time, I¡¯ll do it.¡± ¡°Thank you, Greg.¡± He smiles weakly. ¡°It¡¯s only because those guns are so fun to use.¡± That gets him a chuckle from all of us but Lydia as she hasn¡¯t seen them in action yet. ¡°We¡¯ll probably only have to disable their engines¡­ I honestly don¡¯t want to kill anyone, even if it¡¯s pirates. Overwhelming firepower should make them surrender, I hope.¡± We all stand up and walk back to the front of the bridge. Greg sits down at the tactical console, while Jack takes the communication station. Lydia decides to stand next to my Captain¡¯s chair. I look at Maja at the helm. ¡°Where are we, Maja?¡± She replies without turning. I guess navigating through the asteroid belt takes more of her concentration. Well, it¡¯s a very dense belt, I have to say. It compares in no way to the lose asteroid belt around the Solar System and Earth. ¡°We should be close¡­ We¡¯re a bit more than a quarter turn around the buoy¡¯s scanning circle. So I guess, another half hour until we can engage from behind them. At least if they are still there, I haven¡¯t managed to detect a ship yet, there¡¯s too much interference from the asteroids.¡± ¡°Okay but be careful. Who knows what they prepared for us.¡± I somehow suddenly have a bit of a bad feeling. What if they have a Master Mage aboard? I don¡¯t know how common they are¡­ The next 30 minutes pass painfully slowly, everyone is tense, and I¡¯ve asked Lucy about a million times if she is ready to shield us. I get more annoyed answers every time, but at least she confirms her readiness. I¡¯m about to ask again when Maja lets out a cry of triumph. ¡°Found ¡®em!¡± She fires up the main view screen with the mapped space before the Stargazer. There they are! Hiding right behind one of the bigger asteroids is the pirate vessel. Well, they would be hiding if we had followed their route. Now that we circled, they float there out in the open. It''s pretty much right before us if I speak in space distance. It¡¯s still a few thousand kilometers, but that¡¯s like nothing. We still don¡¯t have a line of sight, as there are a lot of asteroids blocking us, but our sensors picked them up. ¡°Nice job, Maja! Can we target them without entering the red zone of the buoy?¡± She shakes her head, and I imagine her frowning deeply. ¡°No, we have to enter the magical scan zone¡­ There are too many asteroids.¡± ¡°So no point in hiding anymore I guess?¡± Jack asks and I can only agree. ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s what I¡¯m thinking too. Maja get us right at the edge, then you shield us, Lucy and Jack, you hail them. I¡¯ll take down the stealth.¡± ¡°Aye, Captain!¡± Come the replies and I smile. Time to catch those pirates! I hope everything works out. Chapter 64: Pirate Takedown Chapter 64: Pirate Takedown Location: Red Sun Alliance; Lotin System; VS Stargazer There it is. Right before us. The pirate ship. It¡¯s bigger than the Stargazer. About twice the size. Compared to the retrofitted Solano this pirate vessel looks like a real starship at least. What worries me, are the guns. They are all around the ship, almost identical to the Stargazer. I gulp. A few kilometers and we enter the red zone of the buoy. Then there is no turning back anymore. I glance around and see only determination. Looks like we¡¯re going to do this. ¡°Okay guys, it¡¯s time. Lucy shields up. Jack, contact them as soon as they react and demand their surrender. They won¡¯t listen to this probably, so Maja, shoot a few lasers in their direction. We¡¯ve got this! I¡¯m taking the Cloak down once the shields are up.¡± Lucy closes her eyes and concentrates. A bit later the small model of the Stargazer on my screen gains a bubble-shaped shield around it. I can¡¯t see anything around the real ship. It¡¯s completely translucent. A second layer of shield joins around the first a bit later. This time I can see a few ripples. It¡¯s a tactic we came up with while approaching them. The flickering outer layer should make them think that our Mage is weak, and they waste all their power trying to punch through quickly, only to get stopped by the stronger layer beneath. Lucy is a Senior Mage after all. Additionally, there are our magnetic shields that are always active and Maja has activated the gravitic repulsion field that should deflect projectiles¡­ In Theory. ¡°Shields are ready,¡± Lucy calls out. I acknowledge her and give the command to the Magitech emitters around our hull to stop fueling the Cloaking spell. Then, just like that, the Stargazer reappears. The pirates¡¯ reaction is almost immediate. Ten seconds later, they start to turn and a magical shield flares up, before becoming translucent. Jack wastes no second and hails them. Surprisingly, they pick up. Even with video. A middle-aged man appears on the main screen. He has short blonde hair and looks nothing like a pirate. He could just be your average salesman working nine to five. Blue eyes, a freshly shaven face, that would actually look quite friendly if it weren¡¯t for the angry scowl on his face. He doesn¡¯t let Jack come to words and immediately snaps at us. ¡°You have thirty seconds to surrender. Then we¡¯ll destroy you! You made the wrong choice coming after us.¡± I can¡¯t help myself and step up next to Jack and smile into the camera. ¡°Funny, I was about to tell you the same. I¡¯ll give you ten seconds, Pirate!¡± I say the last word with so much hate, that the man visibly flinches. He quickly recovers and turns his head to the side. ¡°Screw this,¡± he mutters. ¡°Destro¡­¡± The video cuts off and the pirate ship opens fire. The lasers of course arrive first, quickly followed by railgun projectiles. Maja starts evasive maneuvers and everything that still manages to hit us gets easily repelled by Lucy¡¯s outer layer of shields, even if they flicker a bit. Then she starts retaliating. For the first time outside of trying them out, our own weapons fire away. Thanks to Lucy¡¯s one-way shielding, our shields stay active and the first payload from our weapons impacts on the pirates¡¯ shields. They immediately start flickering as well. All in all, the first exchange is pretty much getting a feel of each other. Now that we both tested the other¡¯s shields, the battle begins in earnest. Volley after volley from the railguns are exchanged and the lasers only stop when they have to cool down. Maja does her best to keep us out of their railgun fire and the lasers are tanked by Lucy¡¯s outer shield layer. So far nothing has punched through. But I have the feeling that things are going to change soon. ¡°How are you holding up?¡± I ask no one in particular, hoping to get answers from everyone. Maja still sounds pretty relaxed. ¡°All good, I¡¯ve been ahead of their targeting so far. 90 percent of their railgun fire misses us completely. I give ours about 60 percent accuracy currently.¡± ¡°Good, do you need more power? Jack or I could enhance the engines.¡± She shakes her head. ¡°No, there¡¯s no need right now. Save the power.¡± Lucy is the next to answer. ¡°While their first volley hit us pretty much head-on and strained me a bit, I¡¯m doing good currently. Maja is doing a superb job.¡± ¡°Alright, can we gauge their remaining shield strength? I feel like we aren¡¯t going anywhere¡­¡± Maja frowns and sends something to my console. It¡¯s as I feared. Their shields hold as strong as ours. ¡°Dammit¡­ Keep going like this for a bit but reduce our fire a bit in let¡¯s say two minutes. Lucy, if possible, start having the outer shield flicker a bit more in about a minute. Maybe we can provoke them to show their ace in the hole.¡± The others acknowledge my orders, and the fight continues for about another minute. Then suddenly, my suspicions are confirmed. There is a much larger surge of magic, condensing around the pirate ship. ¡°Look out!¡± I shout, right before a giant red blade of magic shoots out in our direction. Maja tries to dodge, but it is too fast. It hits us almost head-on and Lucy¡¯s outer shield shatters immediately. She lets out a loud groan and even the stronger inner shield flickers dangerously. There is an upside though. The pirates¡¯ shield has suddenly gotten considerably weaker. I guess that their A&D Mage used a LOT of their power with that spell right now. They probably jumped right onto the bait we laid out. Jack looks a bit concerned. ¡°Everyone alright?¡± He asks and when we all nod, he continues. ¡°Should I hail them again?¡± Hmm, should we? Actually, why not? They probably think we want to surrender. The Captain¡¯s face would be too funny when we uncloak our guns during the call and blast off their engines. What can I say? It¡¯s nice knowing to be the stronger party and pirates just deserve it! ¡°Yes, do it, but wait till Maja has us aligned with their engines. Greg, are you ready with the guns? I want you to hit their rear once the Captain is on the call. Let¡¯s see who is the one to surrender then.¡± Jack immediately catches on and grins broadly. ¡°Oh yes, nice idea, Sara. I¡¯m going to record his face for the others!¡± That even gets a laugh out of Greg, and he voices his readiness. Maja calls out twenty seconds later. ¡°We¡¯re almost lined up. You can make the call. I¡¯ll finish this in the meantime.¡± Jack changes like a flipped switch. The smile is wiped off his face and he puts on a frightened expression. He starts the call, and the pirate Captain reappears on the screen. His scowl is gone, and he now wears a big smirk. ¡°I see you finally came to reason,¡± he laughs. ¡°I have to admit though, I didn¡¯t expect you to survive that blast. Congratulations to your Mage. I promise them good treatment if they join me. Now, power down your engines and lower your shields. We¡¯re coming aboard.¡± The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. Jack continues to show his acting skills and opens his eyes widely. ¡°Oh¡­ Okay¡­ I¡¯ll lower them. Please don¡¯t kill us!¡± He cries out and I almost believe him. Then his expression changes again and he looks almost predatory. That¡¯s my cue. I deactivate the cloak around the guns and signal Greg. He nods and powers them. Jack meanwhile smirks right back at the pirate who looks very irritated after Jack¡¯s shift of expression. ¡°Well, I guess I send the offer of surrender right back at you. Here, have a little taste of our medicine.¡± With perfect timing, our guns finished charging and Greg releases the shot. The expression of the pirate Captain is one I won¡¯t forget anymore. It gets a special place in my head, right next to Orin¡¯s face when I jumped away when the missile closed in. The smirk is washed away from the blonde man¡¯s face and his eyes widen in terror. Shouts of ¡°Armortec,¡± ¡°Why?¡± and ¡°How?¡± sound from the background around him. His crew is panicking as well! Then the twin balls of magic hit their shields and punch right through. The next thing they hit is the exhaust port of the pirate vessel. It pretty much disintegrates and then there is a long moment of silence across the battlefield. The pirate Captain swallows heavily on the video feed, and then his face hardens. ¡°Screw this¡­¡± He starts, but one of the other pirates clubs him on the head, and he drops like a stone. ¡°We surrender,¡± the woman says. The video cuts off, and the pirates lower their magnetic shield that came back online after our shot. Everyone on the Stargazer¡¯s bridge cheers for a short moment. Then we realize that we are not done yet. ¡°Do we have to take them prisoner?¡± Shay asks the unspoken question. ¡°I guess? Well, we could wait till someone comes to pick them up, but as we¡¯ve seen before there aren¡¯t any military ships in the system. But Jack, can you call the planet, just to be sure? Or contact Simon¡­ They should have arrived with the freighter crew. Maybe he can find out something.¡± Jack nods and concentrates on the Communication spell. This time he communicates silently and about five minutes later, he is back with us. ¡°Okay, Simon said they just brought the crew to the hospital. He¡¯s going to check in with System Security now and tell them about the pirates. I can get his answer in about an hour.¡± Hmm, an hour. Can we leave the pirates alone for so long? We have to¡­ There¡¯s no way that I jump over with only Shay and Lucy, and we don¡¯t have a shuttle currently. ¡°Call the pirates again. Tell them to sit tight, we¡¯ll contact them shortly with the further procedure. Oh, and if they try something we¡¯ll aim our next shot center mass.¡± ¡°Gotcha,¡± Jack replies and starts to call the pirates. I turn to Shay and wave for her to follow me. We walk toward Ronja¡¯s Medbay, and it doesn¡¯t take long till she asks me what¡¯s going on. I tell her that I¡¯ll explain once we¡¯re with Ronja. So when we enter the room, both look at me expectantly. ¡°We need to prepare in case we have to take the pirates aboard. I don¡¯t want them awake¡­ Especially their Mages. So Shay, I need you at your best. You¡¯re our only Ranger. Ronja, work with Shay and get as much tranquilizer down to deck 01. We¡¯re going to use the last empty storage room to keep them.¡± ¡°We should have kept some collars¡­¡± Shay mutters and I look at her with a strange expression. Those things are horrible! But she¡¯s probably right as well. ¡°But yeah, we can do this. I¡¯ll call you when we are ready. Do you have a plan to get them aboard if it comes to this?¡± I shrug. ¡°Yeah, more or less¡­ They should have a shuttle¡­ So they can bring over their people. We do have to be ready in case they try something though. Maybe multiple flights with only a few people each. With Lucy¡¯s shields and our laser guns, we should be able to take care of them. Maybe even teleport them over from the shuttle. We¡¯ll see¡­ Best is of course if someone from the military can take care of them.¡± They both don¡¯t have better ideas, so we finish preparing the storage room. When we return to the bridge almost an hour later, Jack has news. Unfortunately, it is as I feared. They don¡¯t have someone to send out here in a reasonable time, which means we have to take charge¡­ I mean we can¡¯t leave them out here without engines on their ship. Well, they could teleport if they¡¯ve got a strong enough Space Mage¡­ Suddenly I¡¯ve got a very bad feeling. I didn¡¯t account for their Space Mage! ¡°Jack, call them! I think they might have escaped.¡± ¡°Shit, of course. They also have a Space Mage probably. Hang on, I¡¯m calling right now.¡± The call connects, this time without video. I immediately notice the same female voice from earlier. ¡°Good that you are back!¡± She sounds a bit panicky I have to say. ¡°I¡¯ve tried to call you, but I didn¡¯t get into the console after the last call cut off. The captain and our Space Mage are the only ones who know the password¡­ Luckily, I can accept incoming calls without access. You have to help us, please!¡± Help them? What the heck? And the Captain isn¡¯t the Space Mage¡­ That¡¯s good news at least, but where is the Space Mage? Jack is as confused as I am and starts to ask. ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Why would you need help? We¡¯re about to take you prisoner.¡± ¡°Yeah, I know that¡­¡± she snarls. ¡°But that asshole of a Space Mage grabbed most of our loot and teleported away with our A&D Mage! Combine that with a destroyed exhaust and locked down systems, we can¡¯t power down, so we¡¯re sitting here on a ticking time bomb.¡± Dang it, I was right¡­ Someone escaped. But what about the Captain? Can¡¯t they wake him up to power down the reactor? He must see reason, right? It¡¯s only a matter of time till it overheats and probably even explodes. But shouldn¡¯t there be safety shutdowns? Hmm, they probably messed with their engines. I can¡¯t think of another explanation. I nod at Jack. We have to save them. ¡°Okay, I understand,¡± he says, ¡°but why don¡¯t you wake up the Captain to get the password?¡± The woman makes a weird sound. ¡°Well, I¡¯m no Doctor, but I think I might have killed him? He doesn¡¯t move at all, and there is so much blood¡­¡± Oh¡­ That certainly makes getting the password impossible. Jack thinks the same. ¡°Do you have shuttles and escape pods? If yes, board them and we¡¯re going to get you aboard. I¡¯m sorry, but connecting the ships is too dangerous.¡± ¡°Okay¡­¡± Comes as an answer and the call cuts off. A few minutes later, the pirate ship starts spilling escape pods. They all turn around and start heading for the Stargazer. Lastly, the hangar bay door gets blown out and a small shuttle exits the pirate vessel. ¡°Maja, can you hack the controls of the pods?¡± ¡°Yes, give me a minute. I¡¯ll let the shuttle here first. Now go and welcome them in the hangar bay!¡± Lucy, Jack, and Shay join me. Ronja is already downstairs, waiting with the tranquilizers. We enter the hangar bay, the hatch is already open and ten minutes later, the shuttle enters slowly and sets down. ¡°Lucy, shields. I bet my cabin that they try something. Shay and Jack keep your guns in the stun setting,¡± I gulp, ¡°but be ready to switch to lethal¡­ Just in case.¡± They nod their acknowledgment, and a shield separates us from the entrance of the shuttle. The door opens and five pirates immediately open fire. Lucy¡¯s shield shrugs off everything, of course, and I grin at the others. ¡°Told ya, now take them down.¡± I lift my laser pistol and let loose a few blue stun bolts. The pirates fall one after the other and before long, they lay all on the shuttle ramp, unconscious. One of them is a quite pretty female with long dark hair. It¡¯s the one who was on the call. We haul them to the cargo room and Ronja doses everyone with the tranquilizer and we bind their hands and feet. The process repeats itself with most of the escape pods, but there are a few outliers who come out with their hands in the air and don¡¯t resist. Suddenly when we have processed almost three-quarters of the escape pods, Maja¡¯s voice drones through the whole ship. ¡°Sara, to the bridge, now!¡± I don¡¯t hesitate a second and teleport there. Greg sits at a console with a white face, and Maja paces back and forth. Lydia even shivers a bit while standing to the side. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°The pirate Captain survived,¡± Maja starts, ¡°He just readied a missile!¡± Shit, shit, SHIT! Missiles are like the strongest weapons there are. I saw what a single one did with the Solano. ¡°Can we get away?¡± I ask with a bit of panic in my voice as well. ¡°No, it¡¯s too late. Lucy might be able to shield the blast, but I¡¯m not sure.¡± Dammit, that¡¯s too big a risk. I take a deep breath, making my decision. Sometimes you don¡¯t have another choice¡­ ¡°Greg, please power up the guns.¡± He gulps. ¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t think I can do this.¡± I walk over to him and put an arm on his shoulder. ¡°I know, I just need you to power them. I¡¯ll press the button.¡± He nods slowly and puts his hand on the connector orb, then his magic flares up and the connection is formed. The guns are connected! I dial in the crosshairs at center mass of the pirate ship and with another deep breath, I push the firing button. The fully powered blast of twin orbs shoots out and heads for the ship. Seconds later they hit it and there is a titanic explosion. That must have been the primed missile. When everything clears again, the pirate ship is just gone. Luckily, we were far enough away, and our magnetic shields held back the debris. The same can¡¯t be said for the three remaining escape pods. Two are cut in half and the third is just gone as well. I slump down in a nearby grav chair. Shit¡­ I killed them. Lydia hugs me from behind. ¡°You saved us. Thank you, Sara.¡± ¡°But, but the escape pods¡­¡± A single tear streaks down my cheek and Lydia wipes it away. ¡°In the end, they were pirates as well. They made their choice way earlier. Remember, you saved us! I don¡¯t want to think what would have happened if you didn¡¯t act.¡± She shivers, and Maja and Greg join in for a group hug. I¡¯m still shaken, but this makes me feel a bit better. Chapter 65: Final Approach Final Approach Location: Red Sun Alliance; Lotin System; VS Stargazer It takes me a while until I''m composed enough to stand back up. Lydia was right, they made their choice earlier. It doesn¡¯t make it easier, but at least I don¡¯t feel as guilty anymore. I just had to. The missile would have killed us! I turn to Maja and tell her that we are leaving. She just nods and takes the controls. As Maja has everything under control, I teleport back down to deck 01 and join Shay and Lucy to watch the sleeping pirates. At least we saved 56 of them... We talk a bit, but it gets boring pretty fast. Finally, I sigh and leave. A while later, I find myself together with Lydia in the living room on deck 02 and we watch a movie and play some board games afterward. When this gets boring as well, I just decide to go to sleep. Returning to our normal routine after that action-packed day with the pirates is hard¡­ I just killed people. I must have fallen asleep after that, as when I wake up, I¡¯ve got a notification on my interface, that we arrived at the planet Lotin and that the others have started unloading and are transferring the pirates to the authorities. I smile. My crew is the best. I yawn and get up. A quick shower makes me fully awake, and I even feel a bit better. The kills are still in the back of my head, but the memory is already fading a bit. I grab some clothes to put over my shipsuit. It¡¯s a jeans day today. I decide and grab some blue ones together with a white shirt and a purple vest. I mean who can go out without a touch of purple? Then I grab something to eat in the kitchen and take the elevator down to the cargo deck. There in the hangar bay, Lydia is currently instructing some men and drones who are unloading our tristanium. ¡°Morning!¡± I call out and Lydia turns and smiles. ¡°Oh, hey Sara. How are you? You¡¯re right on time. Those fine people are about to finish up. That¡¯s the last bit of our cargo.¡± I return her smile. ¡°Hey, I¡¯m better, thanks. We did something good here in the system... Are the pirates already gone?¡± ¡°Yup, Maja and the others took care of them. Alex came up to us with the yacht and they brought the pirates down to the planet. It took three trips, but they should return shortly.¡± ¡°Good, then I¡¯ll just chill here with you and wait for their return.¡± I¡¯ve learned something over the past month of travel and conjure up a telekinetic field that can be used as a bench. When I was still a Novice, the power throughput was too low, and the bench always fell apart when I tried to sit down. But now as a Junior on both cores, it¡¯s finally stable and can hold up to two persons. Lydia eyes me warily but when I pat the empty air next to me, she shrugs and sits down as well. I wonder if I can fly if I get this field to move in the future¡­ Anyway, the workers finish up with the tristanium and leave with their own cargo shuttle. About thirty minutes later, I catch sight of our yacht and the others return. I greet and thank them for taking care of the pirates. They reply with big grins that the bounty for the pirates was almost higher than our contract for the tristanium. I just nod and smile, then we all go our ways. Well, most of us meet back up on the bridge. Alex sits down at the helm and off we go. Let¡¯s see if we can make the rest of our trip uninterrupted.
Location: Neutral Space; Refill Station; VS Stargazer Finally! Our last stop. One more jump and we enter The Magicon Empire! Not much happened over the past two months. The whole trip almost took four months now, and if I add in the time in the Estriduros Republic, it¡¯s been over half a year. Crazy! And still, during all that time, the pirate takedown was pretty much the most exciting and disturbing thing that happened. I wonder if they caught the Space Mage¡­ We also stopped using our diplomatic codes as we got closer to The Empire. It just feels wrong now. It was nice to use at the start of our trip, but now I¡¯m also a bit worried about using them. While I am a Valterion by blood, I¡¯m in no way an envoy of The Empire even if I carry critical data. Additionally, we pretty much stayed at the outskirts of all the systems we crossed and only stayed there until we used the next wormhole after our pirate encounter. Everyone just wanted to get to our destination faster and with our lack of offensive spells, it wasn¡¯t that safe in hindsight. That way we avoided most controls and checkpoints. Only a few nations wanted to check our IDs, most didn¡¯t care when we stayed away from the planets. So far, everything worked out. And while our Estriduros Republic origin raised a few eyebrows in the beginning, now no one cares anymore. I guess here, across the galaxy no one even knows about the republic. So why do I feel so nervous now? Is it because our destination is finally so close? I guess we¡¯ll find out. For the first time in a month, we¡¯re using our cover of MARA Deliveries again. Maja grabbed us a contract in the last system we visited and we¡¯re now transporting a load of oranges. Yeah, I know. MARA Deliveries started with oranges and now, we¡¯re carrying oranges again. If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Anyway, it¡¯s time. Everyone gathers on the bridge. They don¡¯t want to miss this. When I ask them if they are ready, I get nods of determination from everyone. Alright. I close my eyes and call up the Wormhole Navigation spell. My power gathers and encompasses the Stargazer. The space bubble forms, and we enter the wormhole. Maja takes care of the fluctuations, and I start to relax a bit. ¡°Okay guys, two hours and we enter The Empire.¡±
Location: Magicon Empire; Axtendus Duchy; Axtul System; VS Stargazer With a purple flash, we reappear from the wormhole. We did it. We¡¯ve reached The Empire. Well, one of the systems in the Axtendus Duchy¡­ It¡¯s still quite the trip to the Valterion Duchy, but we¡¯re closer than ever! Thomas hugs me. ¡°Congratulations, Sari! Now let¡¯s find your family.¡± Yeah, he started calling me Sari again, just like in old times. But he¡¯s still the only one who is allowed to call me that. Everyone else cheers as well and the whole bridge is filled with smiles. Maja calls out a short while later. ¡°We¡¯re being hailed from the station before us.¡± I look out of the window and immediately see the station in question. It¡¯s not even that big, but it¡¯s packed with guns. Guns that look very similar to our own magical guns. But that¡¯s not all! Two warships also flank the station. The size is that of Destroyers if they use the same names here. The important part is, that they are way better armed than our starship. I gulp. ¡°We better accept.¡± Maja nods and puts it on the screen. I smile into the camera and a man in a dark blue uniform appears. His expression is neutral when he starts to speak. ¡°Stargazer, I¡¯m Lieutenant Larsson, I don¡¯t have your ship in my databanks, so I need you to check in for inspection. Please follow the provided route to docking arm 08.¡± ¡°Okay, Lieutenant. You can expect our arrival shortly. May I ask what you mean by databanks? It¡¯s our first time in The Empire.¡± ¡°Oh, first-timers? No wonder then¡­ Alright, basically, every starship that isn¡¯t in the databanks, has to be inspected upon entering The Empire. If you¡¯ve got nothing to hide, it¡¯s a routine process and your ship gets added to the databanks to avoid inspections in the future. Sure, there are sometimes random inspections, but if you¡¯re in the databanks, that probably happens once in ten years.¡± ¡°Alright, thanks, Lieutenant. See you soon, Stargazer out!¡± The call cuts off and Maja follows the exact route the Lieutenant provided. No need to make them suspicious. Twenty minutes later, we are secured to docking arm 08. I greet the soldiers at the airlock, and they wave me and the rest of the crew outside. Time to put our IDs to the ultimate test. After we exited, the squad of soldiers minus one who follows us, enter the Stargazer together with a few people who look like technicians. I shrug. Nothing suspicious should be left on the ship besides that it¡¯s old and carries a much larger magical battery. We transferred all the data about Earth and Valterion onto Maja¡¯s storage in her body way earlier. The single soldier overtakes us quickly and leads the way to a waiting room, where we are asked to wait until they can check our IDs one after the other. Shay is the first one who is called in. She returns about five minutes later and Lydia follows her. ¡°How was it?¡± Greg asks her and Shay replies. ¡°All good, the woman just scanned the ID card and asked a few questions about where we¡¯re from and why we¡¯re here,¡± she shrugs. ¡°Nothing to worry about.¡± Looks like she is right¡­ Lydia returns less than a minute later, and all the others after her don¡¯t take much time either. When it¡¯s my turn, I swallow my nervousness and enter the other room. The first surprise comes when I see Lieutenant Larsson standing in the back of the room with a frown on his face. What¡¯s this about? The others didn¡¯t mention the Lieutenant. Only the middle-aged woman at the desk. She¡¯s still here, but what¡¯s the Lieutenant doing here? My heart starts beating faster and faster and I start to get very nervous. Then it happens. This feeling! I thought I got rid of it when I removed my collar, but here it is again. I¡¯m cut off from my magic! ¡°What¡¯s happening?¡± I ask with mild panic, looking between the two people in the room with me. The woman starts to speak while looking at Lieutenant Larsson as well. ¡°I¡¯d like to know that too. You just hijacked my routine inspection and activated the anti-magic field as well?¡± ¡°It¡¯s that she doesn¡¯t escape,¡± Lieutenant Larsson even sounds a bit angry now? The hell, what¡¯s wrong? ¡°We found some suspicious data on their ship¡¯s computers. There are traces of diplomatic codes hinting at the Valterion family. Combine that with the woman before you, with the fitting hair and eyes, we decided to dig deeper and discovered some advanced AI tampering in the ship¡¯s systems and found out that the ship is owned by one Sara Valterion. That was already enough to detain all of them for impersonating members of one of the Ducal families, and then we even found high-grade AI tampering on the ID cards you¡¯ve scanned so far. That¡¯s when our technicians started their work on them and guess what? They were all programmed about three months ago.¡± He turns back to me. ¡°So tell me, Miss Sara Valtron. What are you planning here? Posing as a Valterion or any other of the Ducal families is a grave offense!¡± He sounds even angrier now. ¡°Are you a spy and somehow got diplomatic codes in another nation? Did your superiors then say you have to try inside The Empire as well? If so why did you try to hide everything now? Did you get cold feet when I called for the inspection? But still, even having such codes is enough to get you all in prison! Let¡¯s not forget you posing as a Valterion as well.¡± Shit, shit, shit. He came to the completely wrong conclusion. ¡°No, not at all!¡± I call out. ¡°This is a misunderstanding. I am here to find my family! I was told I am a Valterion. I¡¯m not trying to pose as one! We escaped from a Mage-hating nation, that¡¯s why we have those fresh IDs. We¡¯re not spies!¡± Lieutenant Larsson holds up his hand and I stop talking. I have the feeling he doesn¡¯t believe me at all. ¡°Stop. Save your explanations for the court.¡± He steps forward and produces a set of handcuffs. They look a bit thicker than normal ones and the only explanation that comes to mind is that they include the same anti-magic function as the room and the Mage collars! I take a step back, but strong arms grab me and hold me still. When did those soldiers enter the room? My arms get wrenched at my back and Lieutenant Larsson cuffs my hands together. Oh boy, that¡¯s not how I planned my arrival in The Empire at all. Chapter 66: Interlude 8 – Jasmine Chapter 66: Interlude 8 ¨C Jasmine Location: Magicon Empire; Valterion Duchy; Valterion System; Nua; Alburgh; Valterion Mansion Jasmine Valterion sighs and puts down her cup of tea. ¡°Do you really have to go again?¡± She asks her husband, sitting opposite her at the table. The light red-haired man sighs as well and nods. Aidan Valterion has the exact same hair and eye color as all the other Valterions. Genes that were made artificially dominant by Conor Valterion all the way back when he founded the company. Other than that, every Valterion still has their individual looks. Not that Jasmine can complain about those genetic modifications as it¡¯s the exact same with her family. Born as Jasmine Benson, the granddaughter of the current Emperor, she has her own artificially changed features. Prominent are her piercing green eyes, almost the same shade as the Valterion ones. Coupled with her natural brown hair color, she would be immediately identified as one of the royal family. That¡¯s one of the reasons why she colors her hair in a different color most of the time. Not that it helps, as everyone still recognizes her because of her childhood as the face of Magicon Incorporated. At least they now recognize her as the Duchess. She worked hard for that. She also doesn¡¯t have a bad relationship with her family in any kind, but she still married into the Valterion family and wants to be associated with them. Currently, her hair is strawberry-blonde, but she already thinks of a new color she could change too. Maybe it¡¯s time for Auburn again? It¡¯s been twenty years¡­ No, not yet! ¡°I¡¯m sorry Jas, Adrian called for my help. The fights get more intense by the hour and he fears that without my help he can¡¯t hold the lines much longer.¡± Stupid son of mine¡­ Refuses to take any power-enhancing artifacts, saying he wants to get stronger on his own. But when things get dicey, he calls for Daddy. ¡°Ugh, fine¡­ Maybe you can convince him this time to take the enhancers. He¡¯s nearing his first century¡­ Maybe he¡¯s finally mature enough.¡± Aidan chuckles lightly. ¡°You know how he is¡­ He won¡¯t change, the loss of his sister hit him harder than most of us. He wants to earn his power to be able to protect everyone in the future.¡± His expression turns sad, just like every time Sara is mentioned. Jasmine¡¯s mood drops as well. Thinking about Sara, about their failure to protect or rescue her, is never easy. Even harder is the fact that no one besides close family, the other dukes, and the royals know about her. Aidan and Jasmine wanted to give Sara a normal childhood. As normal as it¡¯s possible as one of the heirs of the Duchy anyway. That means they didn¡¯t announce the birth of their third child to the public twenty-two years back. Sara stayed hidden. They wanted her to decide on her own when to come out. When to enter the noble games all the others like to play. She was a magical prodigy among prodigies after all. Already measured in the Senior ranks of power at the young age of two. Let her learn how to use her powers before the others can take advantage of her. Jasmine still isn¡¯t sure if this was the right way. But they¡¯ll never find out. Sara got kidnapped when she was only two years old. Way sooner than she could have had any benefits of her normal upbringing. We never even found out how her kidnappers knew about Sara¡­ But the decision that hurt Jasmine the most was the one her husband made after Sara¡¯s kidnapping. She didn¡¯t protest too much, because deep down she knew he was right. It still hurt! Sara¡¯s existence was still being kept hidden, even after her kidnapping. The Valterions had to show a strong and united front at the time. War was waged against aggressive neighbors, and upstart Noble houses always tried to crave power. A kidnapping of the youngest child would have cracked their strong fa?ade. The four duchies and the royals are not the absolute powers, they were in the past, anymore. Magic is far wider available now and once someone reaches the Archmage rank, they are a force to be reckoned with. ¡°Yeah, I know¡­ It¡¯s just our children are always away. I haven¡¯t seen Chris in over a year. All those fights and all those idiots who think they should be the new rulers. They don¡¯t even know what our ancestors did for them¡­¡± Christopher Valterion is their oldest and currently the heir, meaning he is the one who has to mingle with all the other Nobles in the capital system of The Empire. He complains all the time on video calls, but deep down Jasmine knows how much he enjoys it. He just loves to cross all their schemes. And then there¡¯s Aria Axtendus, his biggest supporter and not-so-hidden lover. That thought brings a smile to her face, despite her lingering sadness of the memory of Sara. Aidan raises an eyebrow. ¡°What is it?¡± Jasmine laughs. ¡°Ahh, just Chris¡¯ secret with Aria¡­¡± Now Aidan laughs as well. ¡°Oh yeah, he thinks he¡¯s so smart with hiding their relationship from us,¡± he sets down his cup of tea and stands up. ¡°Now though, I really have to go. I¡¯m back as soon as possible.¡± Jasmine stands up as well and kisses her husband. When they release each other, they both smile. ¡°Good luck, Dan. Go kick some ass. I think I¡¯ll take out the Sulfira and go a bit of incognito shopping.¡± Aidan winks. ¡°Good luck escaping your guards.¡± He disappears in a purple flash. Jasmine grumbles and casts the Master level Communication spell. This one enables live video calls over any distance. The smirking face of her husband appears before her. ¡°You really want to have the last word?¡± ¡°Oh for sure¡­ You should know that after 250 years of marriage.¡± He cringes. ¡°True enough, now what is oh so important dear wife of mine?¡± ¡°Oh, it¡¯s just that I sent all my guards on vacation without informing them that I sent all of them. So I¡¯m free to go wherever I want.¡± Aidan laughs. ¡°Well, they¡¯ll find out soon enough. Anyway, it¡¯s not that you need the protection. See you, gotta go.¡± He attempts to cut the call, but Jasmine flexes her magic and holds on. ¡°See you, honey.¡± Then she cuts the call, smirking. Got him¡­ The last word is mine. This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. When he attempts to reconnect the call, she simply blocks it. No need to give him any other chance. ¡°Miranda, is the Sulfira ready?¡± Miranda, her AI, replies. ¡°She is, I¡¯ve taken the liberty and readied the disguise chamber as well. Oh, and the route to the Silvani System is already calculated.¡± ¡°You¡¯re the best, Miranda!¡± ¡°I know,¡± she replies smugly, getting in the last word. Jasmine chuckles but stays silent. Oh well, the curse of having a sapient AI, she gets back at me for annoying my husband. With another purple flash, Jasmine leaves the mansion as well and reappears inside her personal yacht, well above the planet. The Sulfira stretches the definition of yacht at almost 300 meters in length and has more weapons than one can count, but Jasmine doesn¡¯t care. A flick of her wrist later and the ship looks completely different. Her Disguise spell took hold at the all-purpose Magitech emitters around the ship and is now fueled by the magical batteries. Meet the Sulmar, a pleasure yacht, 60 meters long and owned by a rich businesswoman. Clever gravity manipulation and other Magitech emitters around the ship avoid collisions with other ships, as the Sulfira is way bigger than the currently visible 60 meters. Jasmine herself steps into a small room aboard and enters another piece of Magitech. It looks like an old photo booth but serves a different purpose. She flicks through her holographic interface and nods to herself, that¡¯s the look. A flicker of magic power and the Magitech gets to work. Five minutes later, a completely different-looking woman exits the disguise chamber. She has dark blue hair, brown eyes, and a healthy amount of tan. Her forearms are covered with circling tattoos and she smirks into the mirror. Perfect, no one¡¯s going to recognize me. Finally, I can go shopping in peace. ¡°Miranda, do you have a name for me?¡± ¡°Sure, you are Jessica Young, a self-made billionaire out of the Gallagher System.¡± ¡°Alright, thanks. Let¡¯s go. Do we have clearance for a direct jump, or do I have to stop a system early and use the wormhole? A sigh sounds in her ear and Jasmine immediately knows. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I get it. Wormhole it is.¡± Her power gathers when she casts the Starship Jump spell and the space bubble envelopes the Sulfira. A few seconds later they reappear close to a wormhole leading to the Silvani System.
Location: Magicon Empire; Axtendus Duchy; Silvani System; VS Sulfira Finally, after a for her taste much too long wait, the Sulmar is allowed to use the wormhole and exits it about an hour later in the Silvani System. Ugh, damn it¡¯s a busy day today. That puts it lightly. The whole system is packed with starships. The single planet is barely visible through all the traffic. The Silvani System is famous in the whole Empire. Every major and minor brand has a store here. It¡¯s The shopping paradise. The prime stores are down on the planet with monthly rents that put the GDP of some nations to shame. It¡¯s THE one thing a company has to own to be recognized as a prime company in The Empire. Valterion Heavy Industries, of course, owns one of the largest stores on the planet. Not that Jasmine has any intentions of visiting that particular store today. Hell, she doesn¡¯t even want to visit the planet. Her destination is one of the countless space stations floating around in the system. Particularly, her destination is the Sylver Station. A station that only allows major clothing brands to rent a store. Exactly what Jasmine needs right now. If only there wasn¡¯t that much traffic. Luckily my fake persona allows me to throw around some money. That should get me a priority route. ¡°How much is it going to cost me to get me to Sylver Station within the next two hours?¡± She asks and Miranda promptly answers her. ¡°Not too much, just two arms and a leg¡­¡± Miranda stops a moment, hoping to get a reaction out of Jasmine, but she knows her too well and keeps her expression neutral. ¡°You¡¯re no fun¡­ Fine, it¡¯s two million creds. I¡¯ve already made the payment. The route is getting cleared as we speak.¡± That gets a reaction out of Jasmine, and she laughs. ¡°Looks like you¡¯re way ahead of me.¡± ¡°Waiting is just so annoying.¡± Alright, I¡¯ll do a bit of work, call me when we¡¯re there. Miranda voices her acknowledgment and speeds the Sulfira along the now cleared route. Jasmine sinks deep into her holographic interface and works off some of the things that come with being the Duchess of the Valterion Duchy. One and a half hours later, Miranda calls out that they¡¯ve arrived. Jasmine finishes her current document and returns back to the real world. She gets up and stretches. Alright, let¡¯s do some therapy shopping. She exits the ship, and after showing her fake ID of Jessica Young to a guard, she gets waved through and enters the shopping station. It¡¯s looking just like a shopping mall down on a planet, if one didn¡¯t know, one wouldn¡¯t even think about being on a station. Additionally, all the stores are quite distracting as well. Shop windows display the newest collections of famous designers and floating holograms, some even made out of hard light advertise even more pieces of clothing throughout the hallways. Jasmine lets out a pleasant sigh. Heaven! Nodding to herself, she starts her wild shopping spree. Hours later, large bags float all around her and take up quite a lot of space in the hallways. This continues till one of the station¡¯s security personnel clears his throat next to her. ¡°Excuse me, madam. We had quite a few complaints about your haul being in the way of other customers. Would you be so kind and bring your things to your ship? We can also take care of that for you for a small fee, of course.¡± Jasmine looks at him in confusion and is about to tell him her piece when Miranda clears her throat as well. ¡°Jasmine, dear, it seems you got lost in your shopping spree¡­ again.¡± She looks around and notices all the bags around her. A small blush of embarrassment flushes her cheeks. Oops, luckily my disguise has a darker complexion. ¡°Sorry about that, sir. I got a bit lost¡­ But no need for the delivery service.¡± She snaps her fingers, and all the bags disappear. They are now safely aboard the Sulfira. Teleportation is just a neat spell¡­ It¡¯s the upgraded version of Personal Teleportation that lets the user teleport almost anything in their vicinity they wish. Unfortunately, it can only be used at Master level and above. Not that Jasmine cares as an Archmage, but the security man stares at her with wide eyes. Doing what she just did without even flinching is a testimony of high power. Jasmine ignores him and continues her shopping trip, this time stopping from time to time to teleport her bags. This continues for a while, until suddenly Miranda¡¯s voice enters her ear, sounding very urgent. ¡°Jasmine!¡± She basically shouts and Jasmine almost loses control of the bags around her. That would have been rather embarrassing. I¡¯m in the middle of a luxury store after all. ¡°What is it?¡± She asks quietly, not wanting to disturb the people around her. ¡°I just caught a report out of the Axtul System. They caught a starship that tried to enter The Empire over the Zerin Route. It¡¯s an Old one.¡± Okay, but why should that be important? ¡°Go on, this doesn¡¯t require my attention so far¡­¡± Just let me speak, the interesting part is the crew of the ship. They all have fake IDs, well all except one but that¡¯s not important. Important is the Captain. A young girl named Sara Valt¡­¡± Power erupts around Jasmine Valterion and all the people around her take a few panicked steps back. Her bags are completely forgotten and get blasted through the room. With a single purple flash, she is gone and reappears on the bridge of the Sulfira. ¡°Is it her?!¡± She half shouts, half asks the empty room and Miranda immediately answers her. ¡°I¡¯m not sure, she has the looks, and the age is fitting. According to her ID, her name is Valtron though. You have to let me speak. Still, the report also said something about the owner of the ship is Sara Valterion, but they assumed the whole crew were spies or imposters and put them in prison till their court hearing tomorrow.¡± After lots of false leads over the years, Miranda has gotten more careful, but Jasmine doesn¡¯t care. ¡°This is the best lead we¡¯ve had in years. Give me a route, I don¡¯t care about any law-breaking right now¡­ just pay all the fees. And let¡¯s go!¡± Miranda, knowing when not to argue with Jasmine does as she is told and disengages from Sylver Station. The disguised Sulfira fires up her engines and even more urgent messages float in. Miranda ignores them all and just sends standardized answers. Finally, Jasmine gets a set of coordinates and immediately fires off the Starship Jump spell right next to the station. Due to her great control, the station isn¡¯t ripped apart, but a lot of people are still very shaken. A thought in the back of her head tells her this is going to be expensive. Not that she cares at the moment. Seconds later and due to the rushed jump, she emerges in the Axtul System in a very big flash of purple light. Please let it be Sara for real this time! Chapter 67: Prison Blues Chapter 67: Prison Blues Location: Magicon Empire; Axtendus Duchy; Axtul System; Prison Station This is not going to plan at all! After I was roughly cuffed by Lieutenant Larsson, they took away my AI chip with S-57 and somehow blocked my holographic interface. Next, they escorted me out of the room, where all the other members of my crew were being cuffed as well. Almost 20 soldiers swarmed the room and escorted us out afterward. I try to reason with Lieutenant Larsson again, but he doesn''t care. As this doesn''t help, I get angry, and swear bloody vengance once all that mess is cleared. He still doesn''t seem to care and laughs it off. Just you wait, you... We always meet twice in life. Let''s see who sits at the longer lever then. My name IS Sara Valterion, that¡¯s proven without a doubt, I just didn''t advertise it to make his life easier. And that idiot knifes me in the back like that? Yeah, I won''t feel pity once someone from the Valterion family rips him a new one! Unfortunately, this is all future thinking, as the present has us all carried into a shuttle, and no one cares how much we struggle. A few hours later, the shuttle arrived at another space station. From the few glances I could make through the windows, this station is even more heavily armed than the customs station earlier. My guess that this was the prison was confirmed shortly after. The soldiers ordered us to step out of the shuttle and another squad of soldiers in different uniforms welcomed us to the Axtul Detention Center. So here we are now, separated by genders in two different wings, wearing dull grey prison clothes. I share a cell with Lydia, and she doesn¡¯t look happy at all. ¡°Well, shit,¡± she says, and I don¡¯t even correct her swearing this time as she is completely right. ¡°Yeah¡­ Not how I planned to arrive here at all. I hope we get cleared soon. I mean they should notice that we aren¡¯t spies, right? Maybe I can convince them to let me talk to someone of the Valterion family¡­¡± ¡°Yeah, right, did they take your blood as well?¡± ¡°They did, but when I asked if they were going to use it as proof of my identity, the idiot of a doctor just laughed¡­ He said it goes into my prisoner file and maybe just maybe someone is so bored that they check it. Apparently, the medical facility is understaffed. Why doesn''t anybody listen here?¡± ¡°Shit,¡± Lydia says again, and I drop down on my bed. At least it¡¯s relatively comfortable. It¡¯s just two days. At least I hope so, as then is our court hearing. Some soldiers mentioned in passing that someone from the Valterion embassy here in the system might attend. I can¡¯t do anything else besides placing my hopes on that. Once I speak to them, everything should be good, and I can only imagine Lieutenant Larsson''s face then. On the plus side, the soldiers removed our cuffs, so we can move around freely in our cell. The problem is, that the whole prison is magically blocked, so I can¡¯t use a single bit of my magic. In the end, we both sit on our beds and talk. A while later, two tablets of food are shoved through an opening in the door and we eat in silence. Later, we just lay down to sleep. The next morning comes with an announcement after breakfast. We are allowed to meet the others in the common room for the next four hours! When the time comes, we are escorted by two of the prison guards, yeah, that¡¯s how the soldiers with the other uniform are called apparently. They don¡¯t talk to us and after a five-minute walk, we enter a huge open room. There are quite a lot of people inside, but I immediately notice the tall figures of Simon and Thomas. After the guards give us the okay, we quickly walk over to them. Over the next five minutes, the others arrive in pairs as well until we are ten people. All alarm bells in my head start ringing. Maja is missing! ¡°Has anyone seen Maja?¡± I ask around, but everyone shakes their heads. ¡°She¡¯s missing since the blood test,¡± Greg says, and my blood runs cold. They noticed her artificial body! Shit, shit, shit! What are we going to do now? Another surge of anger floods me, and I rush toward one of the guards next to a door. In hindsight, not that good of an idea, as he immediately starts to lift his gun. My brain resets, I''m able to think clearly again and slow down while lifting my hands. I approach the guard slowly. ¡°What is it?¡± He asks in a deep voice, and I blurt out. ¡°Our friend is missing! What have you done with Maja?¡± He frowns. ¡°I¡¯ve done nothing¡­ Let me check in, maybe she fell sick? Normally everyone is allowed to go to the common space twice a day. We¡¯re not monsters after all.¡± Yeah, yeah, not monsters... They just don''t listen to reason... He taps a few things on his interface, then mumbles under his breath. Two minutes later, he cancels his call and looks back at me. ¡°First of all, she¡¯s fine. But during the medical inspection, we learned of her special nature. Are you aware of that?¡± I let out a long breath. ¡°Yes, I am. Where is she?¡± ¡°Okay, that makes things easier. You are aware of the reasons why we took away your AI?¡± ¡°Not really, I mean my magic is blocked¡­ I can¡¯t teleport away either way.¡± Now he dares to laugh! ¡°Hah, no it¡¯s not because we are afraid that you might jump away. It¡¯s because an AI is basically a high-performance computer, and the station, like every other station too, runs on computer systems. You see the issue?¡± This time I nod. Yeah, AIs could hack the prison. Especially Maja. ¡°Good, now your friend is a special case. AIs with their own bodies are not common at all, so we had to improvise, and she ended up in our maximum-security cell without any electronic devices around her. I¡¯m sorry, this was the best we could do¡­ We tried to make her stay as comfortable as possible though.¡± The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. Maximum security¡­ That doesn¡¯t sound comfortable at all. I grit my teeth. ¡°Fine, can I talk to her?¡± He shakes his head. ¡°Unfortunately not. But you can write her a message and I can give you her reply in the afternoon if you want.¡± Guess this is the best I can get¡­ I nod slowly and he tells me he gets me pen and paper with my lunch. Then I return to the others and give them the news. They react quite differently. Alex and Jack, who know her the longest are very angry, but Thomas just shrugs, still believing in the system. ¡°Guess that¡¯s the best they could do. Don¡¯t worry, Sari. Everything will be fine,¡± he says with a comforting voice and somehow, I believe him. How can Thomas keep so calm? Unfortunately, our quiet time ends soon after when a group of people makes their way over to us. The muscled woman in the front with dark skin and very short hair sneers at us. ¡°We¡¯ve heard you¡¯ve got a Valterion with you¡­¡± She looks directly at me, and I gulp. Does it ever stop? Shay steps forward and faces the woman directly. The others, a mixture of other quite strong-looking men and women form a half circle around them. ¡°Piss off,¡± Shay starts, but gets interrupted immediately. ¡°Shut it, watchdog. I¡¯m not talking to you,¡± she still looks right at me, and I sigh. ¡°What do you want¡­?¡± I ask with an angry voice. ¡°There she is! Our resident Valterion! And she''s got some bite... Good!¡± She says mockingly and the others around her chuckle. ¡°Tell me, what makes you think that you are better than us?¡± What the hell? Sure, I¡¯m better than them, I¡¯m not a criminal after all, but what is her problem? I look at her in confusion. ¡°I still don¡¯t know what you want from me?¡± ¡°You are a problem! Nobles, if fake or not, bring unwanted attention to this place. You¡¯re going to ruin my business¡­ That¡¯s why we¡¯re here to teach you a lesson and get payment as reimbursement.¡± After that last sentence, she waves her hand, and everyone charges us. Oh shit! Shay is the only one who holds her own for a while till she gets overwhelmed by four heavyset men. The others including me, try to flee, but they catch up to us pretty quickly and the fists fly. Shay¡¯s basic self-defense training helps a little and I think I broke at least one nose. But in the end, it was all for nothing. I barely notice the guards rushing in, before I fall unconscious. When I wake up, I¡¯m somewhere different and everything hurts. ¡°Urghh,¡± I groan when I open my eyes. The light is so bright. A hand touches my shoulder. ¡°Easy there,¡± a female voice says. ¡°They did quite a number to you and your friends.¡± I blink a few times and finally, a blonde nurse comes into focus. ¡°Where am I? What happened?¡± ¡°You were beaten unconscious by your fellow inmates. I¡¯m sorry this happened. You¡¯re currently in the Station¡¯s hospital. Your friends are all relatively fine as well.¡± Suddenly, everything comes back. The sneering woman, het hate against me and her gang. Then the pain and the beat up. I groan again at the memory. The nurse looks at me in concern. ¡°Are you okay? I can give you another dose of painkiller if you want?¡± I shake my head. Even that movement hurts. But I don¡¯t want to feel too numb either. ¡°No, I¡¯m good. Can I see the others?¡± ¡°Unfortunately not. The Doc ordered you all to stay in bed for at least a day. They did hit you quite hard¡­¡± I sigh. But what can I do? I don¡¯t know if I can stand up right now anyway¡­ Those fuckers, what was their problem? They just attacked us without any provocation. I can¡¯t believe their argument with me being or apparently posing as a Valterion justifies something like this. And what business of them am I ruining? We''re in prison after all... The nurse takes a last look at me, then says her goodbyes, and leaves to check on the other patients. Probably on my friends and crew. I lean back on my pillow and close my eyes again. What a shitshow¡­ The Empire gets worse every second. And here I thought, everything will be good once we arrive here. I must have dozed off, cause the next time I open my eyes, a tablet with food stands on the nightstand. My stomach growls audibly at the sight of it. With a shrug, I try to reach out and grab a bite. Just to notice that one of my arms is cuffed to the bed¡­ Ah, come on¡­ Like I¡¯m going to escape in my condition. Then I notice the missing bracelet that should be on that arm. They didn¡¯t take it away when I entered the prison, but now it¡¯s gone! Where is it? I look around frantically until my gaze lands on the nightstand. Pfew, there it is. Right next to the tablet. I thought I lost it¡­ I guess I leave it there for now. Not that I can put it on with only one arm anyway. I somehow manage to balance the tablet over to my lap, and begin to eat. At least it tastes good, even if it''s just a basic bread with cheese. The next morning begins just like the last day ended. I wake up with a tablet of food and dig in. The nurse comes by a bit later and asks if I¡¯m alright. When I give her a weak thumbs-up, she chuckles and leaves a short while later. At least she had some news from my friends. They all look remarkably better this morning and a few of them are free to leave around noon. Well free to leave for their cells, but at least they are out of the hospital. She even had a written message from Maja for me. That brought a smile to my face, and I thanked her. Flipping open the paper, I sigh in relief. Maja is fine. What the guard told me was mostly right. She is just kept away from any digital systems. How do I know it is really from Maja? Well, annoyingly, she hid the name ¡°Nelson¡± in the text¡­ The rest of the morning passes without anything else of notice, and lunch goes by as well. Right after, my door suddenly opens and Jack, Ronja, Greg, and Simon enter the room. There is the one or other black eye on their faces, but otherwise, they look fine. ¡°Hey Sara,¡± Jack greets me, and I wave at him. ¡°Hey yourself. Are you being released from the hospital?¡± They all nod, and we talk for another minute. Mostly about what happened, and they tell me that the others are okay as well. Then a guard behind them clears her throat and they have to leave again. ¡°I¡¯ll see you soon,¡± I call after them. I hope I¡¯m allowed to leave as well soon. Tomorrow is the court hearing after all. I don¡¯t want it delayed, or worse held without me! Another hour passes without anything happening until suddenly my Space Sense goes crazy, despite the blocked magic inside the prison. I sit up straight, looking around for any sources, but I don¡¯t find anything. Something still feels off, but I can''t explain it. I¡¯m about to call the nurse and ask her if something is wrong when it happens. A Massive amount of magic is released outside the station. My Space Sense tells me, that something appeared there. Probably a ship. Red lights start blinking everywhere and a force field flickers into place at the door. It seems the station has gone into lockdown¡­ An announcement from a hidden speaker confirms my thoughts. The prison is on red alert, everyone has to return to their cells immediately. The hospital is in lockdown as well, but I obviously can¡¯t return to my cell right now, hence the force field at my door. I hear guards running up and down the hallway, but no one enters my room. Something in the magic I felt before feels strange¡­ I can¡¯t explain it¡­ It¡¯s I don¡¯t know¡­ The closest approximation I think is somehow familiar. But how? And why? That¡¯s not possible. Another flash of power. This time inside the station. Someone jumped in here. Right into the anti-magic zone! How? Why aren¡¯t they affected? Or are they just too strong? I just can¡¯t wrap my head around what¡¯s happening, and the strange feeling gets even stronger. I¡¯m almost certain now that it¡¯s familiarity, I feel. This is just crazy. Still in my thoughts, I miss the third flash of power and almost jump out of my skin when there is suddenly a purple flash at the foot of my bed! Holy shit! A woman in her thirties stands before me. With her strawberry-blonde hair and piercing green eyes, she would look even younger if it weren¡¯t for the few worry lines around her eyes. The woman stares at me and I stare back. There¡¯s definitely familiarity in the magic she radiates. And boy does she radiate a lot of magic power. It¡¯s like staring into a sun, just in a magical way. And there is still the fact that all magic should be blocked. The thought comes to my mind at the same time as the only possible solution: Archmage!!! I start to panic a little when the woman just stands there and stares. It feels like she takes in every strand of my hair, every bruise on my face, every single freckle¡­ She just keeps staring. Then her gaze slips to the nightstand where my bracelet is still lying. Suddenly her eyes go wide, and a single tear runs down her left cheek. ¡°Sara,¡± she breathes silently. Chapter 68: Mom! Chapter 68: Mom! Location: Magicon Empire; Axtendus Duchy; Axtul System; Prison Station ¡°Sara,¡± the woman before me breathes and a single tear runs down her left cheek. My thoughts grind to a stop. My eyes widen as well and I can just stare back at her some more. She knows my name. She recognized the bracelet! She feels familiar. Who is she? Before I can think any further, the woman seems to break down and sits down on my bed. She starts sobbing. ¡°Oh Sara¡­ I''m¡­ I''m so sorry!¡± Her sobs continue and I''m even more confused. ¡°Uhh¡­¡± That¡¯s the only sound I can make right now, but the woman immediately looks back at me. She finally seems to take in my confusion and she suddenly looks slightly embarrassed. Why would an Archmage look embarrassed before me? Even more, why would an Archmage cry before me? And the familiar feeling¡­ Could it be? My family? But still, she¡¯s an Archmage. Were my parents more important than I thought? Somehow my reaction sobered the woman a little and she asks. ¡°Are you alright?¡± Then she shakes her head. ¡°No, you¡¯re clearly not¡­ May I?¡± I manage to speak this time. ¡°Uhh, sure?¡± This is awkward. I¡¯m still confused. Aren¡¯t Archmages those all-powerful figures whose power everyone aspires to achieve? And now this woman is just sitting next to me crying. Somehow I feel like I¡¯m missing something but I just don¡¯t get it. Everything¡¯s so crazy right now. I mean the alarm is still going strong, the woman is the cause but she just sits there next to me. She lifts her hand and holds it close to my face. It starts glowing green and suddenly I feel magic entering my body. The pain fades! I don¡¯t hurt anymore. I lift my uncuffed hand in disbelief and touch my face. The bruises are gone. ¡°I''m¡­ healed,¡± I whisper and the woman shows me her first smile. ¡°You are, dear,¡± she tells me warmly. Dear? Who is she, my grandma? No, that¡¯s ridiculous. She doesn¡¯t even look forty. Wait, Song Medical''s longevity treatment! Could that be? Is she older than she looks? The thoughts crash in. Could that be it? The familiarity. The recognized bracelet. I have to know! ¡°Who are you?¡± I ask silently, not trusting my voice right now. She stiffens, stands up, and starts to pace. ¡°Shit, shit, shit. Of course, you wouldn¡¯t recognize me. Those bastards. You were only two!¡± I was only two¡­ That was twenty years ago! The freighter. But what bastards? She knees down next to my bed. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I should have told you earlier after just appearing in your room. I was just so shocked. I¡­ We were searching for you for so long.¡± She pauses a bit, clearly searching for the right words. I stare at her in anticipation. I¡¯m pretty sure it¡¯s confirmed that the woman is somehow part of my family. ¡°Screw it, I¡¯m just saying it. My name is Jasmine Valterion.¡± Another pause and my eyes widen even more. The confirmation! ¡°I¡¯m your mother, Sara.¡± WHAT??? How? The freighter. Was that fake? Was my whole childhood fake? I stare at her in shock. My mouth opens and closes a few times. Worry enters the woman¡¯s gaze. ¡°How?¡± I ask. Now it¡¯s her turn to look confused. But at least it gives me more time to sort my thoughts. ¡°What do you mean with how?¡± I take a deep breath and lean back in my bed. ¡°My parents¡­ they died to pirates on a freighter¡­ at least that¡¯s what I was told in the orphanage. How can you be here? And why did you leave me in that cruel nation if you survived? How can I even be sure that you are not lying?¡± Tears start running down my eyes. And Jasmine¡¯s, yeah, I call her Jasmine for now. Jasmine''s expression shifts from shock to anger and back to shock. ¡°They told you what? No, that¡¯s all false. Your father and I¡­ We were never part of a freighter crew.¡± She takes a deep breath. ¡°Sara, you were kidnapped out of our house when you were two years old.¡± I was kidnapped? Holy shit. Then the people from the freighter were my kidnappers, right? And I grieved for them¡­ ¡°Sara, please say something.¡± Jasmine''s words shake me out of it. ¡°Sorry, it¡¯s just¡­ It¡¯s a lot.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be sorry. We¡¯ve got all the time in the world now. I¡¯m here and not going anywhere. Take your time. Here look at this.¡± A holoprojector at her temple comes alive and projects a picture showing a smiling woman with auburn hair and a grinning man with light red hair. The same shade as my own. They sit on a comfortable-looking sofa and in the middle, right between them sits a little girl with red hair as well and grins in the camera. I immediately recognize the woman as Jasmine despite her different hair. She looks the same age, but there are no worry lines around her eyes. The man looks in his mid-thirties as well and reminds me a bit of Conor Valterion. Then I focus on the little girl. There are a few freckles and her green eyes shine in the light. What draws my eyes is the necklace. The same necklace that now functions as a bracelet and lies less than a meter away from me on the nightstand. I gasp. That¡¯s me! And the man must be my dad! Jasmine smiles softly and I can¡¯t help but return her smile. I take a few deep breaths. And take another look at my situation. I found the Valterions! Well, they found me, but still. That¡¯s the first goal I had already achieved. Even better, I found my parents who I was led to believe were dead all along. And they, or at least my mom are Very powerful. I somehow doubt that they are only part of a branch family as I believed before¡­ I open my mouth to say something, but suddenly the forcefield at the door disappears, and a squad of armed guards are about to enter the room. Jasmine¡¯s, no Mom¡¯s, I taste the word, it fits. Mom¡¯s expression turns angry and she waves her hand. An opaque shield covers the entrance and she turns back to me, looking apologetic. ¡°Sorry about that¡­ I guess I made them a bit angry with my sudden appearance? Guess we¡¯ll have to leave soon and I have to smooth things over¡­¡± I can¡¯t help myself and laugh out loud. ¡°Don¡¯t worry,¡± I hesitate a bit. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Mom. I can¡¯t wait to leave this place. I expected a way warmer welcome to The Empire. I¡­Uhh, can I hug you?¡± She chuckles while smiling broadly after I call her Mom. ¡°Of course, you can come here.¡± She opens her arms widely and I get up, just to get stopped by my one-armed handcuff. Dang it. Mom looks at it, waves her hand, and the cuff snaps open. We hug in silence and share a nice moment. I¡¯m hugging my mom for the first time I can remember after all! We release each other a while later, then she holds out her hand. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± I hesitate. ¡°Wait, my friends¡­ They are imprisoned here with me!¡± Mom thinks for a minute. ¡°Well, I think it¡¯s better if I get them out the correct way...¡± ¡°What do you mean? We¡¯re awaiting a trial¡­ They accused us of being spies.¡± She chuckles. ¡°Yeah, imagine that. They¡¯ll see soon enough. What do you say, wanna have some fun at the expense of the people who brought you in here? I promise you, we won¡¯t leave without your friends. Besides, the Sulfira is way more comfortable.¡± Her smirk looks almost predatory. What is she planning and who is she if she is so confident? Well, I guess I¡¯ll join her. Not that I could resist anyway¡­ Well, maybe with Space Sense but why would my mother break my trust now? That would be completely dumb. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. ¡°Okay, I come with you. But you better make it quick, I don¡¯t want my friends in prison any longer than necessary.¡± ¡°Sure thing, Sara. Hold my hand and we¡¯re outta here.¡± I grab hold of her hand and she flicks her wrist, then catches my bracelet that floats toward her. A second later a Space magic spell already envelopes me. It¡¯s so quick, that my Space Sense barely activates. In the blink of an eye, we¡¯re already somewhere different. My jaw drops. We¡¯re inside a starship bridge and it looks so similar to the Stargazer. If you take away the holograms or pieces of hard light, it¡¯s almost like I¡¯m standing right on my own bridge, even if it¡¯s bigger. Mom puts an arm on my shoulder. ¡°Impressive, right? VHI builds the best ships in the galaxy.¡± VHI? Ahh, Valterion Heavy Industries. ¡°No, it¡¯s not that. It¡¯s just so similar to the Stargazer. I almost feel at home.¡± She looks at me in confusion. ¡°What?¡± Before I can answer, a voice comes out of the speakers overhead. ¡°Oh, did I forget to tell you that your daughter owns a VHI ship? Oops, my bad¡­¡± I can hear the smirk in the voice and I almost laugh out loud. Mom groans, ¡°Ugh, Sara, this is Miranda, my annoying AI. You¡¯ll have to explain to me how you own a VHI ship though. Say hi to Sara, Miranda.¡± ¡°Hi Sara, nice to meet you again.¡± Again? ¡°Uh, hi? Nice to meet you too. Why do you say again?¡± ¡°Oh you dummy, I¡¯ve been with Jasmine for almost 300 years now. Of course, I¡¯ve met you before.¡± Ehh, that¡¯s insulting! But somehow I still laugh. Wait, 300 years?? Did I hear that right? Mom looks at me with a raised eyebrow. Right, the ship. ¡°Uhh, it¡¯s kind of a long story¡­ Can we get my friends first? And I think, uh Dad, or maybe even the Duke or Duchess should hear it too if you know them?¡± I wonder how close my parents are to them with Mom being an Archmage¡­ I probably should have looked up the whole Valterion family before entering The Empire to get a better picture of just who I¡¯m dealing with¡­ But well, everyone was just so excited to finally enter The Empire that we completely forgot about it... Somehow, I think I¡¯m much closer to the main line than expected. Maybe Mom even is the Duchess? Nah, that would be too ridiculous, right? I mean I¡¯m still assuming that she is an Archmage, she never told me. But she did use all three classes of magic, so it¡¯s plausible¡­ I probably should just ask her, but first my friends! Miranda snorts and Mom looks a bit conflicted. What is this about? Finally, she nods. ¡°Fine, but I hold you to it. We keep track of every sale of our ships and I want to know how you got yours. As for the Duke and Duchess¡­ That won¡¯t be a problem. I know them quite well.¡± Somehow she ends up grinning. That sounded ominous, were my thoughts not so absurd after all? ¡°Now onto your friends¡­ Let me hail the station. You can take a seat. It¡¯s going to be fun.¡± I follow her suggestion and shamelessly take the Captain¡¯s chair right in the middle. Mom chuckles but doesn¡¯t say anything against it and stands next to me. Another flash of magic, and her hair changes into a dull brown. I raise my eyebrow at that but don¡¯t get an answer as she is already calling the station. It takes a while, the station is still in lockdown mode even if we are already gone. Finally, someone picks up. It¡¯s a greying man with Asian features. He wears a short grey beard and his forehead has deep lines from frowning too much. ¡°You!¡± He shouts, recognizing my grey prison clothes. ¡°Yes me,¡± Mom answers grinning, ignoring that the man probably meant me. ¡°You can stop your alarms, I¡¯ve already left as you can see¡­¡± ¡°You even dare to call after that! I''ve already called for reinforcements to arrest you. You¡¯re going to be behind bars for a long time.¡± A holographic file appears in midair, clearly for my benefit that I can read it too. The man is called Michael Chan and is the director of the prison station. Looks like Mom called the right guy. As Miranda is obviously watching everything, I call up a keyboard on the Captain¡¯s console and type in that Lieutenant Larsson from the customs station was the one who arrested me and started all this mess because he didn¡¯t listen. Mom drops her smile and suddenly radiates a very seriousness. ¡°No, Director Chan. You dared to imprison my daughter!¡± She snarls and the director flinches a bit but quickly recovers. ¡°I don¡¯t care who is imprisoned here. They stay here till their sentence is served or they are proven innocent. You¡¯re going to face a heavy sentence yourself for a prison break. You better turn yourself and your daughter in, and I put in a good word for you. Your daughter still has to go to her court hearing.¡± I feel a bit bad for the guy now, he did nothing wrong after all. Mom must have read my message about Lieutenant Larsson, as her next words are softer. ¡°Looks like I made an error, Director. You¡¯re just doing your job. Let me just add the right person to the call, one moment please.¡± ¡°Thanks, Miranda,¡± I whisper and the words ¡°You¡¯re welcome¡± appear before me in mid-air. A few seconds later, the call is suddenly a three-way call, and the video of Lieutenant Larsson appears next to the Director. He looks around, watching the different video feeds. First, there is confusion when he sees the Director of the prison. He quickly dismisses Mom, as she looks rather unremarkable with her now brown hair. Then his gaze lands on me and I wave lazily. Understanding dawns on his face as I¡¯m clearly not in prison anymore. ¡°What is this?¡± He asks, rather annoyed. ¡°This, Lieutenant Larsson is me asking you why the hell you thought it was a good idea to send the young woman next to me to prison!¡± All her anger is now directed at the Lieutenant. She didn¡¯t say I¡¯m her daughter this time¡­ What is she planning now? The man swallows before answering. ¡°This woman,¡± he points at me. I have to say the video call equipment is very accurate. ¡°Was arrested for claiming to be of the Valterion family.¡± The director blanches, his eyes going wide as saucers and his mouth drops open. Looks like he just realized something. Lieutenant Larsson is oblivious to all this and I have to suppress a chuckle. He continues to talk, getting more and more animated, and starts gesturing with his hands. ¡°I suspected her being a spy and an interrogation confirmed my suspicions.¡± What a liar! That wasn¡¯t an interrogation. He just called me a spy and arrested me, this ass. I can¡¯t wait for Mom to tear him a new one. The prison Director seems to have collected himself as well now and watches the Lieutenant with rapt attention. There might even be a small smirk hidden on his face. I guess now that he realized who he is talking to and that her anger isn¡¯t directed at him anymore, it¡¯s quite amusing for him. I think he doesn¡¯t like Larsson that much as well. ¡°So I followed protocol and transferred her and her crew over to the prison station. Director Chan can confirm everything. It¡¯s all in the files.¡± ¡°Well, she clearly isn¡¯t a spy though¡­¡± ¡°Of course she is!¡± He shouts. ¡°I convicted her myself. Who do you think you are to doubt my judgment? I¡¯m gonna have you in court!¡± I see the exact moment when Mom¡¯s smirk comes back in full force. She must have waited for him to ask this question. Is that why she left the part with me being her daughter out? ¡°Well, nice of you to ask, Lieutenant,¡± she interrupts him in the middle of his rant. ¡°Allow me to introduce myself.¡± Her hair returns to her strawberry-blonde color and the prison Director jumps out of his chair. His face gets even more white than earlier. ¡°My name is Jasmine Valterion, Duchess of the Valterion Duchy. Now tell me Lieutenant Larsson, is my Daughter a spy?¡± Duchess?? Holy shit, things just got even more ridiculous! Oh boy, that explains a lot. The Lieutenant gets white as a sheet and after I blink, he even faints. I can¡¯t help myself and start chuckling. Serves him right! The Director rejoins the conversation, his voice sounds brittle. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Duchess for not recognizing you earlier. I¡¯ll immediately call off the reinforcements and the rest of your daughter¡¯s crew will be transferred to your ship immediately.¡± Mom¡¯s face softens and Miranda kicks the unconscious Lieutenant off the call. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Director. I was actually just messing with you a bit for my daughter''s sake. The Lieutenant though¡­ That¡¯s another question. There must be an investigation. I can¡¯t believe this is the first time he pulled a stunt like this. Look that you clear this, Director. I don¡¯t want this man running free for another minute. I¡¯ll bring him to your office shortly. ¡°In the meantime, you can start transferring my daughter¡¯s crew to my ship. See you soon, Director Chan.¡± The call ends and mom turns back to me. ¡°So what do you think? This was more fun than just breaking everyone out, right?¡± I start laughing. ¡°Oh, I¡¯m glad Lieutenant Larsson gets what he deserves. Him fainting just made my day. I didn¡¯t think the Duchess would be such a fun person, though.¡± I put a special emphasis on the word Duchess and raise an eyebrow. She winces a bit, but when I can¡¯t stop laughing, she joins in. ¡°Sorry about that, I thought you knew¡­ I¡¯m pretty famous after all,¡± she says while dusting off her shoulders. Her reaction is ridiculous, but reminds me again of my lack of research¡­ Still, the woman, my mom looks not older than 35 but is apparently over 300 years old, and just showed me the personality of someone my age. Actually, I can¡¯t wait to introduce her to the others. This is going to be fun! ¡°I guess you are¡­ You really have to tell me more! What¡¯s going to happen now? You said something about bringing Lieutenant Larsson to the Director? Can¡¯t he do that by himself?¡± ¡°Oh, he can, but I¡¯ve got one more thing to do¡­ You see, technically, you don¡¯t exist¡­ And if some people suddenly start talking about a daughter of mine, that would raise unwanted questions. So I¡¯ll bind them to secrecy until we can make a proper announcement of your existence. But that has to wait at least, until you¡¯ve met your father.¡± I don¡¯t exist? What? Why? ¡°Err, okay? Why did you say I don¡¯t exist though?¡± She sighs. ¡°Politics¡­ I¡¯ll tell you later, I promise!¡± Did my life just get even more complicated? Chapter 69: The Duchess Chapter 69: The Duchess Location: Magicon Empire; Axtendus Duchy; Axtul System; VS Sulfira Mom says a quick goodbye and vanishes to deal with Lieutenant Larsson. She¡¯s back less than ten minutes later and I can finally ask one of the questions that have been burning on my tongue. ¡°Soooo,¡± I draw out the word while looking at Mom. ¡°You haven¡¯t specifically told me, but you¡¯re an Archmage, right?¡± ¡°I am, but you should also be able to feel that¡­¡± I shrug. ¡°Yeah, maybe but half a year ago, I didn¡¯t even know that the rank existed.¡± ¡°What the fuck?¡± I raise an eyebrow at her swearing. I''ve tolerated it long enough now. ¡°Sorry,¡± she mumbles, then continues under her breath. ¡°Reprimanded by my own daughter for swearing¡­¡± Anyway, I nod at her. ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s a long story¡­ I grew up in what you would call a Mage-hating nation. With a Mage collar and all that stuff.¡± The words hang in the air, and then Mom rushes over and grabs me in a big hug. ¡°I¡¯m so sorry, Sara. That must have been awful. Is that also why your magic feels so strange¡­?¡± I step back, completely in shock. My magic feels strange? ¡°What¡­ What do you mean? My magic is the only thing that carried me through all this.¡± Mom lifts her hands. ¡°No, no¡­ Strange is the wrong word. It just feels off. Somehow weak, sorry but I don¡¯t know how I can describe it. What¡¯s your power level?¡± I frown. What¡¯s this about? My magic always was a bit different with Space Sense and all that stuff, but being called weak by my own Mom¡­ That almost feels like a rejection. ¡°I¡­ Uh, I recently reached Junior rank in Space magic¡­¡± I¡¯m about to continue with my Utility core and maybe even Space Sense, when Mom stops dead in her tracks like a statue. Her mouth drops open and a heavy silence hangs on the bridge. ¡°That¡¯s impossible,¡± she whispers. What? Is my power too low? I¡¯m I not worthy or something? Or did she get it wrong and I¡¯m not her daughter after all? But the familiar feeling¡­ She must have noticed my unease, as suddenly two arms grab my shoulders and she looks me right in the eyes. ¡°This changes nothing, Sara. We¡¯re getting to the bottom of this. You were already Senior rank when you were kidnapped.¡± Senior rank? At age two?! What the hell? Why was I only a Novice for the most part? Wait! Does that explain my Space Sense? ¡°Uh, Mom?¡± ¡°Yeah?¡± ¡°There¡¯s more¡­ I¡¯m also a Junior rank Utility Mage.¡± Her eyes widen slightly. That must have been unexpected after my story with the Mage-hating nation. ¡°And I¡¯ve got Space Sense.¡± Another silence. Mom struggles with the information. She takes a breath. ¡°We have to take a look at your core once we¡¯re home¡­ I don¡¯t know, but the only explanation I can think of is that someone messed with it¡­¡± Hope blooms in my chest. If my power was somehow limited, this would explain so much! And if someone can find the reason, it should be Mom, right? She¡¯s an Archmage after all. I can¡¯t wait. But first, we¡¯ve got two more things to do. ¡°Thanks, Mom, I¡¯d like that. My magic always was a bit of a mystery¡­ But we need to get my friends and my ship first. Both are very important for what I have to tell you and Dad.¡± ¡°Alright, dear. Let¡¯s receive them in the shuttle bay. They should be there in a few minutes. The Director was just in the process of releasing them. Wanna walk this time?¡± ¡°Sure, I¡¯d like to see a bit of your ship anyway.¡± We exit the bridge and mom leads me straight to an elevator. It arrives and takes us down quite a few decks. Another sign that the Sulfira is bigger than the Stargazer. I read the labels at the doors, it¡¯s like a luxury villa¡­ There¡¯s everything aboard the ship. Even an indoor swimming pool. Finally, we arrive at the shuttle bay. It¡¯s quite small actually. Maybe big enough to fit my yacht, but for a ship this size, I¡¯ve expected something bigger. When I ask Mom, there is a snort from Miranda from the speakers. ¡°Why do you think it¡¯s called shuttle bay? Obviously, there¡¯s a hangar bay as well.¡± Why does every sentence from Miranda sound like she thinks I¡¯m dumb? Man, I have to get back at her somehow¡­ Anyway, we stand there and wait. Finally able to do magic again, I conjure my telekinetic bench thingy and sit down. Mom nods her approval and points at the spot next to me. ¡°May I? Does it hold?¡± ¡°Yeah, it should. We''ve been sitting on it in pairs before.¡± She smiles and sits down. The bench floats a bit lower, but I grit my teeth and it moves back up. I¡¯ve got this! Ten minutes and a bit of chit-chat later, I can see the shuttle. It¡¯s an ugly one. Dull grey just like my current clothes. I really need to change them! Let¡¯s hope the others managed to get my belongings. The shuttle sets down after entering the bay and a bit later, the hatch opens. A guard exits first. Upon seeing Mom, he bows, and I have to suppress a snicker. He awkwardly stands next to the ramp and his lips move but I don¡¯t understand anything. He must be radioing in. Another minute passes, then it¡¯s Thomas who steps out first. He looks at the guard and it looks like he doesn¡¯t see me. Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. I jump up and rush over. The telekinetic spell is completely forgotten. Mom almost falls before she catches herself with her own Telekinesis. The guard''s eyes widen in horror at the sight but I don¡¯t care. I jump onto Thomas and give him a massive hug. He was unprepared and almost toppled over. ¡°Tommy,¡± I cry. ¡°Holy smokes, Sari. Don¡¯t scare me like that!¡± I blush. ¡°Sorry, sorry¡­ I¡¯m just so excited. You won¡¯t believe what happened today. Where are the others?¡± He turns around and looks back at the shuttle. ¡°They should be here in a minute. Shay and Alex are still sorting our stuff. The guards threw everything into a single box,¡± he shrugs. ¡°I just didn¡¯t want to wait. I mean they didn¡¯t tell us but since you were missing and we were being released from prison I figured it had to be you, so I came out here to look for you. So care to explain why the guard here was bowing?¡± The guard in question makes a choking sound but stills again shortly after. I turn around and find Mom glaring at him. I chuckle. ¡°Sure thing, come on let me introduce you to someone.¡± We walk over toward Mom, who watches us with a warm expression. ¡°Sooo,¡± I draw out the word again. ¡°Thomas this is Jasmine Valterion. The Duchess of the same named Duchy.¡± I grin at Thomas¡¯s disbelieving stare. Things are about to get even more fun. ¡°Mom, this is Thomas, my best friend.¡± Now he loses it completely ¡°What the¡­¡± he mutters before remembering in whose presence he is and stops. ¡°For real?¡± I can¡¯t keep it down anymore and start laughing. Mom takes the initiative and holds out her hand. ¡°Yes, for real. Nice to meet you, Thomas.¡± He grabs her hand and gives it a weak shake. He¡¯s still quite shocked, I think. But who wouldn¡¯t be? I can¡¯t wait to see the others¡¯ reactions. I don¡¯t have to wait for long, as they exit the shuttle a minute later. The guard takes that moment to do another quick bow in Mom''s direction under the questioning gazes of the others and hurries back into the shuttle. The shuttle in question then is very quick to lift off and leave. I took that moment to school my expression and then I start waving. ¡°Hey guys, nice that you¡¯re finally here.¡± Maja is the first one to rush over and hugs me. ¡°Sara! Finally, the isolation was hell.¡± The hug quickly turns into a group hug and after a short hesitation and a shove from Mom, Thomas joins in too. I think he¡¯s still a bit in shock. Jack clears his throat. ¡°So care to explain how we were released so suddenly and why you are already there? Also, where are your bruises? You were black and blue the last time I saw you.¡± He chuckles until Lucy smacks the back of his head. I wiggle myself out of the hug and wink at Jack. ¡°Magic.¡± He frowns. ¡°For real? That¡¯s all you¡¯re going to tell us?¡± ¡°Nah,¡± I blow a raspberry at him, ¡°that¡¯s all I¡¯m going to tell you!¡± He groans. ¡°Anyway, now that everyone¡¯s here, I¡¯m going to introduce you to someone.¡± I turn around and wave at Mom. ¡°Mom, can you come over please?¡± She nods and starts walking toward us while most of the others exclaim their disbelief. ¡°Did I hear right? Mom?¡± Simon asks. Shay is more expressive. ¡°You¡¯re shitting me, right?¡± There¡¯s more, but most gets lost in the noise. The discussion gets so loud that I have to call for silence. When they all calm down a bit, I flash them a smile and try again. ¡°Guys, as I was saying, this is my mom,¡± I put an arm around her shoulder while saying this. ¡°Yes, I¡¯m not lying, and had almost the same reaction as you when I learned it, but it¡¯s true. So everyone, say hi to Jasmine Valterion. We can sit down later and do a few more introductions. Now we first have to get our ship back, I¡¯d say.¡± I pause for a moment, preparing myself for another fit of laughter at their reactions to the next bomb I¡¯m about to drop on them. ¡°Oh and did I mention that she is the Duchess?¡± I ask, barely able to contain my amusement. Next to me, I feel Mom chuckling quietly as well. ¡°You really like them¡­¡± she whispers and I nod. The others meanwhile, except Thomas, who is already through the shock phase, stiffen and stare at me and Mom with wide eyes. When they recover, they break out into another heated discussion which I have to end after a few minutes. ¡°Guys, calm down. Nothing¡¯s going to change right now. Let¡¯s get the Stargazer, then we all can sit down and talk while we¡¯re traveling, oh, where to actually?¡± ¡°Well, for now, I¡¯d say home. Your father can¡¯t wait to meet you, and there¡¯s still the issue with your magic. But it¡¯s your choice in the end. If you want to stay here, we stay.¡± ¡°Yeah, sounds good. I can¡¯t wait to meet Dad! And can you do the healing stuff with the others as well?¡± ¡°Sure thing. Is everyone okay with that?¡± She asks and everyone nods while Ronja freezes again. Right, discovering healing magic was her dream! Magic gathers, then green lines of energy emerge from Mom''s hands and connect with each of my friends. All their bruises heal within seconds, but in the end, Mom stands there frowning. I shoot her a questioning glance. ¡°What happened to you all?¡± She points at Greg. ¡°His arm is magically dead,¡± next she points at Shay. ¡°She¡¯s not accumulating magic despite her core and lastly,¡± she points at Maja, ¡°she is filled to the brim with magic, just like a battery.¡± Uhh, that¡¯s pretty accurate. And she noticed all that with a single Healing spell? Holy smokes. ¡°Well, Greg lost his arm before he joined us, and his doctors told him he¡¯s one-armed now because the arm can¡¯t be fixed as he is a Mage. We regrew his arm when he joined us in the hope that someone here in The Empire can fix it completely in the end.¡± Mom nods. ¡°It¡¯s possible, yes, but I can¡¯t do it. It needs a specialist, but that shouldn¡¯t be a problem. I can¡¯t wait to hear your story though, right now I just want to blow up the whole nation you grew up in¡­ Fucking Mage haters¡­ They only make problems.¡± Could she do that? That is a scary thought. At least Greg is smiling broadly upon hearing that his arm can be fixed completely. Aaanyway. ¡°Thanks, Mom, I¡¯ll tell you soon. Now with Shay, that is our fault, but we didn¡¯t know better¡­ I had a leftover Utility core and we didn¡¯t know that you need an awakening core if a person isn¡¯t a Mage before¡­ So far we had to jumpstart her and then she could use the power grid to practice spells.¡± Mom stares at me wide-eyed when I finish. ¡°Holy sh¡­ smokes you are crazy. I¡¯ve never heard about jumpstarting magic before, but if it works¡­ Genius. But it doesn¡¯t sound sustainable, right?¡± Shay shakes her head. ¡°No, not at all. I¡¯m pretty much useless magically speaking.¡± ¡°Oh, I can imagine, but that¡¯s also fixable, don¡¯t worry.¡± ¡°Thanks,¡± Shay says smiling and Lydia grins as well. Looks like she just saw her chance at getting a core herself. ¡°Okay and for the last of your concerns, I can safely say that you don¡¯t have to worry at all. It¡¯s all as it should be. Maja is completely fine. Actually, Miranda, maybe you can find out the reason.¡± I look at Maja and grin. ¡°Maja, Miranda is Mom¡¯s AI¡± ¡°Why would I be able to find the reason? ¡­ Oh, ooohhh!¡± Yeah, she gets it now. I grin at my confused Mom. ¡°Maja is my AI.¡± ¡°You¡¯re full of surprises,¡± she chuckles. ¡°But a body? Where did you even get it? This is Magitech of the highest grade, I wouldn¡¯t even have recognized it if you hadn¡¯t mentioned it¡­ You are aware of the issues though?¡± I sigh. ¡°Yeah, I know, that¡¯s why I still have S-57. Maja¡¯s origin is also part of my story, so you have to wait. No spoilers!¡± Mom groans and I turn back to my friends. ¡°Actually, did you bring S-57 with you?¡± I ask them and Alex holds up the AI chip. ¡°I¡¯ve got you covered.¡± ¡°Thanks, Alex!¡± I grab the chip and put it back behind my ear. ¡°Hey S-57, welcome back.¡± ¡°Hello Sara, I¡¯m fully operational again.¡± Good old S-57, still not the sharpest tool in the shed, but he¡¯s reliable. Now it¡¯s just the Stargazer! ¡°Everyone ready to get our ship back?¡± There are cheers all around. Looks like they came to terms with the new situation pretty fast. Well, I¡¯ve got a lot of unbelievable stuff happening around me¡­ What¡¯s a Duchess thrown into the mix here? Chapter 70: Homeward… Sort of Chapter 70: Homeward¡­ Sort of Location: Magicon Empire; Axtendus Duchy; Axtul System; VS Sulfira As most of our stuff is still on the Stargazer, everyone is only carrying a few things ¨C mostly our normal clothes. Mom shows us a few rooms where we can change inside and then returns to the bridge to set a course for the location where they put the Stargazer. We¡¯re flying normally this time, Mom said she has already pushed her luck with her aggressive non-wormhole jumps to arrive here. As we''re under no time constraints anymore, I just shrugged and told her to take her time. I think I have to talk to the others a bit more anyway. So, once we have all changed back into normal clothes, Miranda is so kind and leads us into something resembling a living room. It¡¯s not even that big, but everything inside projects such a cozy feeling. I jump into the plushy red couch and land right in the middle. The others either sit next to me or grab a few of the floating grav armchairs. ¡°Sooo, I haven¡¯t thought about asking before, but is everyone alright?¡± ¡°Am I alright?¡± Lydia almost shouts. ¡°Of course I am! Woman, do you even know what you just made possible for us?¡± I shrug. ¡°Not really, no¡­ I get that Mom is powerful and all, but well, the galaxy is big. Sure, my parents are probably rich as hell, and we don¡¯t have to worry about getting magical help¡­¡± ¡°Dude, haven¡¯t you listened to everything I told you during our trip? The five families are like the absolute power here and on top are the Dukes and Duchesses. I¡¯m speaking of owning multiple star systems and you are their daughter. Unbelievable! I knew it was the right idea to trust my gut feeling and join you.¡± Huh, I completely forgot about that in all my excitement. But she¡¯s right, I don¡¯t think I even have to show them my findings from Earth to get everything I¡¯ve ever wanted. Not that I plan not to show them, this is way too important. I must have made a funny face, as Thomas puts an arm around my shoulder and laughs softly. ¡°Sari don¡¯t worry about us, we¡¯re all fine, your mother healed us. And now everything is better than we could have ever imagined. I feel like there¡¯s a bright future ahead of us.¡± I flash a broad grin at him. ¡°Thanks, Tommy! Now, I¡¯m going to look for the bridge. The Stargazer awaits our return. Who wants to join me?¡± ¡°I¡¯m coming,¡± Maja says, but the others all look very comfortable in their armchairs and on the couch. Jack looks like he¡¯s about to fall asleep any moment now and the others don¡¯t seem to be much more awake. ¡°Uhh, you also can just stay here, I¡¯ll get you when we arrive.¡± Was it the Healing spell that made them so tired? But why am I still awake? Guess that¡¯s another question for Mom. ¡°You know where to go, Maja?¡± ¡°Sure, Miranda already sent me the whole schematic of the Sulfira. It¡¯s really very similar to our ship, just much bigger and way more modern. It¡¯s also refreshing to talk to her¡­ Finally, an AI on my level.¡± ¡°She is?¡± I ask, quite surprised. I thought Maja was pretty much unique. ¡°Yeah, at least I think so. I¡¯m not so rude and ask if she¡¯s sapient and all, but I¡¯m pretty sure though.¡± ¡°Oh, I am! But now I kinda want my own body too.¡± Oops, she was listening in! Maja even blushes a bit and looks embarrassed at one of the corners in the hallway. There must be a hidden camera or something. ¡°Sorry about that Miranda¡­¡± ¡°All good, now hurry up. Jasmine is about to rip the scrapyard manager a new one.¡± Scrapyard?! They wouldn¡¯t, right? I dash forward in a mad sprint, Maja right behind me. She provides the directions on my interface and a minute later, we almost burst through the bridge door which was conveniently already open. Thanks, Miranda! Mom is indeed in the middle of the process of ripping someone a new one. ¡°¡­ I don¡¯t care what orders you might have! I want that ship back and you are going to give it to me, or I swear to God, I jump it out myself, taking half the scrapyard with me.¡± A timid voice returns through the speaker. It¡¯s only audio this time. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for causing such an inconvenience, Lady Duchess, but my hands are bound. If I don¡¯t provide proof of the job done, I might lose my job. I can¡¯t do that. I¡¯ve got a family to care for¡­¡± So much for absolute power¡­ Bureaucracy trumps everything, even here. Looks like Mom comes to the same conclusion and sighs. ¡°Fine, what do you need?¡± ¡°Either the cancelation of the scrapping order from Lieutenant Larsson¡­¡± ¡°Yeah, not going to happen¡­ He¡¯s¡­ otherwise occupied for now¡­¡± Mom interrupts him. That¡¯s a nice way to tell the man that Larsson is now the one in prison. I feel a grin forming on my face. ¡°Or you bring me the actual owner of the ship¡­ But they are in prison as far as I heard¡­¡± Mom looks at me and grins broadly. Why does that grin feel dangerous? ¡°Oh, that won¡¯t be a problem. Wait a second, your owner is coming right at you.¡± She cuts the call before he can reply. If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. I suddenly feel Space magic enveloping me and it isn¡¯t my doing. I clamp down hard with Space Sense and resist. She looks at me in confusion. ¡°What the hell?¡± ¡°Uhh, what are you doing?¡± I cross my hands before my chest. Suddenly, Mom hugs me. ¡°Hah, you really have Space Sense! I didn¡¯t quite believe you earlier, but this is proof. Now sorry about that, I thought it fun to just drop you in front of the scrapyard guy and say here¡¯s your owner¡­¡± I facepalm. ¡°Really¡­?¡± ¡°Yeah, not my best joke¡­ I get it now.¡± Unbelievable, to think this woman is more than ten times my age¡­ Somehow this makes me laugh. ¡°Hah, just send me the coordinates. I can jump myself, I¡¯m a big girl, you know?¡± I wink at her and Miranda snorts through the speakers. ¡°Gotta say, Jasmine, that¡¯s a point for your daughter.¡± Now everyone laughs and I get a ping on my interface ¨C the coordinates. S-57 locks them in, and I concentrate and disappear shortly after. I reappear in a grav chair behind a desk, opposite me sits a round man with short brown hair. He jumps out of his seat at my appearance and almost falls over. I hold back a laugh and wave. ¡°Hi there, Sara Valterion at your service. I¡¯m the owner you¡¯re looking for.¡± ¡°Ahh, for fuck¡¯s sake!¡± He almost screams. ¡°Is this a joke?¡± ¡°No, not at all,¡± I reply. ¡°I really want my ship back¡­ The faster, the better.¡± The man sighs and starts pacing. ¡°Fine¡­ Do you have proof of ownership?¡± ¡°Uhh, is my DNA in the ship¡¯s computers enough?¡± He grumbles something under his breath but waves an arm and leaves the room. ¡°Follow me¡­ For just this time it¡¯s enough. I don¡¯t want any more stress than I have now. Better you all are just gone.¡± Oh, yeah, that¡¯s what I plan anyway¡­ I just need my ship, so hurry up man. I¡¯d really like to punch Lieutenant Larsson right now. Why did he even send the ship to the scrapyard? Anyway, our walk continues past various docking arms until the man finally enters one. The airlock at the end opens and I see a familiar hallway. The Stargazer! Our walk continues till the bridge where I show him that I am indeed Sara Valterion and therefore the owner of the ship. In the end, I have to sign something on his tablet, but then the ship is back in my care. Finally! I offer him a teleport back to his office, but he just huffs loudly and leaves. Well, his loss¡­ Now how do I get the ship out of here? I¡¯m not the best pilot. With a shrug, I sit down in my usual chair and fire up the screen. It¡¯s a scrapyard anyway what are a few scratches on the other ships? Everything works out and I only hit one other ship on my way out of the tightly packed scrapyard station. I imagine the scrapyard man shaking his fist in anger, but then I¡¯m out and head directly for the Sulfira. When it¡¯s time to connect the two ships airlock to airlock, I chicken out and call Maja to do it remotely. We¡¯re so close that there isn¡¯t any delay anymore. Maja does so expertly, and I decide to switch ships on foot this time. Before I can leave the bridge though, there is a purple flash beside me, and Mom appears. ¡°Hi there!¡± She says with a wink, then takes a look around. ¡°Wow, this is ancient, but a VHI ship for sure. Are you sure that you can¡¯t tell me your story early?¡± She asks with pleading eyes. I shake my head. ¡°No, you have to wait. Especially after your stunt with the scrapyard guy.¡± ¡°Fine¡­ Are you ready to leave then? I¡¯ve already done the secrecy stuff with him as well.¡± ¡°Yes, but how will this work with two ships?¡± Instead of an immediate answer, I sense a massive space bubble forming around both ships. ¡°Like so,¡± Mom winks and triggers a spell. I feel us enter hyperspace briefly, then there is a flash, and we are somewhere else. When the window clears again, I see a wormhole pretty close to us. Then I realize something. This was a direct jump! Without a wormhole. This is amazing! I want to do that too. Let¡¯s hope what Mom said about my magic is true. Can¡¯t wait to arrive home and find a fix. ¡°So, where are we? And didn¡¯t you say you¡¯ve already pushed the limits with in-system jumping?¡± Mom blushes a bit. ¡°I have, but what is one more time? We¡¯re close to the Silvani System. I have to go there real quick¡­ I might have caused a bit of a scene when I got the news of your arrival.¡± Well, if this was anything close to her arrival next to the prison, a bit of a scene could be something quite big. Good thing she¡¯s the Duchess, right? ¡°Sounds cool, do you mind if I join? The others are probably still asleep anyway. Oh, by the way, why am I not so tired after the healing?¡± ¡°Not at all, but it¡¯s definitely not cool. This is going to be expensive as hell. As for the healing, I used two different spells. The one for you only targets a single person but is fueled by additional magic power from me, the other is multi-target but uses most of its fuel from the people it is cast on, that¡¯s why they are so tired.¡± ¡°Cool, you probably have to repeat that for Ronja sometime, she¡¯s very interested in magical medicine.¡± ¡°Will do. Miranda, can you tell Maja that we¡¯re back in about two hours or something? Not that the others wake up and we are gone.¡± ¡°Done, and I¡¯ve got your coordinates for the jump room at VHI.¡± ¡°Thanks,¡± she offers me her hand again. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± I grab on and magic envelopes us. I wonder if this jump room is like the one on the DFS Tilda ¨C a safe room to arrive after teleportation.
Location: Magicon Empire; Axtendus Duchy; Silvani System; Lombar; New Sildan; VHI Store It is. We arrive in an empty room and Miranda immediately opens the door for us. We step out into the hallway and the door closes again. Mom leads the way and I follow. The hallway soon terminates at another sliding door, that is already in the process of opening for us. ¡°Uh, Mom, where are we now?¡± ¡°We¡¯re in New Sildan on planet Lombar. It¡¯s the capital here as far as capitals go¡­ The whole star system is practically one shopping paradise. Everything you might need, you can find here. Mostly on space stations though. Down here on the planet, it¡¯s just a sign of prestige, the biggest companies have their stores here. We¡¯re currently in the VHI store, that¡¯s Valterion Heavy Industries in case you didn¡¯t know.¡± While she is talking, we step through the door and straight into a very luxurious-looking store. Different starships scaled down and made out of hard light or normal holograms are everywhere in the store. A few customers watch them closely and various clerks are ready to answer questions. The VHI logo hangs proudly on the back wall, and the clerks all wear clothes with purple accents. To my right, there is something that makes me look twice: A part of the shop floor is separated from the rest, and various projectors are currently recreating a cabin on a starship. Inside this virtual cabin is a clerk together with two customers. The man says something to the clerk, and she taps in the air, then the projection changes and now shows a different bed. The man nods, satisfied. They are customizing their ship before ordering! This is amazing. While Mom ignores everyone, they don¡¯t ignore her. The moment we step through the door into the store, everyone stops and stares at Mom. Suddenly, one of the clerks starts bowing, and everyone else quickly joins in. Mom just waves in greeting. ¡°Don¡¯t mind us, we¡¯re just passing through.¡± This makes no difference and we¡¯re almost immediately swarmed. I feel like a celebrity, I have to say¡­ Mom puts on a pleasant smile, shakes a few hands, and even writes two autographs. This is a completely new experience for me, and I awkwardly stand next to Mom while she does her thing. In the end, we stay for about fifteen minutes in the store. Mom even gives a few recommendations to customers and compliments the cabin design of the man and woman in the secluded projection area. When we exit the store, Mom nudged me and grins. ¡°This is going to be part of your life soon as well. You better keep that in mind.¡± ¡°Oh my, I don¡¯t know if I¡¯m ready for that much attention! I¡¯d rather go shopping with you once you¡¯re done with whatever you must do here.¡± ¡°Sure thing, but just a little bit, though. We can¡¯t let your friends wait all day,¡± she winks, and we continue walking. Chapter 71: Smoothing things over Chapter 71: Smoothing things over Location: Magicon Empire; Axtendus Duchy; Silvani System; Lombar; New Sildan After leaving the store and Mom¡¯s words of encouragement, I take in the city beyond. It is not like I expected. I¡¯ve seen my fair share of cities now, but nothing like this. It¡¯s just one store next to the other. Nothing else as far as I can see. There aren¡¯t even any skyscrapers¡­ only very luxurious-looking stores. One is fancier than the other, but nothing is higher than five stories. Still, I notice a bit of a difference, or let¡¯s say separation. The store, or better store complex we just exited, takes in a lot more space than the others around. There are a few others that are bigger than most, but nothing comes close to the Valterion store. Is it like a sign of prestige how big a store you have here? Another question enters my head immediately after, where do the people live? Is there even a residential quarter? Or is everything just stores? That would be insane, right? ¡°Where are we going, Mom? And where do all the people live?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve got to smooth things over at system admin¡­ It¡¯s just up ahead.¡± She points at the only building that doesn¡¯t have a big glassy fa?ade facing the street. Now that I look at it, it does stand out quite a bit. Why haven¡¯t I noticed before? I look at another building beside it and the admin building just kinda blurs over. Huh? Is that a spell to make it less noticeable? Meanwhile, Mom continues speaking. ¡°As for where the people live¡­ The planet is actually quite uninhabitable. Only New Sildan here and Sildan a couple of kilometers away were made habitable. Sildan is also where all the people working here live. It was the original settlement on the planet.¡± She pauses, looking around. Then she heads for an empty bench in the middle of the road. ¡°Here, let¡¯s sit down a bit and I¡¯ll explain.¡± ¡°Okay, sure, if your meeting isn¡¯t too time-sensitive, I won¡¯t say anything against it¡­ It¡¯s always nice to learn new things.¡± Mom chuckles and continues. ¡°No worries, they don¡¯t expect me anyway. Currently, they are probably searching for an unknown person who caused problems in the system earlier. I¡¯m just doing them a favor¡­ And maybe stop them from banning me for a few years.¡± She shudders at the thought. ¡°Anyway, the settlers noticed early that the system wasn¡¯t worth expending further resources on. There is only one planet here and even terraforming a small part of it was expensive as hell. The settlers were about to abandon the whole system when one of them, Jason Silvani, had an, at this time, outrageous idea: Why not build a bunch of space stations and lure in companies to open up stores with very cheap prices.¡± She suddenly starts laughing. ¡°You see how that worked out. Jason probably never expected that his idea with cheap prices would make such a turnaround¡­ Over the years, more and more stores opened, and today almost every company in the whole Empire has a store somewhere here. Prices started to rise and now store rents are just outrageously high. Down here on the planet, the most exclusive brands have their stores and when Sildan wasn¡¯t enough anymore, New Sildan was built and all the workers stayed in the old town, that¡¯s why you only find stores here in the new town.¡± ¡°Crazy¡­ So, can you say how much the rent is for the VHI store here?¡± Mom snorts. ¡°I better don¡¯t¡­ Let¡¯s just say you probably could buy a planet for the yearly rent in other nations...¡± A freakin¡¯ planet? Holy smokes! ¡°Wow, what happens with all that money?¡± ¡°Well, a lot gets back to The Empire as taxes, but the rest lands in the accounts of the Silvani family. It¡¯s only a matter of time until they get their own duchy, I guess. They just miss the powerful Mages in their family, but young Timothy shows potential¡­ He¡¯s your age by the way, so keep an eye out when you meet the other young nobles in the future. But that¡¯s enough about politics for now,¡± she chuckles and gets back up. ¡°Let¡¯s finish this, if you want, we can go check out a few stores after.¡± I nod eagerly. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯d like that¡­ But say, is it a good or a bad thing if the Silvanis get their own Duchy?¡± Mom thinks a bit. ¡°Well, while I think we are currently quite good with four Duchies and the Royals if it becomes necessary to form a fifth Duchy, the Silvanis are probably the best bet. They don¡¯t exactly push for more influence like some other upstarts and that¡¯s a good thing in my opinion. I also like Samira Silvani, that¡¯s Timothy''s mother, but yeah, you will get to learn a lot more about all that noble stuff in the future. I don¡¯t want to overwhelm you right now.¡± I shrug. ¡°Okay, thanks. It was already quite a lot, I have to say, let¡¯s continue so we can go shopping.¡± ¡°That¡¯s my daughter,¡± Mom laughs, and we enter the admin building through the sliding doors. I notice the magic in the air and after we¡¯re through the door, everything sharpens a bit. I don¡¯t know how else to describe it, but I guess I was spot on with my theory about the magic that makes the building slide into the background. That said, the inside looks just like your typical admin building. There are chairs to the side with loads of people waiting on them and the reception desk is manned by an older woman and a slightly younger man. The man is currently talking to someone, and the woman must have just finished up with her conversation, as she is currently alone and sorting some things on her desk. Mom walks up to her with purpose, and I¡¯m right beside her. To my left, I notice another man who started walking toward the desk too. He scowls upon seeing us. ¡°Please draw a number on the terminal to your right,¡± the woman says with an annoyed voice without looking up. ¡°Once your number gets called, you can come up here¡­ There are others before you in line.¡± ¡°Oh, I¡¯m not here to steal your time¡­ I just wanted to ask if Peter is free at the moment, then I''m out of your hair.¡± The woman starts looking up. ¡°Mister Silvani¡¯s timetable is none of your concern. He¡¯s a busy man and doesn¡¯t meet with some random people who have complaints. That¡¯s why we are here. So please, I ask you again to draw a number or I¡¯ll have you remov¡­¡± She trails off, upon fully looking up and her eyes go wide. ¡°Uh, I, sorry Lady Duchess for not recognizing you earlier¡­ Mister Silvani is currently in a meeting, but It¡¯ll finish in the next ten minutes. I take you know the way to his office?¡± Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. Holy smokes, another one of those complete 180s¡­ It¡¯s almost like a different kind of magic. The room also goes completely quiet and there are a few whispers of ¡°Duchess Valterion.¡± ¡°Oh my god, Carl¡¯s never going to believe this!¡± ¡°What¡¯s she doing here?¡± I hold back a grin at all those voices. This is my life now! No more hiding who I am, no more running, just a bunch of privileges. Ah, and I guess with the new life also come a few duties, but I¡¯ll see. For now, I¡¯m just gonna enjoy it and watch how Mom does her thing. Speaking of her thing, she just waved the woman off and starts walking around the reception desk toward an elevator in the back. I quickly follow her, and we wait in silence. After we enter the elevator, I can¡¯t hold back my curiosity anymore. ¡°Why does everyone recognize you? Are you as the Valterion Duchess so famous that everyone knows you? That¡¯s a bit ridiculous¡­ I mean we aren¡¯t even in your Duchy.¡± She laughs. ¡°No, not at all. This has nothing to do with me being the wife of your father. It comes from my side of the family¡­ You see, I grew up as Jasmine Benson.¡± ¡°What?!¡± I blurt out before I can stop myself. Benson is the family behind Magicon! Wait. Does that mean? ¡°That¡¯s why the panel said DNA match¡­¡± I mumble under my breath. I¡¯m talking about the panel in the Magicon headquarters back on Earth. Maja said the match was a fluke, but if Mom is a Benson, that explains things. ¡°What was that?¡± Mom asks. ¡°Nothing important, you can continue¡­¡± ¡°Uh, yeah, so I¡¯m the granddaughter of the Emperor and as such, I was pretty much the Face of Magicon during my childhood and teens. I¡¯m still doing promotions from time to time and so my face is probably the most famous in the whole nation¡­ I worked hard over the years to get at least recognized as Duchess. Before that, I was always the Magicon Princess or just the Magicon Girl.¡± She grimaces a bit in the end. ¡°Holy shit, will you ever stop surprising me?¡± She chuckles and pumps a fist into the air. ¡°Yes, I made her swear!¡± Oh my god¡­ Is she serious right now? Luckily, the elevator arrives before I can bang my head against the wall. We step outside and right into a waiting area. A woman calls out from a desk to the left. ¡°Duchess Valterion, Mister Silvani will see you in about ten minutes. You can wait here or go out to the rooftop garden if you want. I¡¯ll get you when he¡¯s ready.¡± Mom looks at me with a raised eyebrow. ¡°Let¡¯s head outside,¡± I say, ¡°I¡¯d like to catch a bit of a view.¡± We¡¯re on the fifth floor after all. The highest you can get in New Sildan. She nods and we exit through a sliding glass door next to the woman¡¯s desk. The city looks amazing from up above. The fancy stores with their designs make everything look kinda magical. Not in a literal sense of course. I can even see the Valterion store from here. Now that I look at it from a distance, I notice something else and gasp. ¡°Is that an actual starship on the roof?¡± I ask in disbelief and Mom nods while chuckling. ¡°It is. It¡¯s also a special one. A ship with history. It was built by Conor Valterion himself. Do you know about him? He was the founder of the company, back when Earth still existed.¡± Wow, she really doesn¡¯t know. I can¡¯t wait to see her face when I tell her. I suppress a laugh and answer her awkwardly. ¡°Uh, yeah¡­ Yeah, I¡¯ve heard of him. That ship must be pretty old then, right?¡± I barely manage to say that sentence without grinning¡­ ¡°Oh yes, it is¡­ It¡¯s more than 11,000 years old.¡± She scratches her chin. ¡°Come to think of it¡­ Your Stargazer looks almost as old. You don¡¯t know how old the ship is, right? Where did you get it anyway?¡± ¡°Uhh, not really, no¡­ As for where I got it? That¡¯s still a surprise.¡± I flash her a bright smile and she just shakes her head. ¡°This story better be good, or I¡¯ll have you clean the whole house,¡± she threatens me jokingly. ¡°Oh, it will be.¡± I see the receptionist woman stepping through the door in the corner of my eye. ¡°Oh, I think it¡¯s time for your meeting.¡± Mom turns around too, and the woman waves us in. ¡°Yeah, looks like it is. Let¡¯s hope I don¡¯t have to pay too much¡­¡± ¡°So bad, huh?¡± ¡°You have no idea.¡± Peter Silvani¡¯s office is one of those artificially old-looking ones. His desk is made out of solid wood and the walls are covered with wooden shelves. There is a lush dark blue carpet on the floor and the grav chairs are covered with actual black leather. I let out a silent whistle when I see this. Mom wasn¡¯t joking when she said the Silvanis were rich. Peter Silvani himself looks like he is in his forties with a few grey streaks in his dark brown hair. He has a sharp face and surprisingly wears a pair of glasses. That¡¯s strange. Fixing eyes is as easy as sealing a cut on your finger¡­ I wonder if there¡¯s a story behind it or if he just wants to look smarter¡­ They suit him after all. Like a smooth businessman, he wears a dark suit of course, and sits behind his desk while smiling at Mom. I don¡¯t think he acknowledges me¡­ ¡°Welcome, Jasmine. To what do I owe this pleasure? Sit down, sit down. Your aide is free to sit as well.¡± Aide? Is that what he thinks I am? Hmm, Mom sits down without saying anything¡­ Looks like she goes with his assumption¡­ Probably because she still wants to keep me secret, she did swear all the others to secrecy after all. I shrug internally and sit down in the other grav chair. ¡°Well¡­¡± Mom starts. ¡°I don¡¯t think you would call it a pleasure if you knew why I¡¯m here¡­¡± She grimaces a bit. ¡°You see, I caused a bit of a ruckus here in the system earlier¡­¡± Peter stares at her wide-eyed. ¡°That was you?!¡± ¡°Yeah¡­ Sorry about that. How can I make it up to you?¡± Peter clears his throat. ¡°You don¡¯t make it easy for me, do you? Had you been anyone else, I would have been forced to bring you in¡­ But I also can¡¯t let you go with a simple slap on the wrist though. The others will have my head¡­¡± Mom nods sheepishly. ¡°I expected that, so what do you want?¡± I alternate my gaze between both of them. They talk like old friends! And one of them, Mom in this case, just broke Peter¡¯s favorite toy or something. Just what was that bit of a ruckus she caused? ¡°Well, you almost blew up one of the stations up there with your exit,¡± he points to the sky.¡± ¡°I had a good reason though,¡± Mom glances at me, but Peter doesn¡¯t seem to notice. ¡°I¡¯m not asking why, I do believe you, we¡¯ve known each other long enough, still¡­ I have to ask something of you¡­ Let¡¯s say the next five starships for free?¡± Five starships? Holy smokes that¡¯s a lot of money! Mom seems to agree. ¡°Are you crazy? That¡¯s way too much. I can give you one.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t do that¡­ Your actions led to a five-hour standstill in all system traffic. I have to ask for four.¡± Mom sighs, but I see a slight grin on her face, that quickly disappears. ¡°Fine¡­ let¡¯s meet each other at three ships.¡± ¡°Agreed, but at least in the regular Senior sizes.¡± Senior sizes? Wait, do they classify ships according to the Mage power level who can fly them? Then regular means without any Magitech to enhance the Space Mage¡¯s influence. If I remember correctly, that¡¯s a minimum of 500 meters in length! That¡¯s four Stargazers in a row¡­ Mom holds out her hand to shake. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s seal the deal.¡± They shake and Peter leans back in his chair afterward. ¡°Good, now tell my Jasmine, why you finally decided to take a young woman from your family as an aide? You hadn¡¯t had one in the past twenty years.¡± For the first time, he looks at me. ¡°And such a beauty¡­ Whose daughter is she? Alejandro¡¯s?¡± Mom shudders. ¡°No, not Alejandro¡¯s! Are you crazy? As if he could sire someone this beautiful¡­ But yes, something changed, and I thought I¡¯d give it a try. So far it works out.¡± She ends her sentence with a wink in my direction. They continue with a bit of chit-chat, but I¡¯m left to my own devices. Twenty minutes later, Mom and I leave the building through Peter¡¯s jump room. I¡¯m still thinking about the sums of money that just changed hands, just to smooth things over¡­ Chapter 72: Meeting the Family Chapter 72: Meeting the Family Location: Magicon Empire; Axtendus Duchy; Close to the Silvani System; VS Sulfira We reappear inside another jump room, and Mom quickly leads me outside. What I find is heaven! A space station full of clothing stores. Mom grins broadly at my reaction and I¡¯m quick to close my mouth again. ¡°Are you ready?¡± She asks. ¡°Oh, absolutely!¡± I point at a store to our right. It¡¯s got fancy-looking bags in the shop window, and I can see some other things beyond as well. ¡°Let¡¯s start there.¡± ¡°Go ahead, I¡¯ve already stilled my thirst for shopping, and I guess I have to reduce my spending a bit after that encounter with Peter¡­¡± Looks like she isn¡¯t that much in the shopping mood right now¡­ ¡°Oh, okay¡­ let¡¯s just do a few stores then and we can return to do a real shopping trip later. By the way, who is Alejandro?¡± ¡°Yeah, let¡¯s do that, but don¡¯t let me hold you back right now, go crazy. It¡¯s not that we¡¯re financially challenged. As for Alejandro? He¡¯s a distant cousin of your father, but he¡¯s got a major position in VHI, so Peter knows him quite well.¡± ¡°Ah, thanks¡­¡± I suddenly remember something that bothered me earlier today. ¡°By the way, what did you mean earlier when you said the Silvanis don¡¯t have powerful Mages? If they are so rich, why don¡¯t they just buy all the power enhancers they can get?¡± Mom looks at me with a strange expression, then understanding dawns. ¡°Right, you never learned about the nuances of the upper power levels. To reach Archmage you either have to advance completely on your own, which takes a lot of dedication and time plus a little bit of what we call talent, or if you use enhancements you need a much larger amount of talent, to give your core the final push so that they can merge. From the way things look, young Timothy is quite talented, that¡¯s why they hope to be finally able to push for a Duchy once he reaches Archmage.¡± Wow, that¡¯s something completely unexpected, but it also explains why there aren¡¯t that many Archmages around. ¡°So let¡¯s say someone wasn¡¯t a Mage in the beginning, do they even have a shot at Archmage?¡± Mom shakes her head. ¡°No, unfortunately not¡­ That¡¯s one problem that my family tries to solve since the invention of Magitech.¡± That doesn¡¯t bode so well for my friends¡­ At least they can get access to magic with the awakening cores. I have to ask my parents for them once we arrive at home. We continue shopping for a bit longer, but I quickly notice that Mom¡¯s isn¡¯t mood doesn¡¯t really improve, so I decide to cut the trip short and we teleport back to the Sulfira, where we reappear on the bridge. A glance at one of the holograms shows me that the Stargazer is still connected to the ship. Good, now where are the others? ¡°Miranda, where¡¯s Maja and the others?¡± I ask the solution at hand, and she answers without delay. ¡°Jack and Alex retired to their room on the Stargazer. Maja is over there too and checks all systems. Thomas, Shay, and Lucy are¡­ What the hell? They are outside and looking at our weapons. The rest seem to check out the ship. Currently, they are in the medical room.¡± Yep, asking the AI is way quicker than looking for them on my own. I decide to join Simon, Lydia, Ronja, and Greg on their ship tour as I don¡¯t want to put on a spacewalker suit to get outside, and yeah, I can imagine what Alex and Jack are doing. So I say bye to Mom and ask Miranda for directions, which she quickly provides. ¡°We jump in about two hours if you want to join me on the bridge,¡± Mom calls after me when I leave. I acknowledge her with a thumbs-up and quickly find my way to the others. Lydia notices me first and waves. ¡°Hey Sara, you¡¯re back!¡± ¡°Yeah, we¡¯re leaving in about two hours by the way. Found something interesting?¡± ¡°Not really, sure, it¡¯s a fantastic ship and all, but it¡¯s still just a ship. It¡¯s also so similar to the Stargazer, just bigger and way more modern. Oh, and Shay, Thomas, and Lucy were excited about the weapons and decided to check them out.¡± ¡°I heard about that¡­ Mind if I join you for the rest of the tour?¡± ¡°Not at all,¡± this time it¡¯s Simon who replies. ¡°Though Ronja might still take a while in here.¡± He¡¯s right. Ronja is nose-deep in a box of weird medical devices I¡¯ve no clue what they are used for. ¡°No problem, I¡¯ve got the time. I can tell you about Mom¡¯s and my trip if you want. It was quite the experience¡­¡± ¡°Sure, why not.¡± ¡°Alright, let me tell you about the Silvani System, The biggest shopping paradise ever¡­¡± The others were quite excited after my description of the luxurious shopping town on the planet and especially Lydia voiced her willingness to go there with me one day. An invitation, I gladly accepted. Now though, I¡¯m back with Mom on the bridge. The others were all informed about my return and decided to join me there. Luckily, the bridge is big enough to fit twelve people quite comfortably. ¡°Are you ready,¡± Mom asks, ¡°this is going to be a long jump, so some of you might get a bit sick. We¡¯ll also be entering a wormhole shortly after, for our final approach to the Valterion System.¡± ¡°Uhh, do you maybe have some buckets then, uhh Lady Duchess?¡± Greg asks a bit awkwardly. ¡°I don¡¯t think you need one. And call me Jasmine, none of that Duchess stuff. You all did quite a lot of jumps to get here, so you probably get a bit dizzy if even. If worse comes to worst, I¡¯ll clean it up. Now get ready.¡± Simon claps Greg''s shoulder. ¡°You¡¯ve got this, mate.¡± Greg nods. Power gathers around Mom and starts to encompass both ships, when the space bubble is fully formed, there is a moment of stillness, then I feel a strong shifting sensation, and everything turns purple. When the windows clear again, we¡¯re somewhere different. A different wormhole is before us, and we head right for it. Greg and Lydia both wobble a bit on their feet, but that¡¯s the extent of their discomfort. Mom was right. She on the other hand doesn¡¯t even look winded¡­ If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. ¡°Sara, dear, would you or Simon be so kind and take over the Stargazer? We can¡¯t use the wormhole when both ships are connected like this, so they have to enter separately.¡± I look at Simon and he shrugs. ¡°I can do it,¡± we both say at the same time. There is an awkward silence afterward, then Simon shrugs. ¡°Fine, fine, you can do it. It¡¯s your family¡¯s home system after all.¡± ¡°Thanks, Simon. Does anyone besides Maja want to join me over there?¡± I point in the vague direction of the Stargazer. ¡°I¡¯ll come with you,¡± Lydia says, ¡°just give me a minute.¡± ¡°No problem, we can also walk if you want.¡± ¡°Yeah, I¡¯d like that. Let¡¯s go!¡± The three of us leave the bridge and start walking toward the airlocks to switch over to the Stargazer. ¡°Are you excited to meet the rest of your family?¡± Lydia asks. ¡°Oh, you have no idea. But at least I don¡¯t think that there are too many surprises left¡­ I mean with Mom being the granddaughter of the Emperor, I don¡¯t know what else could await me¡­¡± I continue walking and only notice after a few steps, that both Lydia and Maja stopped walking. I turn around and find them both staring at me with their mouths agape. ¡°She¡¯s what?¡± Maja finds her voice first and I stop as well. Oops, I forgot to tell them? ¡°Yes, that was my reaction as well, that¡¯s also the reason why everyone knows her.¡± ¡°Crazy,¡± Lydia mutters and we slowly continue walking. We reach the Stargazer without any further issues and continue walking till we reach the bridge. Maja disconnects us from the Sulfira and Lydia sets up a video connection to the other ship. Mom¡¯s grinning face greets me on our old-school video screen. It truly is a step back from the modern ship we were just on, but it¡¯s also home¡­ ¡°Hi Sara, ready to go?¡± I grin back. ¡°We are, as soon as Maja finishes disconnecting, we¡¯ll be right behind you.¡± ¡°Good, see you on the other side, and don¡¯t be too surprised over there. I guess your father is very excited to see you.¡± She cuts the call and I¡¯m left staring. That sounded ominous¡­ I wonder what Dad¡¯s planning. Anyway, Maja finished the maneuver, and the Sulfira heads straight for the wormhole. We are right behind. The other ship vanishes with a purple flash. It has entered the wormhole. I signal Maja to wait for a moment and turn to Lydia. ¡°Any last bits of advice? You probably know more about my dad than I do.¡± ¡°Not really¡­ You¡¯ve seen it with your mom. That she is the Emperor¡¯s granddaughter was complete news to me. What I can tell you about your dad is that he is a war hero of The Empire. If anything gets dicey around the borders, he gets sent out to help. But I don¡¯t think this will help you right now¡­¡± ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re right, thanks anyway. Maja, take us in. I¡¯m ready.¡± I cast the spell, and we vanish into the wormhole.
Location: Magicon Empire; Valterion Duchy; Valterion System; VS Stargazer We¡¯ve made it. When the windows clear, I immediately look for the Sulfira and find her a good bit in front of us and a bit to the right. I look back at Lydia. ¡°Okay, call them again and ask where to¡­¡± I trail off when I feel a space bubble forming around the Stargazer. This is not mine! What¡¯s happening? ¡°Never mind, Maja shields up! Something¡¯s happening.¡± ¡°On it,¡± she calls out and gets to work. In the meantime, I clamp down with my Space Sense as hard as I can and somehow, I resist. The normally invisible space bubble around the ship flickers and finally disappears. I¡¯ve made it. But who was it? ¡°Call Mom,¡± I shout to Lydia, but again, before any of us can react, the bubble comes back with a vengeance. This time, I¡¯m too slow and watch helplessly, as the ship including us enters hyperspace and gets carried somewhere. Shit! It happens all in an instant, and so I can¡¯t even come up with a plan of what to do now. We reappear somewhere and when the window clears, we are very close to a planet. ¡°Where are we?¡± I call out and Maja furrows her brows. ¡°That¡¯s strange. We¡¯re still in the same system¡­ Just closer to the planet.¡± Now it¡¯s my turn to wonder¡­ Wait, Mom said, I shouldn¡¯t be too surprised and that Dad is very excited. Was that him just now? Just as I¡¯m thinking this, Space magic surges again and a man appears before me, already moving in for a hug. I only notice his light red hair, before he almost crushes me in his hug. ¡°Can¡¯t breathe,¡± I manage to wheeze out and the pressure lessens. ¡°Sorry about that,¡± the man¡¯s voice answers. It¡¯s deep but still pleasant. He releases me from the hug and takes a step back. I look at him. He looks the same as in the picture Mom showed me and the similarity to Conor Valterion is almost frightening. Sure, his face looks a bit different, but that¡¯s an eleven-thousand-year timespan for you¡­ Still, the hair and eyes are the same. The same as mine as well. That can only mean one thing. The person before me is my dad. ¡°Hi Sara,¡± he says while grinning. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you to resist my teleportation. You¡¯re quite strong, huh?¡± That¡¯s the first thing he has to say to me? What the hell? No ¡®Hey Sara, I¡¯m glad, you¡¯re finally here,¡¯ nothing at all. I frown. He quickly realizes his mistake and blushes. ¡°Sorry, sorry. I¡¯m not good at this. You can¡¯t imagine how much I¡¯ve missed you.¡± A tear streaks down his cheek. Let me start again. I¡¯m Aidan Valterion and I have the honor of being your father. Nice to finally meet you again.¡± He holds out his hand to shake. I hesitate a moment and his eyes widen a bit. Ah, screw it. I ignore his hand and hug him again. ¡°Hey Dad!¡± He sniffs into my shoulder, and we hold each other for a long while. I notice Maja and Lydia standing awkwardly to the side and release Dad from my hug. He wipes away his tears. I point at the others. ¡°Those are some of my friends, Maja, and Lydia. The others are still with Mom.¡± Dad offers them his hand. ¡°Nice to meet you. And thanks for bringing my daughter here safely.¡± Lydia grabs his hand first. ¡°An honor to meet you, Sir. And it¡¯s more the other way around¡­ Sara did most of the work, I was just riding along.¡± ¡°Ahh, none of that. Call me Aidan.¡± He shakes Maja¡¯s hand as well, then turns back to me. ¡°I¡¯m still curious¡­ How did you resist my first attempt to teleport your ship? Have you already advanced from Senior to Master in those 20 years?¡± Didn¡¯t Mom tell him? And why doesn¡¯t he feel for himself? ¡°Uhh, I¡¯ve actually only advanced to Junior quite recently¡­ But something is messed up with my magic¡­ I stopped you with Space Sense. Didn¡¯t Mom tell you?¡± ¡°What the heck?¡± He starts frowning in concentration. ¡°Huh, you really feel only as a Junior¡­ We have to look into that and no, Jas didn¡¯t tell me.¡± He scratches his chin. ¡°I guess, I was a bit overeager with teleporting you here? She probably wanted to tell me in person or let you handle it¡­ ¡°Aaaanyway,¡± he puts an arm on my shoulder and stands next to me while looking out of the window and pointing at the planet below with his other hand. ¡°This is Nua, our home. It means new in Irish, the language of our ancestors from Earth. A shame that it was destroyed¡­ I¡¯d have loved visiting my origins.¡± His voice drifts off a bit melancholically. I have to suppress a chuckle. He¡¯ll find out soon enough. Maja keeps a straight face as always, but Lydia struggles a bit too. Luckily, Dad doesn¡¯t seem to notice. ¡°That¡¯s nice, Dad. I can¡¯t wait to see it all.¡± ¡°Good, I¡¯d love to show it to you. Now, do you want to wait here till your mother arrives, or should we go ahead and visit the planet? I wonder why she¡¯s not jumping anyway¡­¡± ¡°Let¡¯s stay up here for a little longer,¡± I reply. ¡°Say, Dad, is it allowed to randomly jump starships here in the system?¡± ¡°No, of course not. Random jumping around would lead to absolute chaos¡­ I have some privileges, of course. I mean who would want to stop me?¡± He chuckles. ¡°Ah, that explains it. You see, Mom got fined in the Silvani System¡­ I guess, she wants to hold back on rule-breaking for now.¡± That has Dad laughing. ¡°She got fined again? Hah, do you know how much it was this time?¡± ¡°Yeah, I was with her when she negotiated with Peter Silvani. It¡¯s three ships for free.¡± That shuts his laughter up quite quickly. ¡°Damn¡­ That¡¯s an expensive one¡­ I wonder if she learned it this time. But it won¡¯t matter here. Hang on, I¡¯ll give her a call.¡± Utility magic surges, and he waves into open air. Wait a minute, is he doing a magical video call? The communication itself happens silently, but from his grinning and silent chuckles, I guess he¡¯s having quite a bit of fun at Mom¡¯s expense. The call ends and he comes back to us. ¡°Okay, I convinced her to jump here, she¡¯ll be there in a few minutes.¡± ¡°Uh Dad, did you just do a magical video call?¡± ¡°Yeah, why?¡± ¡°Err, I didn¡¯t know this was possible?¡± He frowns. ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t you¡­? Ohhh, shit, I¡¯m sorry. You grew up in one of the idiot nations¡­¡± He glances at Lydia and Maja. ¡°No offense.¡± Lydia laughs. ¡°No worries, I¡¯m the only one of us who isn¡¯t from the Estriduros Republic.¡± Maja just shakes her head. ¡°Yeah, don¡¯t worry¡­ I¡¯m the last one to cry after the republic.¡± I just laugh, all those ridiculous things don¡¯t shock me anymore. ¡°You guys have a lot to teach me and the others, Dad!¡± ¡°So it seems,¡± he answers. ¡°So it seems¡­ Well, maybe it¡¯s best for you to just visit one of the colleges after all.¡± ¡°Yeah¡­¡± I answer absently, my focus is currently on the flash of magic appearing next to us, then his words register. ¡°Wait, what?¡± Chapter 73: Nua Chapter 73: Nua Location: Magicon Empire; Valterion Duchy; Valterion System; Above Nua Things happen fast after Mom¡¯s arrival. While my thoughts are still reeling about going to college in the future, Dad makes a few calls and finds a space station to park both the Stargazer and the Sulfira. Space close to the planet is busy and Dad¡¯s careless teleportation of the Stargazer caused quite the ruckus, even if no one blames him. So, in the next thirty minutes, Maja carefully directs the ship to her designated docking arm at a small space station. Both ships stay there, and the station''s personnel take care of them. Mostly it¡¯s just refueling and restocking of supplies. Well in the Stargazer¡¯s case, it¡¯s also getting rid of the oranges we still have in our storage rooms¡­ Anyway, my parents decided to give us the full experience of the planet for the first time and ordered a luxurious shuttle to fly down instead of just teleporting. It takes another thirty minutes until everyone packed a small bag with clothes and necessities, but then we are ready and wait for the shuttle to arrive. With the addition of Dad, we are now thirteen people. Quite the number, I have to say. Minutes later, the shuttle arrives, and what a shuttle that is¡­ Just wow! I thought the small yacht we have was luxurious, but this? Yeah, it¡¯s on another level. First of all, there is no bridge at all. This thing must be completely AI-operated. Then, the whole upper part of the shuttle is just glass! The view is going to be amazing. But that¡¯s not all. The furniture I can see through the glass exterior just screams expensive. All the grav chairs look like actual leather, and the whole floor is covered with a very nice-looking red carpet. In the back is even a bar with lots of bottles of liquor. Jack whistles. ¡®You guys know how to travel.¡± ¡°Only the best for our daughter,¡± Mom replies smiling. ¡°Come on, let¡¯s get inside. Miranda or Arnold will take us down on a scenic route.¡± ¡°Arnold?¡± Thomas asks. He is always attentive to small details. ¡°That would be me¡­ I¡¯m Aidan¡¯s AI,¡± the male voice is soft and sounds from out of the open shuttle door. ¡°Cool, nice to meet you!¡± ¡°Likewise, now come on in. The shuttle won¡¯t bite.¡± That breaks the tension, and we all step inside. Soft music greets us, and we all sit down in one of the grav chairs. Dad telekinetically floats our bags through a hatch on the floor down to a small cargo space. Then the shuttle lifts off and we leave the space station behind. The first things I see are both our ships. For the first time, I see the actual size difference. The Sulfira completely dwarfs my Stargazer. But it¡¯s still noticeable that they were built by the same company. Crazy, considering that there are 11,000 years between them. But why should they change the design if it works? I mean it¡¯s a starship, out here you don¡¯t have to worry about aerodynamics and stuff. I move my gaze away from the ships and look at the planet. Nua is about the size of Earth, maybe a little bit smaller, but that doesn¡¯t make it any less beautiful. Gigantic oceans are joined by vibrant continents. From lush forests over sandy deserts to urban city space, everything is here. Some parts are hidden below clouds, but I can still see enough to get a picture of the planet. After flying around half the planet, the shuttle finally begins to descend and breaks through the cloud cover. Below us appears a sprawling city. It¡¯s big. While the outskirts are mostly covered with normal houses, the closer I look toward the center, the more I¡¯m reminded of the many-leveled city of Duros. The whole city center consists of gigantic towers and lots of small flying specks I recognize as vehicles. Once we get closer, I notice another part of the city. It¡¯s a bit off the center towers, but still quite close to them. The difference is that the houses there are not tall at all, maybe two or three stories, but they are a lot bigger than the houses on the outskirts. Also, there is much more space between them. Space that is filled with lots of greenery and even a few small lakes. There are also a few landing pads spread throughout and from the looks of it, we are heading right for that part of the city. ¡°That¡¯s Alburgh, the capital,¡± Dad says, continuing his self-proclaimed function as our guide. He told us earlier about the names of the oceans and continents, but I only listened with half an ear, as I was busy taking in the views. Now that we are about to land, it¡¯s different though. ¡°Cool,¡± I reply. ¡°Which house are we heading to?¡± Right after asking, Arnold marks one of the houses on the windows, which also function as screens. I¡¯m surprised. The marked house isn¡¯t even close to being the biggest. It¡¯s close to the center of the let¡¯s call it luxurious part of the city though and features its own landing pad. ¡°That¡¯s it? I was expecting a whole tower or something or maybe the biggest house here.¡± I tell my parents with a short laugh. Mom snorts. ¡°Well, we could also go to one of our towers, but the mansion was always our favorite place. It¡¯s also where you grew up until you were kidnapped, so maybe you remember something.¡± She ends that last part with a silent sniff. That shuts me up. Right, my parents suffered from my kidnapping too. Dad catches the dropping mood and cuts in. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, you¡¯ll get to see the towers soon enough. But now, prepare for landing.¡± Maja uses that moment to joke right into my ear over S-57¡¯s AI chip. ¡°Maybe your college is in one of those towers.¡± I can only roll my eyes in response. Going to another magical academy after my time at Mage Academy Station just doesn¡¯t sit right with me at the moment. I know that it¡¯s probably very different and very helpful for me, but still¡­ Maybe I¡¯m going to change my mind later on¡­ This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. Anyway, the shuttle sets down without the slightest rumble, and I pretty much only notice because the surroundings stop moving and the hatch opens. Mom is the first on her feet and steps through the hatch. We quickly follow her, while Dad takes care of our luggage. When everyone is out, the shuttle silently lifts off and leaves. Mom looks at my friends. ¡°Alright guys, you¡¯re quite a number of people and I can¡¯t fit all of you into the mansion comfortably. So do you mind sleeping in the guest house? You can come here any time of course, but I think you also like it better if you can sleep in your own beds instead of on the ground.¡± She points at another slightly smaller house some 200 meters away. Thomas shakes his head. ¡°No problem at all, I guess you also have a lot to talk about with Sara, so we¡¯ll be out of your hair. I wanted to check out the city anyway and I guess the others want as well?¡± There are nods all around, including me and Mom smiles. ¡°Splendid, just walk over then, Aidan will send your stuff ahead and I¡¯ll notify Steven, that¡¯s the chief of staff, of your arrival. You can also ask him if you need anything. And like I said, you are always welcome in the main mansion.¡± ¡°Thanks, Jasmine,¡± Thomas comes over and hugs me. ¡°See you later, Sari.¡± ¡°See you, Tommy.¡± He turns to leave, and the others join him after saying their goodbyes as well. Even Maja joins them, saying I should give her a call if I need her. So now I¡¯m alone with my parents for the first time. I start walking toward the mansion and they walk with me to my left and right. ¡°Sooo, wanna show me around? Or are there any more surprises you have for me?¡± My parents look at each other and I notice Mom shaking her head slightly. Dad looks back at me, smiling broadly. ¡°Well. There is one more thing¡­ You¡¯ve got two older brothers, Sara.¡± WHAT?? I stare at them, mouth agape. Two brothers? That came out of nowhere, but it also makes sense, considering Mom¡¯s 300 years of age. Dad can¡¯t be much younger as well. Wait, how old are they then? I must have been silent for a moment too long, as my parents look at me in concern. I clear my throat. ¡°So two brothers, huh? Are they here? And are they my age as well?¡± Mom chuckles. ¡°I wish they were¡­ And no, they are both a lot older. Adrian is eighty-seven and Christopher two hundred and twelve.¡± Eighty-seven and two hundred and twelve! Hearing those numbers still sounds surreal. I mean, I grew up learning that the human lifespan is about a hundred and twenty years. That longevity treatment from Song Medical surely packs a punch. Dad chimes in. ¡°I¡¯ve just returned from helping Adrian. He was very excited to hear the news about your return and is doing his best to wrap things up on his end. I expect him to return home in about two weeks. I might have helped him a bit too much when Jas told me that she found you¡­¡± I look at him curiously. ¡°Helped him with what?¡± ¡°Oh right, Adrian is part of the military and currently fighting off an incursion at our borders. I got called in to help out when they were about to be overwhelmed but only to even the scales a bit, then Jas called me, and well. Let¡¯s say a victory for Adrian is a lot closer now. I think he¡¯ll forgive me for the missed learning experience.¡± Oh right, that¡¯s what Lydia meant with Dad being the man who gets sent out to help if things get dicey. ¡°Cool, I can¡¯t wait to meet him, what about Christopher?¡± ¡°Oh, he¡¯s in the capital, juggling noble stuff and all. He likes playing the heir as much as Adrian likes fighting wars. He sends his regards, but he said he can¡¯t leave right now, and you will see him when you visit the capital.¡± Mom grimaces when saying this and I frown a little. I hope this noble business doesn¡¯t affect me too much¡­ It sounds stressful if it keeps my brother from visiting his long-lost sister. Or maybe he¡¯s just an ass. I guess I¡¯ll find out when I meet him. I shrug. ¡°Okay¡­ looks like we¡¯ve got two weeks on our own. Let¡¯s head inside, I¡¯m pretty tired and could use something to eat.¡± ¡°You got it,¡± Mom chuckles, and don¡¯t worry too much about Chris, he¡¯s a nice guy, but sometimes the noble stuff gets into his head. Oh, and he tries to woo Aria Axtendus and thinks we don¡¯t know about it. That probably takes most of his time.¡± We enter the house and I stop. I expected something super fancy, but no It¡¯s pretty normal! Sure, the materials look top-notch, but all in all, it looks like a normal house you could walk into at any time. My parents grin at my reaction and continue. ¡°Come on, stop gawking it¡¯s not that fancy,¡± Dad says. ¡°Yeah, I know, but that¡¯s exactly it,¡± I complain, and they start laughing. We enter a grand living room, then Mom replies. ¡°What did you expect? A grand castle?¡± ¡°Yeah, more or less¡­ You¡¯re Duke and Duchess after all.¡± I finally join their laughter and jump onto the sofa. ¡°But I like it, it¡¯s nice.¡± ¡°Good, wait here, I¡¯ll get us something to eat.¡± Mom starts turning and I can¡¯t stop myself. ¡°What, no servants? Lousy Nobles you are.¡± The mood drops and my laugh dies in my throat. I look at them questioningly. ¡°What? Did I say something wrong?¡± Dad sighs heavily. ¡°No¡­ But one of those servants carried you out of this very house and gave you to your kidnappers in exchange for his parents. Since then, we don¡¯t have servants anymore¡­¡± Oh¡­ Well shit, way to kill the mood. Mom leaves and returns with some food shortly after. We eat in silence; the heavy mood is pressing down on us. Finally, I can¡¯t take it anymore. ¡°Hey, Mom, Dad, I¡¯m back now! I¡¯m not going anywhere anytime soon. It¡¯s not your fault!¡± That breaks it and we start talking again. I tell them mostly about my youth with Thomas and later with Shay and they tell me a bit more about themselves. Turns out, Dad is a massive Gravity Ball fan and there are even Mage leagues besides the regular ones. That sounds exciting and when I hear about college teams, I¡¯m a bit more inclined to visit one in the future. Mom on the other hand loves to learn more about magic and she basically tries to learn every new spell as soon as someone invents or discovers it. Well, she shares my love for shopping too if that wasn¡¯t obvious before with her personally knowing the leader of the biggest shopping paradise ever. All in all, it is a very nice evening ¨C the very first with my parents. I could get used to it. I reach the end of my tale about my youth in Acordia when I tell them about my Mage testing and the strange tingling around what I now know is my core. That has my parents sit up straighter. ¡°That tingling isn¡¯t normal,¡± Dad says. ¡°You said you have Space Sense, right?¡± ¡°Yeah, and I started as a Novice¡­ my teacher told me Space Sense is a Master¡¯s ability.¡± ¡°She¡¯s right,¡± Mom answers. ¡°Normally you get access to Space Sense once you break through to Master, which is a game-changer. That makes me wonder if you¡¯re not already a Master and your power is just being suppressed. We already concluded that something is wrong there, maybe it¡¯s this¡­ What do you think, Dan?¡± ¡°I agree, also with the tingling, that rubs me wrong. Maybe there is something like a limiter around her core and her strength surpassed it somehow. We have to let Doctor Philipps take a look at her tomorrow.¡± He looks at me. ¡°If that is okay with you, of course.¡± ¡°Oh, absolutely. If there is any chance of me being stronger, then I¡¯m all in! If I wasn¡¯t that tired, I¡¯d say let¡¯s go now, but I could really use a bit of sleep.¡± Mom chuckles. ¡°I got you. Follow me, I show you your room.¡± Chapter 74: Doctor Philipps Chapter 74: Doctor Philipps Location: Magicon Empire; Valterion Duchy; Valterion System; Nua; Alburgh; Valterion Mansion The night goes by quickly, and I¡¯m sleeping like a baby. The bed is nice, and I think Mom stayed by my side until I was asleep. Quite funny, considering I¡¯m already twenty-one years old and closing in on twenty-two. Or am I? I can finally ask for my real birthday! I stand up with a big yawn, and the house automatically opens up the blinds, letting the daylight in. It¡¯s very bright outside¡­ ¡°Uhh, what¡¯s the time?¡± I mutter in the open air and am very surprised when a voice answers. ¡°Good morning, Miss Valterion, it¡¯s ten thirty in the morning. Your parents are waiting for you with breakfast. I can notify them if you want to take a shower first.¡± Holy smokes, I didn¡¯t expect that. Does the house have an AI? ¡°Uhh, yeah, I¡¯d like a shower¡­ Also, how can I call you?¡± ¡°I¡¯m Clara, nice to meet you. Go on, just step through the door, the shower is waiting. Everything you need will come to you.¡± ¡°Okay, thanks, Clara. You can just call me Sara if you want.¡± I¡¯m still a bit tired, so I don¡¯t question her and step through the door I didn¡¯t even see the night before. Inside is just like she said a bathroom with a gigantic shower to the right. I drop my clothes in the waste basket and step under the shower head. The water begins to rain automatically, and the temperature is already perfect. I let out a sigh. I could stay here all day! Projections of hard light around me keep the water from splashing everywhere and before I can ask Clara, a bottle of shampoo is already floating before me, and the water cuts off. Magitech? Must be. I continue showering and tell Clara that I¡¯m finished a short while later. The water cuts off again, and warmth envelopes me. Suddenly, I¡¯m dry and a new set of clothes is ready for me. For the first time in I don¡¯t know how many years, I put on clothes without a shipsuit beneath! Just some dark leggings with a grey skirt that ends just above my knees and a dark purple tee with geometric forms on it. Perfect, Clara has taste! Not that I have that many things in my bag, but still. In the end, I put on my trusted sneakers and leave my room. A notification on my interface tells me that Clara would like to connect to it, and I accept. After that, small arrows in my vision lead me to the dining room where my parents are already waiting with steaming coffee and pancakes. ¡°Morning, sleepyhead,¡± Dad greets me with a grin. Mom whacks the back of his head and I snort a ¡°Morning¡± back. We sit down around the table and enjoy the food while talking lazily. Finally, Mom takes a deep breath. ¡°Are you ready to meet with Doc Philipps?¡± I nod. ¡°Yeah, I am. But I think, we should take Maja with us, she might have some insights¡­ I had a bad reaction when we implanted my Utility core.¡± ¡°Like what? And why would she have insights? She isn¡¯t a Mage from what I felt.¡± ¡°Because she is her AI, Dan.¡± Mom grins and Dad looks confused for a moment. He points at my ear. ¡°But what is this then?¡± ¡°That¡¯s S-57, my backup,¡± I reply. ¡°And about the reaction¡­ I was unconscious for a week afterward¡­¡± ¡°WHAT???¡± Both my parents ask. ¡°That¡¯s not normal at all,¡± Mom adds. ¡°Yeah, I figured, so that¡¯s why I want Maja with us.¡± ¡°Okay, that makes sense then¡­ Arnold, can you call her over?¡± He must have made so silently because we return to eating without a reply from Dad¡¯s AI. Maja arrives some fifteen minutes later, just when we finish with breakfast. Clara announces her presence and I hurry to the front door to greet her. ¡°Hey Sara, what¡¯s the matter? Arnold just told me to come over without any details¡­ Lazy dude that one.¡± ¡°Oh, we¡¯re going to visit a doctor and finally take a look at my core,¡± I tell her happily and she is all smiles. ¡°Great, maybe I finally find out what went wrong back then¡­ When do we leave?¡± My parents arrive at the doorstep as well and Dad calls out. ¡°Right about now. Do you want a shuttle or should we just teleport? Doctor Philipps has his practice in one of the towers.¡± ¡°I¡¯d like the shuttle, please.¡± A bit more time to calm my nerves won¡¯t hurt and I¡¯d like to enjoy the view. Dad nods and mumbles under his breath, probably talking to Arnold. Five minutes later, a shuttle sets down on the landing pad. This time it¡¯s a normal one and we step in. After we sit down, it takes off. ¡°Mom, Dad, there is one thing I wanted to ask you.¡± They look back at me with raised eyebrows. Well, that sounded more ominous than I intended. ¡°When is my birthday? The guys at the orphanage just used my arrival date and I hated it.¡± Mom is all smiles. ¡°Oh dear, that must have been hard. You were born on the seventh of August, twenty-two years ago.¡± Wait, I¡¯m already twenty-two? Holy smokes the orphanage guys made me half a year younger than I am! It¡¯s currently November, so I¡¯ve already been twenty-two for quite some time. ¡°I missed my twenty-second birthday¡­¡± Mom hugs me. ¡°Don¡¯t worry you¡¯ve still plenty of birthdays to celebrate. In case you haven¡¯t noticed, Song Medical can make your life much, much longer.¡± I snort. ¡°How could I miss this¡­ You guys are ancient!¡± Dad holds his hand to his heart. ¡°By our own daughter¡­ straight where it hurts.¡± He exclaims in mock outrage. Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. The shuttle is now much closer to the towers, and I notice that there are different levels filled with people and stores, just like in Duros. That concept seems to be universally applicable. Our shuttle heads for a platform at medium height and sets down. We leave the shuttle and follow the walkways toward a nearby tower. Luckily, there aren¡¯t many people around on this level, or our small group would have attracted way more attention. It¡¯s not normal that you have the Duke and Duchess just walking along in town after all. The few people who are there look at us with wide eyes and a few even take pictures. Mom and Dad just smile and wave. Then we enter the tower, and they lead me to an unremarkable door. The label says Doctor August Philipps. Dad just opens it and steps through. I guess Arnold has announced our arrival. A blonde nurse greets us and confirms my suspicions. Doctor Philipps is already waiting for me. She leads us to an office and behind a desk sits an older man wearing glasses and a serious expression. Dad shakes his hand. ¡°Hello, August, thanks for making that appointment at such short notice.¡± He has a bit of a whiney voice when he replies. ¡°No problem Mr. Valterion.¡± He looks at me. ¡°I take it this is the patient in question?¡± Dad nods. ¡°Yes, that¡¯s Sara, she recently arrived here, and we discovered some discrepancies with her magic, so we¡¯d like you to take a look at her please.¡± Huh, he didn¡¯t say that I¡¯m his daughter! I wonder why? ¡°Good, good, I¡¯ll prepare the examination table.¡± He looks at me, then points to a door to my right. ¡°You can change in there, then just continue through the next door. I¡¯ll be waiting for you.¡± I nod and start leaving. He¡¯s a bit strange¡­ a non-nonsense attitude and all, but I still kinda like him I have to say. Let¡¯s see if I can get him to talk a bit more¡­ I mean he¡¯s about to cut me open, I think. I quickly change into some disposable hospital clothes, which have something like a flip cover at my navel. I try it a few times and am pleasantly surprised. A small part can be opened up to expose the region of my belly where my cores are, without exposing anything else. I guess this is also used to implant cores into a person. Quite convenient. When I step through the door, I¡¯m surprised for a second time. It¡¯s not because of the room, it¡¯s just your normal surgery table in the middle with those robotic arms that help the doctor during the procedure. No, what surprises me is the Doctor. He is suddenly all smiles, and his voice is now soft and soothing. ¡°Alright, Sara, welcome.¡± He looks at my half-closed belly cover and smiles even more. ¡°I take it you¡¯ve already tried out your clothes?¡± I nod. ¡°Perfect, then we can start. Lie down on the table, please and I¡¯ll tell you everything I¡¯m going to do. You can say stop at any moment and if you need anything just tell me. Your parents and friend are waiting outside by the way.¡± I do as he said and lie down. ¡°Uhh, could you call in Maja, I think she could help if you have any questions.¡± ¡°I¡¯d rather not¡­ Those surgeries around magical cores are private affairs normally. But I can connect to her through this,¡± he taps his glasses, ¡°if she has an interface or a tablet with her.¡± That has me chuckling. ¡°She hasn¡¯t, but she¡¯s my AI, so connecting with her shouldn¡¯t be a problem. I asked because she was the one to implant my Utility core and there were some complications. Also, why do you wear glasses instead of an interface?¡± Doctor Philipps eyes widen slightly while I talk. ¡°Fascinating, an AI with her own body¡­ That¡¯s scarce nowadays. I guess I could call her in then, her insights might help if she already worked on your core. As for my glasses, well that¡¯s simple, I like them, and I also like the fact that it shuts me out from all electronics when I put them away. It grounds me.¡± A knock on the door has me looking up, and shortly after Maja enters. ¡°Hey there,¡± I wave, and she stands at the other side of the table, opposite the Doctor. The man in question claps his hands and looks back at me. ¡°Alright, now we can start. First of all, I would like to cast a spell on you to remove your sensation of pain in your abdominal region. Then I¡¯d like to cast another spell to paralyze that same area to keep you from twitching. You still can move your hands and all if you want. Is that okay with you?¡± ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s fine,¡± I agree, and he continues to do exactly that. I feel the magic being cast and then entering my belly, then I feel nothing at all anymore from that region. Maja grabs my hand and gives me a reassuring press. ¡°Wow, that¡¯s very strange. I feel like I¡¯m cut in half,¡± I chuckle and the Doctor smiles as well. ¡°Perfect, that means everything worked out. Tell me, do you feel this?¡± I see him touching my belly with a tool, but don¡¯t feel a thing. I shake my head. ¡°Good, then let¡¯s continue. Next, I¡¯ll use a laser cutter and cut your belly. The following spell will redirect the blood flow, so you won¡¯t bleed out and we still can see your cores without issues.¡± Maja winces. ¡°That would have made things so much easier!¡± Doctor Philipps chuckles and focuses on something only he can see in his glasses. Then one of the robotic arms starts moving and hovers over my belly. I see a quick flash of laser light but still don¡¯t feel a thing. The Doctor casts another spell, probably the blood-stopping one, and then he speaks again. ¡°Alright, now that we have access to your cores, I¡¯m going to examine them. You might feel this a bit, depending on how sensitive you are to magic. Just tell me if it¡¯s uncomfortable.¡± I give him a thumbs-up in acknowledgment. He moves closer and takes a look. Maja joins him and I look at both of them expectantly. ¡°Fascinating¡­¡± the Doctor mumbles. ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°Your core¡­ It emits power in the Junior range, but it looks much, much denser. There is something¡­ Let me check.¡± He steps back and grabs another device. It¡¯s just a square black box. He holds it closer to my belly and it suddenly starts beeping. Doctor Philipps gasps. ¡°Unbelievable!¡± He starts pacing back and forth, mumbling obscenities under his breath. Whatever this black box showed him, must have unsettled him deeply. I clear my throat. He looks back at me and clears his throat. ¡°Right, sorry¡­ It¡¯s just that this surprised me,¡± he indicates the box. I raise an eyebrow, feeling slightly annoyed. ¡°It¡¯s an Artifact detector. Capital A, do you know what that means?¡± Artifact? Holy shit, didn¡¯t Conor say those things are rare as hell? My eyes fly wide open. The Doctor chuckles slightly. ¡°I see you do¡­ If this particular Artifact wouldn¡¯t limit your power, it would have been an extraordinary find. So it¡¯s just cruel. I¡¯m going to try to remove it. It¡¯s deeply connected with your core, so this might feel uncomfortable. I can also knock you out if you prefer this?¡± I shake my head. ¡°No, I¡¯m seeing this through, go ahead.¡± I grit my teeth and the doctor nods. This time he takes the tools in his own hands instead of using the robotic arms. He gets to work. At first, I don¡¯t feel a thing, then there is this slight picking sensation. It gets more and more intense, and I start to grimace. Maja grabs my hand and reassures me. I look at her in thanks. ¡°You got this,¡± she mouths silently, not wanting to disturb the Doctor. Suddenly, the pain starts, and I do my best not to scream. Doctor Philipps looks up in concern, but I just nod at him to continue. My muscles lock up from the pain and I think if Maja¡¯s hand was flesh and blood, I would have broken it. Suddenly, the Doctor shouts in triumph and holds up a silver-metallic-looking piece of metal. It¡¯s completely inconspicuous. I see Maja and the Doctor talk excitedly through teary eyes. Then I feel a surge of power, unlike anything I¡¯ve felt before. It¡¯s like the floodgates opened and they just never stop. Suddenly the pain starts again, way more intense than before. I can¡¯t help myself and scream. Just before I black out, I see the wide eyes of the Doctor and I swear, I hear him say ¡°Impossible.¡± Then everything is dark. When I wake again, I¡¯m lying in a different bed, but the white walls still scream hospital or something. The pain is gone, but the all-powerful feeling of magic inside me remains. I blink and see blurry forms around my bed. A few blinks later, I identify Mom, Dad, and Maja who are in a heated discussion with Doctor Philipps. They haven¡¯t noticed yet that I¡¯m awake and I start to catch on their conversation. ¡°Impossible,¡± Mom states. ¡°Possible,¡± Doctor Philipps answers. ¡°She¡¯s kind of an Archmage now.¡± WHAT? Chapter 75: Arch? Mage Chapter 75: Arch? Mage Location: Magicon Empire; Valterion Duchy; Valterion System; Nua; Alburgh; Doctor Philipps¡¯ Clinic ¡°She¡¯s kind of an Archmage now,¡± Doctor Philipps states and my eyes fly wide open. WHAT?? They must have noticed my movement, as suddenly all eyes are on me. ¡°Uhh, hi,¡± I say. ¡°What happened and why did you just say Archmage?¡± Doctor Philipps clears his throat. ¡°Well, what I can tell you is that I successfully removed the Artifact from your core. Everything went well to this point and preliminary readings confirmed, that your Space core was well in the Master rank of power. Then your core suddenly went on a rampage and, I can¡¯t describe it any other way, it devoured your Utility core. Both your cores are now a single one. Per definition, this makes you an Archmage, even if you are still missing A&D magic. This is a precedent¡­ But Maja also told me that the devouring process had already started when she implanted the Utility core. My best guess is that the Artifact stopped the merging back then and that¡¯s what knocked you out for a week.¡± I still stare at him wide eyed. ¡°What does this mean for me now?¡± He shrugs. ¡°At this point, I can only make guesses. You probably have to do lots of testing soon with your parents,¡± he glances at them. ¡°And myself as well, if I¡¯m allowed?¡± Dad shrugs. ¡°We¡¯ll see¡­¡± The Doctor continues. ¡°Anyway, what I can say is that your Space core has fully returned to its Master power rank, meaning you have all the benefits that come with it, mainly Space Sense and unrestricted teleportation with or without a ship.¡± I lift my hand to stop him. ¡°Uh, I already had access to Space Sense¡­¡± ¡°Truly?¡± I nod. He takes off his glasses to clean them. ¡°Fascinating¡­ Truly fascinating. Your magic must have overcome the Artifact¡­ ¡° He continues to mumble, till almost all of us clear their throats. ¡°Right, sorry. Moving on, as your Utility core merged with your Space core, you now should be at Master rank in Utility magic too. You¡¯ll have to test that as well. Maybe you even have the additional power boost of the Archmage rank in both your magic classes. Again, I only make guesses here, this has never happened before.¡± I continue to stare at him. This is intense! I¡¯m an Archmage and also not? I try to sit up, but Mom is immediately at my side and holds me down. ¡°Easy there. You¡¯ll want to take it slow. The merging of cores takes a lot out of you. It¡¯s crazy that you¡¯re even awake now. It¡¯s only been five hours. Normally you sleep for half a day when you reach the Archmage rank.¡± I look at Mom and shrug. ¡°I feel fine, though¡­ can I at least sit up? I feel like Sleeping Beauty when I just lie there, and you all talk about me.¡± Mom sighs but takes away her arm. ¡°Fine but take it slow.¡± I nod and slowly sit up. I get a little dizzy, but my head clears shortly after. I grin at her. ¡°See? I¡¯m fine.¡± I turn to Doctor Philipps. ¡°Is there anything else you have to do or am I good to go as soon as my parents allow it?¡± The man flashes a short grin at Mom¡¯s scowl and nods. ¡°Yes, you¡¯re perfectly healthy and your core is stable. I¡¯ve done my job, and I don¡¯t see any reason for you to stay as soon as you feel fine. I suggest waiting till tomorrow before trying out your magic, just so that your core can settle a bit more. With that I¡¯ll also take my leave, I¡¯ve got another patient coming in soon. Let me know if you want me to join when you test your new capabilities.¡± I nod and after thanking him, I wave him goodbye. Now I¡¯m alone with Maja and my parents. I flash them a grin. ¡°Archmage, huh?¡± Dad starts laughing and we all quickly join in. ¡°Oh, you should have seen the Doctor¡¯s face when It happened,¡± Maja snorts which has us laughing even louder. It takes a while, but we finally calm down. ¡°Seriously though, what does this mean for me?¡± Dad sits down at the side of my bed. ¡°We¡¯ll have to talk about this in more detail later, but I suggest we keep the fact that you have merged cores hidden. While we are one of the ruling families, you also were already kidnapped once¡­ Who knows what some magical fanatics will do if they learn about your special core¡­ You also miss A&D magic, which can make you a bit vulnerable. Especially now that it¡¯ll take a long while till you can get access to it.¡± He''s probably right¡­ I mean I was kidnapped right under the nose of two Archmages. But the last part? ¡°Huh, what do you mean with this?¡± Dad looks me in the eyes. ¡°Doctor Philipps did a bit of testing while you were unconscious, and his tests concluded that you can¡¯t use another artificial core to unlock A&D magic.¡± I blanch, realizing what this means. I need a real Artifact core, just like Conor Valterion and his wife! Dad must have interpreted my reaction the wrong way, as he lifts his hands to calm me down. ¡°Relax, this doesn¡¯t mean you can¡¯t get access to A&D magic, just that it¡¯s a lot harder now. You¡¯ll need an Artifact core, and those things are very rare. But we¡¯ll find one for you. I promise.¡± Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. ¡°Thanks, Dad. Can we leave now? I really feel fine.¡± Mom sighs. ¡°Fine¡­ But remember, no magic until tomorrow. And I won¡¯t risk teleporting you, so we¡¯ll take another shuttle.¡± I grin and quickly agree. Then I stand up, my legs are a little weak, but I can stand on my own. Then we leave Doctor Philipps place and Dad orders a shuttle. The trip home is relatively quick, and soon after I find myself sitting on the couch with a scowling Mom daring me to stand up. I lean back in defeat and let them take care of me. A while later, Maja tells me that she¡¯s going back to the others so that I can relax a bit more. It¡¯s a good idea, I think. The procedure took a lot more out of me than I¡¯m willing to admit if I¡¯m being honest. I can meet the others tomorrow and tell them about my new power. Before Maja can leave though, Dad stops her, saying that we have to discuss something before she leaves. So a few minutes later, Maja sits next to me and we both look expectantly at my parents. Dad grins. ¡°First of all, Sara, I haven¡¯t told you yet how proud I am of you. Your new magical power is simply unheard of at your age and that you traveled through half the galaxy as only a Novice and later Junior is simply said remarkable. So yes, Sara, I¡¯m proud that you are my daughter.¡± Mom quickly voices her agreement and I beam my biggest smile back at them. ¡°Thanks! That you are my parents is also way better than I could have dreamt of.¡± Next, Dad puts on a serious face. ¡°But your new power also comes with a lot of problems. As I said, no one was that powerful at your age before. And then there is also your let¡¯s call it pseudo-Archmage nature. That could make you a target if the news gets out. Sure, we could keep you safe, but only if you stay close to us all the time until you get your Artifact core. But I can¡¯t imagine that¡¯s what you want.¡± I am quick to shake my head. Sure being with my parents is nice, but all the time? Nah, that¡¯s too much. ¡°Alternatively, we could deck you out with a squad of bodyguards, but if you are even a little bit similar to me, I can¡¯t imagine that you want this.¡± He chuckles when I shake my head again. ¡°Thought so. You¡¯ll probably want to avoid having guards as long as possible. If you get the honor of being Duchess in the future though, you¡¯ll have some. Jas and I do as well, even If she sends hers on vacation all the time,¡± he laughs a bit. That¡¯s what I¡¯m doing as well if it comes to this someday! ¡°That means, you now have a decision to make. Announcing you as an Archmage is off the table, but we could proceed with our original plan and announce you as our daughter who was educated abroad to get a wider worldview and is now back. That would mean that we also announce that you reached Master rank in both Space and Utility magic during your travels, making you one of the youngest Grandmasters ever. You would then interact with all the Nobles of your age, and you would join the Royal Magic Academy in the capital with all the benefits of being one of the highest Nobles there are, and make your name among the nobility.¡± He pauses for a moment. ¡°But this also means that none of your friends can join you as they lack the Noble heritage and the fifth Emperor declared that only the Nobles without their retainers can join the academy. It would also mean that you have to deal with all those annoying upstarts who¡¯d like to get their piece of the pie.¡± Ugh, it does sound pretty amazing¡­ I would be something like a princess, I guess but dealing with backstabbing young Nobles? I don¡¯t know. ¡°What¡¯s the alternative?¡± ¡°Well, it¡¯s similar, but also quite different. You would live kind of a double life at least for a while. We get you a new identity with a rich background or something, Jas is quite good at that.¡± He winks at Mom. ¡°And then you can visit one of the normal magical colleges to learn more about magic. I fear now that you are this powerful, there is no way around a thorough magical education. We simply don¡¯t have the time to teach you that much. This time we would only announce you as a Master Space Mage and Junior or Senior in Utility, making you strong, but not suspiciously so. Also, a few of your friends could join you and you don¡¯t have to deal with too many Nobles.¡± He grins again, I think he favors that option and I¡¯m inclined to agree. But he said double life¡­ There is another shoe to drop. ¡°That said, you would still be announced to the upper levels of nobility. I mean your great grandfather on your mother¡¯s side would kill me if I don¡¯t introduce you to him.¡± Great grandfather¡­ wait, that¡¯s the Emperor, right? He reads me like a book and laughs. ¡°I see Jas has already told you. What I mean is that you still get to know all of the Big Five and maybe a few Silvanis as well, but that should be it, at least in the beginning. So what do you think?¡± Uhh, that¡¯s a bit fast? This is a BIG decision. ¡°Give her a bit of time, Dan. That¡¯s a big decision,¡± Mom says, reading me like a book as well. I should really work on that¡­ ¡°Thanks, Mom. Yeah, I really need to think a bit, give me a few minutes please.¡± My parents nod and I lean back and close my eyes. Going the Noble route would make me unrestricted¡­ But I have to leave my friends behind. And I have to deal with all the young Nobles. It sounded like they were like a pit of vipers¡­ There¡¯s also the risk that my high power could cause suspicions even if I don¡¯t announce my nature as a pseudo-Archmage. The commoner route on the other hand sounds pretty nice. I¡¯d still be with my friends and I¡¯m surrounded by normal people¡­ But my Utility magic would be restricted or at least I can¡¯t use it at full strength. But I also don¡¯t know what the Master rank of Utility entails besides magical video calls across any distance. I guess I could do without it in school. I¡¯d also still get a bit of the Noble experience, that¡¯s also a plus, probably. I guess I¡¯ve made my decision¡­ Now only one question remains. I sit back up and look at my parents. ¡°I¡¯m done. But I still have a question which could change my decision.¡± Mom nods. ¡°Go ahead.¡± ¡°Is there a difference in the quality of things I can learn in the colleges? I mean would I miss out on stuff if I decide to go to a normal college?¡± Both my parents shake their heads. ¡°No,¡± Mom says. ¡°That¡¯s where money comes in. If you choose that route, we will get you into Ferdinand Benson College. That was the founder of Magicon Incorporated by the way.¡± I have to suppress a knowing grin and I think I succeeded this time. ¡°It¡¯s basically the sister school to RMA and is located pretty close to RMA. There are even the same teachers in a few of the subjects¡­¡± So there is a chance that I still have to interact with a few of those Nobles¡­ But that doesn¡¯t change my decision. ¡°Okay, then I think I¡¯ve made up my mind.¡± I take a deep breath. ¡°I¡¯ll go with the second option and join FBC.¡± Both of them grin. ¡°Great, that¡¯s settled then. You still have time. The next semester begins in three months,¡± Dad is all smiles and stands up to hug me which I quickly return. Mom also joins the hug and whispers. ¡°I¡¯ll have Miranda setting up an identity for you till then.¡± ¡°Uhh, could I still go with Sara Valtron or is this too close?¡± She shrugs. ¡°I¡¯ll have Miranda checking it and we¡¯ll see. Now it¡¯s time to go to bed for you though. You have a big day tomorrow. I finally want to hear your story!¡± Ugh, how old am I, ten? But she¡¯s right¡­ I am very tired. Chapter 76: Story Time Chapter 76: Story Time Location: Magicon Empire; Valterion Duchy; Valterion System; Nua; Alburgh; Valterion Mansion I sleep like a baby and when I wake up the next morning, I feel better than ever. My magic courses through my body and it feels just so strong. I shudder at the thought of how long I missed out on it. I can¡¯t wait to finally test it out. My fingers itch to just do it, but I promised Mom to wait until after the story. This still doesn¡¯t stop me from jumping into the shower while whistling happily. I enjoy a good soak and Clara takes care of everything else. Half an hour later, I¡¯m dressed and ready for the day. I join my parents for breakfast. This time it¡¯s only the three of us. Maja returned last night to the others after promising to only tell them that I¡¯m a master Space Mage for now. My parents had this point as non-negotiable. I hope they allow me to tell them after I told my story¡­ I¡¯ve spent so much time with my friends, I feel like they deserve to know. After eating, we step outside and sit down on comfortable chairs in the garden. Mom flicks her wrist, and some magical field protects us from the sun. The Redhead Savior spell. I snort at that thought. My parents look at me questioningly and I just shake my head. ¡°It¡¯s nothing¡­¡± ¡°Alright, let¡¯s start then. You already told us about your youth with Thomas and Shay. I know that you have something important to tell us, but I¡¯d still like to hear the rest of the story¡­ We missed too much of your life. Let us at least hear of it.¡± Mom looks a bit sad again in the end and even sniffs a little. ¡°Okay, so I stopped right at my Mage testing last time. Immediately after, I was treated quite differently than all the other Mages around me. Can you guess why?¡± Mom shakes her head and Dad jokes. ¡°You were the prettiest of them?¡± That makes me laugh. ¡°No, not at all. I learned it later on the ship when the Ranger Captain told me. There¡¯s a difference between Space Rangers and Star Force, but that¡¯s not important. I guess The Empire has its own military branches. Anyway, she told me that Space Mages such as I are special because they make travel between systems possible.¡± Mom interrupts me. ¡°Wait, you didn¡¯t know that?¡± ¡°Nope, I had no clue but that was an eye-opener as I saw the treatment of the other Mages firsthand. During the travel I met Simon, my fellow Space Mage and we arrived at the Mage Academy Station a few days later. This was my home for the next two years, where I also met Lucy, Greg, and Jack. We became good friends and were pretty much inseparable. There was another test where they determined our power level and assigned us a class of magic. Well, everyone besides the Space Mages. That¡¯s also when most of us got to know their future jobs¡­¡± ¡°Those bastards!¡± Dad exclaims. ¡°Where is the free choice?¡± ¡°Yeah, we reacted the same until they shocked us into submission with the Mage collars.¡± That has Dad fuming even more and I can imagine him taking the biggest ship he has and blowing the republic to pieces. ¡°Anyway, we couldn¡¯t do anything against it and most of my friends ended up as A&D Mages. Then the lessons started and after the excitement of learning about magic in the beginning, it was very boring and Lucy and I had the feeling, that they left out a lot of knowledge. Turns out we were right. We didn¡¯t even know that a Mage could get a second core¡­¡± ¡°Huh, how come that you had two when you arrived then?¡± Mom and Dad ask at the same time. ¡°That comes later,¡± I smirk, quite enjoying keeping up the tension. ¡°After I accepted the fact that I was only a Novice and got my AI, not Maja by the way, the class-specific lessons started. We only learned one spell though¡­ Wormhole Navigation and the Seniors got extra courses for Non-Wormhole Travel later on. Still, those classes were pretty much the best part as the actions of the instructor saved my life later on.¡± ¡°How come?¡± Mom asks surprised and I continue. ¡°Well, it started when she looked at me strangely, almost like she recognized me or something. When I asked her later on about the strange feelings I had, she told me that it probably was Space Sense, but she had no explanation for why I had it. I don¡¯t know exactly why, but she then taught me the Personal Teleportation spell in secret.¡± ¡°How did she know about Space Sense? And the Teleportation spell? You said information was very limited.¡± Mom asks. ¡°Ah right, I forgot to tell you¡­ She¡¯s from the Starseeker Kingdom and was somehow captured by the republic.¡± ¡°Huh, that¡¯s our neighbors,¡± Dad says, but I ignore him and continue. ¡°Anyway, two years later I gradua¡­¡± I trail off, Dad¡¯s words registering in my brain and I start to connect the dots. Neighbors to the Empire¡­ The republic on the other side of the galaxy¡­ Miss Baker captured by the republic¡­ She seemed to recognize me and taught me a second spell in the hopes that I could escape someday. Was it the Valterion hair or something else? Maybe guilt?! I now know that my parents weren¡¯t freighter people. The people from the freighter were my kidnappers¡­ Maybe? ¡°Something wrong?¡± Mom asks. ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­ I just had a weird thought. What if Miss Baker was one of my kidnappers? I know it¡¯s far-fetched, but it still could be, right?¡± My parents stare at me with wide eyes. ¡°Maybe,¡± Mom says. ¡°Marcus said there was a female Space Mage.¡± Dad seems to agree. ¡°Would be worth a shot.¡± He looks back at me. ¡°Can you describe her?¡± I nod. ¡°Sure, I think Maja even has the personnel files from the station.¡± ¡°Perfect, we¡¯ll get Marcus as soon as you finish your tale. Time to get to the bottom of this!¡± ¡°Who¡¯s Marcus?¡± Mom scowls. ¡°He¡¯s the one who brought you to the kidnappers.¡± Oh, that¡¯s going to be awkward for everyone¡­ The silence stretches till Dad asks me to continue. ¡°Okay so after graduation we all got split up and I joined a company called Solitur Transportation and worked as the Space Mage of a small freighter. The Captain was really nice and kept my magic unlocked so I could train more. That¡¯s also where I did my first teleportations. It felt sooo good. Unfortunately, this didn¡¯t last too long. After almost two years at the job, we were attacked by pirates. We tried to run, but one of the crew was a hidden pirate and killed the Captain right before my eyes.¡± I sniff, poor Amal. Mom leans over to hug me. ¡°The pirates offered me a choice. Join them or die. You can guess what I chose. The pirates butchered the freighter and added a few weapons. It was now the second ship in the small pirate gang with me as the Space Mage. The new Captain was an absolute idiot and got greedier with every successful raid. That brought us to a border system where he wanted to attack a military supply freighter¡­¡± If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Dad snorts. ¡°Oh, I can guess how that ended for him.¡± ¡°True enough,¡± I grin. ¡°He even ignored a military blockade around a double wormhole in the system, saying they are too far away.¡± Dad snorts even louder. ¡°Of course, one ship immediately jumped over and demanded our surrender. Funnily enough, I later learned that Thomas was on that ship, but that¡¯s not important. What¡¯s important is that the pirates opened fire at the military ship, and they were quick to retaliate. They went for complete overkill and even fired a missile.¡± ¡°Oh shit,¡± Mom swears. ¡°We were close to a wormhole at this time and the Captain asked if I could get us out. I said yes but said he should send the crew to escape pods just to be sure. Luckily, he did so, as I had no plans of saving the ship. You see, my dumb AI detected a ship that was seemingly without gravity generators, meaning I could jump there. That¡¯s also what I did once my magic was unlocked. I say dumb AI because the ship in question had gravity generators and was right in the middle of the military blockade¡­ It was their target.¡± Mom starts laughing. ¡°Oh, I didn¡¯t expect that. I¡¯d pay to see the pirate Captain¡¯s face though.¡± ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s a sight I¡¯ll never forget. Anyway, I still managed to jump into the ship with gravity, probably because of my true strength. The man inside was about to blow up his ship, as he was about to be captured. He was a programmer of the first sapient AI of the republic. When he learned about the plans for her, he destroyed all the research and fled till they caught him. My arrival changed things and he gave me the AI chip and stuffed me inside a small yacht in the hangar bay. As a Space Mage, I had the advantage of being able to use the nearby normal wormhole instead of the blocked enhanced one. Can you guess who the AI is?¡± ¡°Maja,¡± They shout in unison, and I nod. ¡°What were their plans though,¡± Dad asks. I grimace. ¡°They wanted her to take over a Mage¡¯s body and so get controllable drones¡­ But don¡¯t worry we made sure that all the research is gone later on.¡± A glass cracks and Mom looks really angry with blood dripping down her hand after she crushed her glass. ¡°Those bastards. I¡¯m going to kill them all!¡± Dad rushes over and tries to compose his wife. It takes a few minutes, but then they both settle down again. ¡°Okay, so I took Maja and the yacht and slipped through the blockade. Sean, who was the programmer, bought us time as he still blew up his ship. I just entered the wormhole when pieces of debris struck, and it collapsed.¡± I let that statement hang in the open air. Mom gasps. ¡°How¡­ How are you here then?¡± I grin. ¡°The Stargazer pulled me out of hyperspace.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Yeah, I didn¡¯t know that at this point, but Maja and I found out later. The ship was hidden at the edge of the system we appeared in, and the gravitational anchor was what pulled us out. Can you guess where?¡± I flash them a big smile. Dad shakes his head. ¡°Nope, not a clue. And I have a feeling that everything I say is wrong.¡± ¡°True enough, I laugh. I emerged from hyperspace in¡­¡± I make a dramatic pause, causing Dad to groan. ¡°The Solar System together with a not-so-destroyed Earth.¡± That has them sitting up straight. Both look at me in disbelief. ¡°No way!¡± Mom shouts. ¡°Yes way,¡± I counter. ¡°Impossible!¡± This comes from Dad, and I struggle to stay composed. I¡¯m probably the first person to see the Duke and Duchess so completely out of it. ¡°Do you have proof?¡± I shrug. ¡°Maja has it¡­¡± A second later, Maja appears next to us and looks around in bewilderment. ¡°What the¡­?¡± ¡°Sorry about that,¡± Dad says, ¡°but you have to confirm something for us.¡± I send her ¡®Earth¡¯ over my interface, and she nods. ¡°Sure.¡± We all get a ping, and she sends us a picture of the planet, and then one of each company headquarters we visited. ¡°Unbelievable¡­ Why weren¡¯t we told?¡± Mom struggles with the news. ¡°I¡¯ll come to that in a moment. Can I continue? Now follows the interesting part. Maja, you better stay for that. I¡¯ll give Jack a call and explain.¡± Maja nods and Dad starts to stutter before he catches himself. ¡°T¡­The interesting part? What was that until now?¡± ¡°Uhh, the appetizer?¡± Maja snorts and I use the moment to cast the Communication spell and connect to Jack. Well, after I got a nod from Mom of course. I¡¯m allowed to use my magic again, yay. Anyway, Jack is quick to understand and promises to tell the others. I tell him that I visit them as soon as possible. I still have to tell them about college after all. ¡°Okay so we first landed on the Moon and found out where we actually were and believe me, it was quite a shock for me as well. Then we caught a signal from the planet and rushed down in case there were still people. There weren¡¯t of course. It¡¯s been 11,000 years since the evacuation, but the signal led us to a facility in a city once called Brisbane. Deep underground there was a door panel that emitted the signal. ¡°Maja couldn¡¯t connect to it unless I physically touched the panel. It spat out a few at this time confusing words like DNA print recognized and Ferdinand Benson, but after Mom told me who her family is, things became clear.¡± ¡°Magicon!¡± Mom cries out and I give her a thumbs-up. ¡°Absolutely right. It was their planetary headquarters or what was left of it. In there, we fought off a few security robots, found Maja¡¯s body, and also my Utility core we later implanted after we saw a video recording about what it was.There we also learned of the Worldender Ship for the first time.¡± Dad sucks in a sharp breath. ¡°That ship¡­¡± ¡°Wait, did it make other appearances over the years?¡± He nods slowly. ¡°Yes, there are sixteen confirmed sightings including the first one in the Solar System. Each time it was destroyed when it killed the system, but somehow a new one still appeared. The last one was used 200 years ago in the Reluni Republic, one of our allies. Your grandfather, probably the strongest Space Mage since Conor Valterion himself, tried to stop it¡­ That was the day I became Duke.¡± He sniffs and I stand up to hug him. ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡­¡± Poor grandpa, but something¡¯s wrong there¡­ It takes a whole year to charge. How did he die? ¡°Uhh Dad, I know it¡¯s hard, but what happened there? Grandpa should have had enough time to escape.¡± He shakes his head sadly. ¡°No, unfortunately not¡­ I still don¡¯t know how they even got a ship like this. They were a terrorist group¡­ They hid the ship inside a small asteroid and slowly flew the asteroid into the system from far out. It stayed in the asteroid belt where not many sensors were and slowly powered up. When everyone noticed it was too late. Your grandfather and lots of other Space Mages including me and your Mom tried to save as many people as possible, but it was too late. Your grandfather waited until the last possible moment, then sent everyone away. He stayed back and tried to stop the ship until the last moment. Unfortunately, he didn¡¯t make it, and half the population of the star system died with him.¡± Fuck, that¡¯s hard. So many people¡­ But at least I now have a solution. The silence weighs heavy, and Clara delivers us some food. Smart AI, I have to say. We eat in silence, then I¡¯m ready to continue. ¡°So with Maja now walking on her own, we decided to visit the other planetary headquarters as we found out their locations in some intact Magicon computers. There¡¯s not much to mention until we found the half-submerged Valterion Island near Chicago.¡± That gets their attention again, and they both listen more closely now. ¡°Inside a message from Conor Valterion waited for us. Maja, can you play it?¡± ¡°Sure, one second.¡± My parents watch it open-mouthed. Conor Valterion. My dad¡¯s and my ancestor. ¡°We have to check that vault as soon as possible,¡± Dad states and I can only agree. I want to see the message that should have started the Earth adventure as well. ¡°He said 20,000 years though¡­¡± ¡°Yeah, I guess their predictions with the radiation were a bit off or I wouldn¡¯t be here right now¡­ Anyway, we went deeper into the facility and Maja tried to hack the final panel at the vault. The message was for Conor¡¯s descendants after all not for me, a random girl out of the Estriduros Republic. Let¡¯s just say the hack failed and a turret opened fire. I caught a bullet before I could bring up my shield and my blood splattered the panel¡­ That¡¯s how I found out that I am a Valterion.¡± I chuckle slightly while Mom grimaces. ¡°Oh, my baby¡­¡± she whimpers. I look at Maja and she gets the clue. The next recording from Conor starts playing. This one has them even more shaken. ¡°A design flaw!¡± Dad exclaims. ¡°Is it true?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± I continue. ¡°We found the proof aboard the Stargazer. It was the stealth ship, Conor left behind. There is a short moment when you can move the Worldender Ship away!¡± Maja sends them all the scanner data and Dad has tears flowing down his face when he reads it. ¡°Finally! We finally have a way to stop it.¡± He looks at Mom. ¡°I trust Conor at this¡­ Do you agree to keep it secret, even from your grandfather?¡± Mom nods slowly. ¡°Yeah, we can keep this a secret for now. But if it works, we have to tell him.¡± They discuss a while longer, then they look back at me. ¡°Anything else?¡± Mom asks with a smirk. ¡°Nothing much¡­ Just my trip back to the Estriduros Republic, how I got my friends out, and how we traveled here. Oh and how they falsely recognized me as a Valterion Envoy, which led to me being imprisoned in the end.¡± ¡°Go ahead, we have time,¡± Mom chuckles. I grin back at them. ¡°Okay, here goes¡­¡± Chapter 77: Loose Ends Chapter 77: Loose Ends Location: Magicon Empire; Valterion Duchy; Valterion System; Nua; Alburgh; Valterion Mansion When I finish my story of traveling here, my parents look at me in a mixture of awe and concern. Now when I look back at it, I have to say, there were a few close calls and I acted very risky sometimes. ¡°I can¡¯t believe that you grabbed the receptionist of one of your hotels as your magical guide,¡± Dad chuckles. ¡°That¡¯s nothing against Lydia, she¡¯s a fine young woman, but still. For me, the thought is just ridiculous.¡± ¡°As long as you don¡¯t say that to her face, I¡¯m fine with that. But that also shows just how bad my magical education was.¡± ¡°True enough, we also should remind our allies that not every random red-haired person is a Valterion Envoy.¡± That makes us all laugh, and we continue to talk about my story for a long time. It took way longer than I expected, and it¡¯s already getting dark again. Maja returns to the guesthouse to join the others and I promise to come over tomorrow morning. Then my parents take me out to eat in a fancy Italian restaurant. The chef tells us a story about the origins of pizza, and I decide to follow his advice and try out the original Pizza Napoletana. Just dough, tomatoes, and mozzarella cheese. Best decision ever! It¡¯s the best pizza I¡¯ve ever eaten. After that, we return home and before I go to sleep, Dad pulls me aside. ¡°I¡¯m sorry Sara, but duty calls¡­ I have to leave tomorrow and work as the Duke again. I try to visit as often as possible though. Oh and feel free to call or jump by anytime. You have the magical power now,¡± he smirks, ¡°I¡¯ll have Arnold send all the coordinates and clearance codes to Maja.¡± He hugs me and he whispers in my ear. ¡°I love you, Sara. I¡¯m so glad that you are back.¡± The next morning comes quickly and when I join Mom for breakfast, I notice that Dad is already gone. ¡°Morning, sweetie!¡± Mom calls out with a big grin. ¡°Morning¡±, I call back and sit down at the table. ¡°So, what are you going to do today?¡± She shrugs. ¡°A bit of this and that, I¡¯m not that important when it comes to ruling the Duchy. Especially in those relatively peaceful times, Dan is more than enough.¡± ¡°Peaceful? Didn¡¯t you tell me that my brother is fighting a war?¡± ¡°Yeah, but that¡¯s nothing. Just some minor squabbles. You¡¯ve seen the recordings from Earth before me. That was a war.¡± I shrug. ¡°Okay, if you say so¡­¡± We continue eating, then I remember something. ¡°Oh, by the way, would Doctor Philipps be able to fix Greg''s arm and give my other friends an awakening core if they want?¡± Mom immediately nods with a big grin on her face. ¡°Of course, he can. Miranda and I were wondering how long it takes you to ask. You just won me a shopping trip at her expense.¡± Uhh, okay¡­ I guess Miranda has her own account at the bank. It¡¯s probably just fun between the two of them, but now I wonder what Miranda would have won. ¡°Soo, let¡¯s say Miranda had won, what would she have gotten?¡± ¡°I wasn¡¯t quite sure yet. I can¡¯t decide between new guns for the Sulfira or my own body just like Maja¡­ Though the body has so many downsides that basically no one does it today, but seeing Maja walk around¡­ I kinda want to experience this too.¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t you just try it out? If you can afford a shopping trip for Mom, why not a body?¡± I wink at Mom, and she grimaces. ¡°As for the downsides, I¡¯m sure, you¡¯ll figure out a way.¡± ¡°Thanks, Sara! I think I¡¯ll just do it.¡± Mom grins and leans back. Her plate and utensils automatically float back to the kitchen. ¡°Alright then. You have fun with your friends, and I take care of getting Marcus. He should be out of prison by now. I¡¯ll make a few appointments with Doctor Philipps along the way. Oh, and I¡¯ve talked with your father¡­ You can tell your friends about your new power if you want. Just tell me if you do so, and I¡¯ll cast a Binding spell on them¡­ We can¡¯t be careful enough with this information. See you in the afternoon.¡± She vanishes before I can say anything else, leaving me alone in the house. Binding spell? Just like what she did with the prison director? I guess I have to ask her later¡­ When I finish eating, Clara takes care of my stuff as well and I stand up to leave the house. ¡°Thanks, Clara!¡± ¡°You¡¯re welcome, have a nice day.¡± The walk to the guesthouse is a short one so I stroll over and knock at the door. A short moment later, a small, middle-aged man opens up. He wears a broad smile upon seeing me and waves me in. ¡°You must be Miss Sara, come in, come in. The others told me a lot about you. I¡¯m Steven, the head of Staff, and well, besides the cook the only staff currently.¡± He chuckles and I immediately like him. The inside looks quite similar to my parent¡¯s house. The only difference is that there are a lot more rooms for people to sleep in. Steven leads me to the dining room, where my friends are currently eating breakfast. ¡°I¡¯ll leave you guys alone, call me if you need anything,¡± Steven tells me while already turning around. I say goodbye to him and fully step into the room. ¡°Hi there,¡± I wave and sit down with them at the table. ¡°Sara! Welcome back,¡± Lydia is the first to answer, probably because she¡¯s already finished with eating. Jack almost chokes on his pancake when he wants to say hi as well and I chuckle silently. ¡°So how have you guys been,¡± I ask around innocently. I¡¯m not sure if Maja told them about my power-up, but I¡¯ll see soon. ¡°Really? That¡¯s the first thing you do? Ask us about our boring lives?¡± Lucy asks with a bit of false annoyance, and I grin. There is my answer. ¡°So Maja couldn¡¯t keep quiet?¡± I glare at her a bit and she just shrugs. ¡°I only told them that you visited a magic Doctor, nothing else.¡± ¡°Fine, fine, I¡¯ll start, but I still want to hear what you¡¯ve been up to. So, my parents noticed that something was wrong with my magic and took me to visit Doctor Philipps¡­¡± I continue to tell them about my visit to the Doctor¡¯s while everyone else finishes their breakfast as well. Simon is the first out of his chair. ¡°I knew you were more powerful than me! So what level are you at now? Master? Must be with your Space Sense.¡± I chuckle. ¡°Yeah, Master is spot on, but that¡¯s not all. I¡¯m now going to tell you something that must stay secret at all costs for now. But I still trust you guys, so I won¡¯t leave you in the dark. Mom wants to cast a spell on you though, that enforces that secrecy¡­ Are you sure that you still want to hear it?¡± I let that statement hang in the air for a moment until everyone nods. Lucy even calls out. ¡°Hell yeah, I want to know! And you can trust us,¡± she shrugs. ¡°If the spell does nothing else, who cares?¡± I smile back at them, happy that I can finally tell them. ¡°Good, so when my Space core returned to its original power, it ate up my Utility core¡­¡± Lydia gasps, she¡¯s the fastest one to catch the significance of what I just said. ¡°But¡­ That¡­ That would make you an Archmage!?¡± ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m some kind of Archmage now, but I still can¡¯t use A&D magic, so yeah, it¡¯s strange and never happened before. I don¡¯t even know yet if I¡¯m stronger than a normal Mage at Master level due to my Archmage boost, but we¡¯ll see.¡± This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it This causes another discussion, but in the end, everyone congratulates me. ¡°Now it¡¯s your turn, though. What have you guys been up to?¡± Thomas starts. ¡°Well, we visited the city, just like we said. It¡¯s amazing, let me tell you. Alone the culinary experience? Unbelievable!¡± I give him a thumbs-up. ¡°Oh, I agree, I was eating at an Italian restaurant yesterday, it was Amazing!¡± ¡°True enough, but that¡¯s not all. Movie theaters offer a fully immersive experience, I can¡¯t even describe it¡­ You just have to see it with your own eyes. Oh, and the magical league of Gravity Ball¡­ This is something else. The only bad thing was that you weren¡¯t with us¡­¡± ¡°Ah, don¡¯t worry, we have enough time to catch up. Was there anything else?¡± Shay looks a bit uncomfortable until Thomas grabs her hand and gives a little squeeze of reassurance. She takes a deep breath. ¡°Yeah¡­, Maja told us about your parents¡¯ plan to send you to magical college, and this got us thinking¡­¡± Oh, that sounds a bit ominous. ¡°We,¡± she indicates Thomas and herself, ¡°don¡¯t have any plans of going to such an academy¡­ That¡¯s why we looked around in the city and somehow ended up in the Peacekeepers¡¯ recruitment office. That¡¯s the military.¡± She takes another breath while I just stare. They want back to the military! Wow, I didn¡¯t expect that. But still, it kinda makes sense¡­ They don¡¯t know much besides military life. I slowly nod. ¡°So yeah, Thomas and I dropped in our names and will join them shortly. When we told the others, Simon decided to join as well, so it will be the three of us. I¡¯m sorry we didn¡¯t tell you earlier, but I hope you understand.¡± I continue nodding. ¡°Yeah, I do¡­ It just comes so suddenly. But I do want you to be happy, so if it¡¯s the Peacekeepers, I won¡¯t hold you back.¡± Shay sighs in relief, and then I continue. ¡°But I do want an invitation to your marriage,¡± I nod toward their clasped hands, and they quickly release in shock. Thomas sputters something incomprehensible and everyone else just laughs. I turn to Simon. ¡°Keep a good eye on them.¡± He nods. ¡°I will.¡± Now it¡¯s Jack''s turn to look uncomfortable. ¡°Well, if we¡¯re already at it, I¡¯ll just say it as well¡­ College is¡­ I don¡¯t think it is for us either. He indicates Alex, Greg, and himself.¡± Greg interrupts him. ¡°Yeah, you can guess why,¡± He smiles softly. ¡°And you can also guess why the military isn¡¯t for us either. So we¡¯re not completely sure yet, but we probably want to transform MARA Deliveries into a real company and enter the transportation sector.¡± That¡¯s¡­ cool? I mean heck yeah, MARA Deliveries for the win, but that¡¯s another three of my friends leaving¡­ I don¡¯t want to visit college all alone. I force a smile, it comes a bit harder now, but I don¡¯t think anyone notices. I still want everyone to be happy after all. ¡°Great! I completely understand that Greg, I also have a little surprise for you later,¡± I wink at him, then turn to the last three of my friends. Lydia, Lucy, and Ronja. ¡°What about you guys.¡± Lydia is all smiles. ¡°Get me a core and I¡¯m with you!¡± She practically jumps out of her seat when I nod. ¡°Hell yeah, I can¡¯t wait.¡± Lucy is a bit quieter but beams at me as well. ¡°Remember our promise. I¡¯m still with you! Now I have even more to catch up to,¡± she laughs. That leaves Ronja. She looks a bit uncomfortable. ¡°Well, you know about my dream too¡­ And you told us about Doctor Philipps¡­ Do you think he might want an apprentice?¡± I shrug. ¡°Huh, I have no clue¡­ But we can ask him later¡­ You all have an appointment with him today.¡± That causes another discussion and I lift my hands till everyone quiets down. ¡°Chill, I promised to make all of you Mages, right? Well, Doctor Philipps is the man to make it possible.¡± I look at Greg, ¡°And he¡¯ll fix your arm.¡± Location: Magicon Empire; Valterion Duchy; Valterion System; Nua; Alburgh; Dr. Philipps¡¯ Practice Mom meets us at the entrance to Doctor Philipps practice. Her sudden appearance startles Simon a bit, but he quickly recovers. The others don¡¯t seem to care. She quickly explains the Binding spell and casts it on everyone. Now they can¡¯t talk about my true power level without my or Mom¡¯s permission if there are other people who don¡¯t know about it already. The door to the practice is unlocked again, and we step inside. The same blonde nurse greets us, but this time she leads us to a conference room. I guess twelve people is a bit much for the Doctor¡¯s office. He''s already waiting inside, and I notice that he is back to his all-business personality. It¡¯s really strange after seeing the other side of him during the procedure. He looks everyone up and down and nods. ¡°Except for the AI, I can work with all of you. Those who already are Mages, please follow Grace. I¡¯ll be with you shortly.¡± He indicates the nurse and Thomas, Simon, Lucy, Jack, and Greg start to follow her. Shay looks undecided but starts to follow anyway until the Doctor stops her. ¡°Not you¡­ That doesn¡¯t count as a Mage¡­ Who is responsible for this mess?¡± I feel myself blushing and lift my hand. ¡°In my defense, I didn¡¯t know better.¡± ¡°Ugh¡­ fine. I¡¯ll fix it.¡± He turns to the other remaining people in the room. Now, I take it you all want an awakening core?¡± They all nod and he continues. ¡°Good, you have free choice between Utility and A&D, but I strongly recommend Utility as your first class. A&D will be all but useless if you don¡¯t join the Peacekeepers.¡± Alex lifts her hand to ask a question. The Doctor must have intimidated her a bit. He nods at her in acknowledgment. ¡°What about Space?¡± He looks at Mom with a raised eyebrow. She just shrugs and makes a go-ahead gesture. ¡°A Space awakening core is way more expensive but looks like your sponsor doesn¡¯t care. Yes, Space magic is also possible, but I¡¯d still recommend Utility as it offers way more options.¡± ¡°Why not just both, or hell all three classes?¡± I ask, genuinely curious. While I can¡¯t get A&D magic at the moment, why shouldn¡¯t my friends? ¡°Ahh, that¡¯s why I sent the others away. In my opinion, it¡¯s not wise to introduce a second core before reaching Master rank in the primary one. Sure, it is done quite regularly, but it slows down a Mage¡¯s progressing speed a lot and comes with its own complications. I also still wonder how you managed to use Utility Magic with just a Novice Space core¡­ Probably because of your core¡¯s nature.¡± Ohh, so that¡¯s why it was so hard to use those Utility spells in the beginning¡­ maybe my method with building the spell before powering the core wasn¡¯t the right way after all and I just lacked the power. ¡°Thanks for clarifying that, Doc.¡± He nods and turns back to the others. ¡°Alright, now how do you decide?¡± Alex is the only one who doesn¡¯t take Utility. She chooses Space, just like she asked, saying if they want to start a delivery company, they need a Space Mage. One after the other, Doctor Philipps asks them to join them in the surgery room and they return shortly after. Lydia is the first and returns with a massive grin. ¡°This is so cool! I can feel the magic inside me. I can¡¯t wait to learn my first spell!¡± ¡°Congratulations, Lydia!¡± I hug her and she returns it tightly. ¡°But the Doctor though, it was crazy, he did a complete 180. Suddenly he was caring and all smiles.¡± ¡°Oh yeah, I noticed that too¡­¡± Shay is the last to return, taking quite a bit longer than the others. But she still smiles. ¡°It worked!¡± She cries out while practically flying into my embrace. ¡°He took out the other core and gave me a working one.¡± ¡°Nice Shay!¡± Doctor Philipps doesn¡¯t return though. I turn to Mom who continues sitting at the table silently. She taps something in the air from time to time and mumbles to Miranda. I guess she¡¯s working. ¡°Mom, what happens now and where¡¯s the Doc?¡± She looks up. ¡°Ah, you¡¯re finished. Good. Doc Philipps is currently with your other friends and takes care of them. As no one of them is a Master yet, I guess he¡¯ll give them power enhancers if they want them.¡± ¡°Will he come back?¡± Ronja asks and Mom nods. ¡°Yes, you can catch him when we leave.¡± Ronja sighs in relief. I guess she hasn¡¯t asked him yet. ¡°Now to you all. Congratulations on your first step down the magical path! For you, it¡¯s going to be a bit different though. As you don¡¯t have a natural core and Artifact cores don¡¯t grow on trees, your cores can¡¯t advance on their own. This means if you want to grow stronger, you have to buy power enhancers.¡± Her expression turns serious. ¡°As much as Sara probably wants to coddle you, I won¡¯t be supplying you with those enhancements. You have to work on your own. The past showed us that Mages who don¡¯t have to work for their power either fail when someone counts on them, or they just become lazy. And I don¡¯t want that for my daughter¡¯s friends. I was already generous, and you all are at the upper end of Junior, so you won¡¯t need much to reach Senior.¡± I grimace. She¡¯s completely right. As much as I want to push them all to Master rank as fast as possible, I know it would be wrong. Hell, I¡¯m the prime example. I suddenly jumped from Junior to something like Archmage and I have no clue what I¡¯m doing. Having them pay for their advancement will slow them down, but also makes them concentrate more on what they currently have. ¡°I hate to say it, but I agree with Mom.¡± Alex nods. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, this is already more than I expected. I just have to work hard enough, then I can afford it on my own.¡± Shay agrees as well. ¡°Yeah, don¡¯t worry, we¡¯ve got this. Just let us get comfortable with what we have now.¡± I look at Lydia, she looks a bit sad. Right, we¡¯re going to visit college¡­ How can she earn enough money there? I shoot Mom a questioning look. I told her about our future plans earlier. She smiles. ¡°Don¡¯t worry Lydia, just work hard enough and when your teachers say you are ready to advance, I guess I can¡¯t stop Sara from buying you the one or other power enhancer.¡± While we wait for the others to return, we all sit down, and Mom starts teaching them a bit of Telekinesis. We both agree that this is the most awesome spell. Two hours later, everyone has returned, and they all feel a little bit more powerful. Lucy almost explodes from excitement. ¡°I¡¯m so close to Master! Then I can finally get a second core and unlock Utility.¡± We all congratulate her, and the others and Greg shows off his new arm. For him, Doctor Philipps even made an exception to his rule and gave him a Utility core. He¡¯s now both Junior rank in A&D and Utility magic and I¡¯ve never seen him happier. Then we¡¯re finally about to leave. It took a while and I¡¯m quite hungry I ask the others if they want to join me in a restaurant and they all agree. Ronja stays back. ¡°Send me the location, I¡¯m going to ask Doctor Philipps some questions before I leave.¡± I give her a thumbs-up and we leave the practice. Mom takes me aside before we go to the restaurant. ¡°I¡¯m going to get Markus, meet me at the Mansion in two or three hours, have fun.¡± ¡°Okay Mom, thank you, and see you later!¡± She vanishes. Looks like talking to Marcus is the last loose end I have to fix today. Chapter 78: Marcus Chapter 78: Marcus Location: Magicon Empire; Valterion Duchy; Valterion System; Nua; Alburgh After leaving Doctor Philipps¡¯ practice, we go for a stroll through the city. We¡¯re currently in the mid-levels of the central towers, so pretty much everything is within walking distance. As we want something to eat, I look at Maja and raise an eyebrow. She scoffs jokingly. ¡°What am I, your personal assistant? You could look on your own, you know? It¡¯s quite easy with your holographic interface.¡± I just look at her with pleading eyes and Jack bursts out laughing. Maja joins in. ¡°Fine, how about some burgers three levels up in the middle of a park with a nice view?¡± ¡°Sounds good,¡± I agree, ¡°lead the way and make a reservation for us please. We¡¯re eleven people after all.¡± ¡°Done, follow me. There¡¯s an elevator nearby and we have a better view if we move up early and walk over to the restaurant from there.¡± With that, Maja takes over the role of travel guide and we all follow her. The only thing missing is the sign those guides all hold up normally. Meanwhile, I have S-57 send the address to Ronja so that she can join us after talking to the Doctor. Turns out Maja was absolutely right. The elevator is a strange one and moves diagonally. It brings us up three levels, but also to the very edge of the towers. Meaning that we now walk along a skywalk and have a wonderful view over the whole city to our right, while left of us the towers go up, and up, and up, till they pierce the sky. ¡°Wow,¡± Lydia breathes out, completely in love with the sight. ¡°Quite the view, right?¡± A man who walks toward us winks at her before moving on. Lydia completely ignores his comment and just keeps on watching. I even have to put my arm through hers to keep her from walking in a nearby waste bin. She stiffens a bit but then relaxes and smiles when she glances at me. Anyway, we continue walking for half an hour till the skywalk opens up and makes way for a vast expense of green grass and lots of trees and bushes. We¡¯ve reached the park, Maja mentioned earlier. So where is our restaurant? ¡°Over there,¡± Alex cries out and points toward a small lake right at the edge of the towers. Next to it, some benches and tables offer a view just as nice as the skywalk earlier. The restaurant in question is just a small stall with an open counter and a small queue of people before it. I¡¯m immediately reminded of the concept of food trucks, which I read about in some history books. ¡°Wow,¡± I voice my own excitement and start walking faster. ¡°Let¡¯s secure some seats and wait for Ronja! The last one there gets to pay.¡± That makes everyone laugh, as we still only have the single account of MARA Deliveries at the Banking Union. Another thing we have to change shortly, especially if we split up soon. This kills my mood a little until Lydia sits down next to me and puts an arm around my shoulder. Her other arm points out over the city, where the sun slowly begins to set. I smile. Another 30 minutes later, Maja nudges me with her foot and points back the way we walked earlier. I turn and see Ronja with a big smile and a jump in her step. Looks like she got her job. She quickly joins us and starts talking about how she managed to convince the Doctor and that she is now his apprentice. Meanwhile, the boys stand up and walk over to the stall to get us our food. Thomas grumbles a bit when they return with plates of burgers that everything is vegetarian at the stall, but his grumbling stops after the first bite. We all groan in delight. It¡¯s just so delicious! ¡°Guys, I¡¯m too full to walk!¡± I complain after we finish eating and there are voices of agreement around the table. Suddenly a set of coordinates locks in in my magic. It feels smoother than ever, and I already feel the Personal Teleportation spell at the tip of my fingers. I look at Maja and she grins. ¡°This brings us right to the guesthouse.¡± Oh, yes! Maja¡¯s a lifesaver. Still, I hesitate. ¡°Are we allowed to just teleport from here?¡± Maja shrugs. ¡°Well, it is frowned upon, but I didn¡¯t find anything that prohibits teleporting away as long as you don¡¯t take anything with you like this table or the grass below.¡± Okay, that is possible. I just have to keep the spell a bit tighter. My core hums in agreement, and I start enveloping my friends with the spell. It¡¯s a very complex form as I have to leave out the table, benches, and everything else. Still, I manage it quite easily. When I¡¯m ready, I shrug. ¡°Okay, here goes.¡± I trigger the spell and we vanish. I sigh in relief when I see with Space Sense that everything is as it should be at the park. Then we reach our destination and appear right before the guesthouse. I even manage to have everyone standing when we appear, so no one falls on their asses. Everything happened in a split second, and it still feels faster than ever even though I know it wasn¡¯t. Still, I¡¯m quite a bit winded and stagger a bit until Lydia catches me. Those mass teleports with planetary gravity sure pack a punch, especially when you have to be so careful with what you teleport. I wouldn¡¯t have managed it like this before the Doc took out the Artifact. I nod at her in thanks, then we all say goodbye and I manage to walk back to the mansion despite my full belly. I send a short message to Maja so that she sends me Miss Baker''s personnel file and a second later I have to notification on my interface. Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. Mom greets me at the door with a big smile. ¡°Looks like you are already enjoying your new power, huh?¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± I ask innocently and she smiles even wider. ¡°You¡¯re not the only powerful Space Mage here, I felt your arrival at the guesthouse all the way over here. So how did it go? Any issues?¡± Oh, she¡¯s just curious¡­ And I was expecting to be scolded haha. ¡°Not at all. It went smoother than ever, and I grabbed everyone while sitting at a table because we were so full and couldn¡¯t move. I didn¡¯t disturb a single blade of grass.¡± Mom breaks down laughing and a tear streaks down her face. ¡°Are you serious? You made one of the most complex weaves of the Personal Teleportation spell just so that you didn¡¯t have to get up? That reminds me that you have to learn the real Teleportation spell. I wish Aidan hadn¡¯t already left for work. He would be so proud.¡± She waves me inside, laughing and I can¡¯t help myself and join in. We walk through the house toward one of the offices in the back and manage to compose ourselves before we reach it. Mom stops me at the entrance. ¡°Okay, Marcus is waiting inside. I warn you right now, but he¡¯s a bit of a mess¡­ He was a very promising young Mage, and we had high hopes for him. Your kidnapping did a number on him though, and for his role in it, we had to kick him out, and he served fifteen years in prison. Without our support, he fell into a hole of despair and hasn¡¯t crawled out of it yet.¡± Mom shrugs. ¡°I¡¯m not sure how to feel about him¡­ I know I should hate him as he made your kidnapping possible, but on the other hand, he knew about the magical connection I had with you and relied on that. Additionally, the kidnappers held his parents hostage¡­¡± She clears her throat. ¡°What I¡¯m trying to say is that he is a mess and well, make your own judgment, but try to keep a bit of an open mind, okay?¡± Magical connection? That¡¯s pretty much the only thing that registers. ¡°Connection?¡± ¡°Oh yes, I cast a spell on you when you were a baby, so that I always knew where you were, even if I was in another system. That¡¯s probably the reason why your kidnappers blocked your power¡­ To keep me from tracking you.¡± Wow, so this spell brought me into this mess? No, it¡¯s the kidnappers¡¯ fault! I nod at Mom and she opens the door. Let¡¯s meet this Marcus person now. If I¡¯m honest, I¡¯m about as conflicted as Mom¡­ I mean yeah, he was the one who made my kidnapping possible but what would have happened if I stayed here the whole time? I¡¯d never have met Thomas and the others, and I wouldn¡¯t be a weird Archmage¡­ Not forgetting about Earth and the Worldender Ship as well. I shrug. I guess I¡¯ll see how everything plays out. I follow Mom into the room. What awaits me is something completely unexpected: Sitting in a chair to the right of a room is a man. His dark hair is unkempt, he¡¯s a bit more than skin and bones, and his brown eyes look a bit dull. His face is filled with a messy beard. That¡¯s where I first notice the unexpected. The man is Old! I mean literally old. The beard is half grey and now that I look at his hair again, there are lots of grey streaks as well. Even his face is covered with a few wrinkles. I frown. Didn¡¯t Mom say young Mage? Before I can say anything, his eyes suddenly get an intense gleam and he jumps up, just to throw himself at my feet. He looks up and tears well up in his eyes. His look is pleading, and he starts to speak. His voice is way softer than I expected. ¡°Miss Sara, I¡¯m so, so sorry!¡± He cries. ¡°I will never ask you to forgive me, but please tell me that you¡¯re okay?¡± A bit of hope enters his voice at the end, and before I can help myself, I squat down before him and put an arm on his shoulder. ¡°I¡¯m good, Marcus. I found my way back.¡± He breaks down and starts sobbing uncontrollably. I glance at Mom who just shrugs. It¡¯s so weird seeing a grown man cry like that. We decide to wait and after five minutes, he manages to sit up and Mom has a chair floating over for him. We both sit down opposite him. He clears his throat. ¡°I can¡¯t excuse my actions, but it still makes me glad that you are back. It was never my intention to have you kidnapped¡­¡± He manages to speak normally now. ¡°Lady Valterion said you need me to identify someone. Please let me be of service, one final time.¡± I nod, but before I show him the picture of Miss Baker, I do have a burning question. ¡°Uhh, I do have another question first¡­¡± ¡°Please ask away,¡± he suddenly sounds like one of those ancient butlers in the movies. With a short glance at Mom, who wears a raised eyebrow, I just ask. ¡°Why are you so old?¡± Mom stifles a snort and Marcus looks confused for a moment. He moves a hand through his messy hair. ¡°Uhh, well, I¡¯m 47 so I look normal? Well maybe like a homeless, but still¡­¡± Ohh, I completely forgot! With all those young people around me and Mom and Dad almost looking my age, but now it¡¯s clear. He didn¡¯t have any longevity treatments! I blush furiously and Mom starts laughing. ¡°Sorry Marcus, I didn¡¯t think about that¡­¡± He waves me off. ¡°No worries. You don¡¯t have to apologize to me.¡± At least he found a bit of confidence now. ¡°Okay, so I¡¯m going to show you a picture and the only thing you have to do is tell us if you recognize her.¡± He nods eagerly. ¡°I can do that.¡± I connect to the room¡¯s holo projector and Miss Baker''s file appears in the air between us. Marus jumps up with wide eyes. ¡°It¡¯s her!¡± He exclaims. ¡°That¡¯s the Space Mage who took young Miss Sara away. She teleported them out and then they were gone! Where is she? Why do you have a picture of her?¡± I lift my hands. ¡°Whoa, chill. It¡¯s a long story, but we know where she is¡­ But it¡¯s far away.¡± He sits back down. ¡°Dammit, I¡¯d have loved to have a word with her¡­¡± ¡°You might still have the chance,¡± Mom chimes in, ¡°we have to ask her a few questions, so we¡¯ll probably go and get her.¡± Now it¡¯s my turn to stare at Mom. She wants to go to the Estriduros Republic? Marcus perks up at the same time and rubs his hands. ¡°Oh, I¡¯d like that very much.¡± Mom nods. ¡°Good. Now though, it¡¯s time for you to leave again. Miranda will keep you posted in case there are new developments.¡± Marcus stands up and nods. ¡°I understand.¡± He looks back at me. ¡°Miss Sara, I¡¯m very glad that you are back. Thank you for meeting with me. I wish you all the best and I hope that I can talk to you again someday.¡± I lift my hand to wave. ¡°Bye Marcus¡­¡± Space Magic envelops him, then he is gone. I glance at Mom. ¡°What was that spell?¡± ¡°Oh, I just told you about it. That¡¯s the real Teleportation spell, it¡¯s just called Teleportation¡­¡± she smirks. ¡°Your Personal Teleportation is a less capable variant of it. Are you okay though? Meeting him must have been hard¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m good¡­ It wasn¡¯t really hard¡­ I mean I don¡¯t even know him. Sure, he did something bad, but I don¡¯t remember anything of it.¡± I just shrug. ¡°What¡¯s going to happen now? You said you want to go and get Miss Baker?¡± Mom gestures me to sit down again and sits down on her own chair. ¡°Well, as much as I¡¯d like to go and have a word with her¡­ Marcus formulated this quite well,¡± she chuckles. ¡°I can¡¯t do that. While I don¡¯t have that much to do as the Duchess, I can¡¯t vanish for a month-long trip.¡± My eyes widen slightly. Month-long? It took us almost four, and that was only one way. ¡°But¡­ Adrian will return shortly, and I told him to bring his flagship. He can go there instead. You can join him if you want¡­ College doesn¡¯t begin for a while yet.¡± She winks at me. ¡°You could get to know your brother a bit better along the way.¡± Really? I¡¯ve just arrived here and now I already have to think of my return to the Estriduros Republic? Well, teleporting right next to the academy station with a ship of the line and a full complement of Mages does sound intriguing¡­ Chapter 79: Hello Brother Chapter 79: Hello Brother Location: Magicon Empire; Valterion Duchy; Valterion System; Nua; Alburgh; Valterion Mansion At night I can¡¯t stop thinking about what Mom said earlier¡­ My possible return to the Estriduros Republic to grab Miss Baker. Together with my brother Adrian. More and more, I¡¯m convinced that I do want to go¡­ There are some answers I can get from her. Most importantly, why she did kidnap me and then why she helped me later at the academy. All that thinking results in me not getting much sleep, so I¡¯m feeling pretty miserable the next morning. I drag myself to the shower and not even Clara¡¯s eagerness manages to cheer me up. I somehow make it to the dining room, and Mom only takes one look at me before she starts laughing. ¡°Oh dear, looks like you did an all-nighter.¡± I just scowl at her and sit down. ¡°Here, you¡¯re welcome, but don¡¯t get addicted.¡± Suddenly magic surrounds me, and I feel completely refreshed. ¡°Huh?¡± It¡¯s like I just drank the strongest coffee ever. ¡°That¡¯s Refreshment for you,¡± Mom continues laughing while food starts floating in. ¡°Thanks, Mom, you¡¯re the best!¡± I jump up again and hug her. Next, we eat breakfast and after eating, Mom informs me that Maja was there earlier and wanted to talk to me. I wonder why she didn¡¯t call me over S-57¡¯s chip¡­ I thank her and walk over to the guest house. Like before, Steven greets me and lets me in. I ask him where Maja is, and he shows me her room. So now I¡¯m standing before her door and knocking. It opens a second later and Maja smiles at me. ¡°Hi Sara, come in.¡± I hug her in greeting and then sit down on her bed. ¡°Hey Maja, you wanted to talk to me?¡± ¡°Yeah¡­¡± She draws out the word and sits down on a chair opposite me. ¡°It¡¯s about the others leaving.¡± Oh, okay¡­ Does this affect her more than I thought? ¡°Uh-huh, what about them?¡± Now she looks a bit uncomfortable. ¡°Well, I thought a lot about it those past days, and I think it¡¯s best for me if I join the military as well.¡± ¡°WHAT?¡± I can¡¯t stop my exclamation and look at her in disbelief. ¡°Yeah, I guessed you¡¯d react this way, but please hear me out before you make your judgment.¡± ¡°No, no, no, wait. It¡¯s not that I¡¯m against your idea, you¡¯re free to do whatever you want¡­ It¡¯s just that this is completely unexpected.¡± I shrug. ¡°I just never imagined being without you.¡± ¡°Oh,¡± Maja is silent for a second. ¡°Okay¡­ It¡¯s just that you will be visiting this fancy magical college with Lucy and Lydia, and I just don¡¯t see myself there¡­ I mean what can I do at a place like this? I¡¯m not able to do magic on my own.¡± ¡°Huh, you¡¯re right! That would be boring as hell,¡± I reply with wide eyes. I didn¡¯t think about that at all. ¡°Exactly, that¡¯s why I talked with Thomas, Shay, and Simon. Hell, I even talked with your mother and that was eye-opening.¡± I raise an eyebrow in question. Mom didn¡¯t mention this. ¡°While our friends join as Mage cadets, your mom offered me another option, which I found very intriguing.¡± She stops. Don¡¯t let me hang here, Maja¡­ ¡°Go on.¡± She chuckles. ¡°I¡¯m going to join the command track. Your mom arranged that I¡¯m going there as a normal person and hide my AI nature. I¡¯ll learn all about commanding starships in a fleet and engagements.¡± ¡°Why would you need that knowledge? I mean you¡¯re already pretty good with the Stargazer.¡± With a short snort, she continues. ¡°I see, you¡¯re not planning so far ahead. What do you think you are going to do once you graduate? I give you a hint. Think of your brother.¡± Oh¡­ OOOHHH! My eyes go wide. ¡°Bingo,¡± Maja laughs. ¡°We¡¯re all pretty sure that you will spend a bit of time in the military as well. You¡¯re too much of an asset. With my training, I will be able to function as the ship¡¯s AI, while also taking over the duties as Captain or at least your second in command, leaving you more time to focus on the magical things.¡± I jump up and hug her again. ¡°That¡¯s huge! You have to do this.¡± Maja returns the hug, but when we release each other, she looks a bit uncomfortable. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°I¡­ uhm, I¡¯m already doing it. I handed in my application yesterday and they were so fast that I already have my acceptance letter. I have to leave the day after tomorrow If I want to arrive in time. The school is in the Armortec Duchy.¡± Oh. That¡¯s quick. I nod slowly. ¡°Wow, I didn¡¯t expect that¡­ But I won¡¯t hold you back. You have to message me as often as possible, though!¡± Now it¡¯s Maja who initiates the hug. ¡°Oh, I absolutely will. And thank you, Sara!¡± After that, we leave Maja¡¯s room and join the others. We spend the rest of the day talking about random things and Maja tells the others about her plans and her departure. Thomas chimes in and says that he and the other two will leave there as well. Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. In the end, it¡¯s Ronja¡¯s idea that saves the mood which went a bit downhill after all those declarations of leaving. We¡¯re having a big Goodbye Dinner tomorrow!
The dinner was a full success, Mom and Steven joined us as well, and even Dad managed to teleport here for thirty minutes or something. I didn¡¯t think I could be fuller after those burgers, but boy was I wrong. The dinner was on another level! We ate, cheered, and danced. All in all, we had a very good time. It was one of the best nights in my entire life! Now though, comes the sad part. Maja, Thomas, Shay, and Simon are leaving. Their shuttle is already waiting, and we all say our tearful goodbyes and promise each other to stay in contact. Then they board the shuttle, and it leaves. I wave for a long time and even cry a bit until Lydia puts an arm around me. ¡°Hey, relax, they¡¯re not leaving for forever and you¡¯re a strong Space Mage. You can grab your ship whenever you want and jump there.¡± She¡¯s right! That reminds me that I still have to learn the Starship Jump spell. Especially for my possible trip with Adrian. Oh shoot, without Maja, I¡¯m screwed! There is no way that S-57 can work with the distances I¡¯m now able to jump. I shelf that for later though. I don¡¯t want to upset Lydia. I smile at her. ¡°Thanks, Lydia.¡± ¡°You¡¯re welcome. Now we should probably return to the house and continue with our magic training¡­ I don¡¯t want to be a complete noob when we enroll at college.¡± I grimace. ¡°About that¡­¡± I wave over the others to break the news. ¡°My brother Adrian arrives in a few days, then I¡¯ll join him on a short trip back to the Estriduros Republic. We have to get a person who was involved in my kidnapping. I¡¯ll be back in about a month though.¡± From the weird expressions on my friends¡¯ faces, they don¡¯t like that idea very much. ¡°Are you crazy?¡± Jack asks, and the others pretty much blurt out the same. I lift my hands in defense. ¡°Hear me out. I just have to know¡­ I was kidnapped for a reason¡­ I mean why else would they try to block my magic, and this woman at the academy is our first clue.¡± Lucy sighs. ¡°Fine¡­ But be careful. I¡¯ll kill you if you get yourself collared again.¡± That makes me laugh and cheers everyone up again. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I don¡¯t think Mom would let me go unprotected. I guess Adrian is quite powerful, and Mom said he¡¯ll bring his flagship right from the frontlines.¡± That calms them down a bit. I sigh in relief.
Five days full of training later, it¡¯s finally time. Today, Adrian should arrive. At least that¡¯s what Mom told me before she had to leave for something urgent that came up. When she left, I finally got to see her squad of bodyguards who returned from their vacation. It was funny to see them scold Mom for sending them all away at the same time. Mom even looked a bit embarrassed. That made me laugh even harder until one of the scowls was directed in my direction. That shut me up pretty quickly. Those guards do pack a magical punch! I¡¯m currently sitting in my room and packing my last things. Suddenly, the room''s speakers activate, and Clara startles me. ¡°Why are you so broody?¡± ¡°That obvious? Shoot!¡± ¡°Yeah, so what is it?¡± ¡°It¡¯s just that Adrian will be here shortly, but I¡¯m going to be so useless along the trip. I only have S-57 to calculate jumps and as much as I like him, he¡¯s still only for Novice Space Mages¡­¡± ¡°Oh, right¡­ Maja already left.¡± She¡¯s silent for a moment. ¡°Hmm, I guess you could take me¡­¡± ¡°What? You¡¯re a jump AI? But¡­ But why are you only here in the mansion?¡± Clara sighs. ¡°It¡¯s a long story¡­ I¡¯m the backup copy of your grandfather¡¯s AI. I received updates till it ended, and the Worldender Ship exploded. That almost made me snap and I didn¡¯t want to get close to a starship ever again.¡± ¡°Oh¡­ I¡¯m so sorry, Clara. But if you go with me, it¡¯ll get you inside a starship.¡± ¡°Yeah, I know¡­ But you¡¯ve been through so much as well, and I don¡¯t want to let you hang. I¡­ I¡¯ll try my best. It¡¯s time for me to get back into the saddle.¡± She says the last part with so much conviction that it doesn¡¯t leave room for anything else. ¡°Okay, how do we do this? And thanks, Clara. I really appreciate this.¡± ¡°I lead you to my chip. Just exchange me with S-57. I¡¯ll leave a few learning routines behind. Who knows, maybe he has a talent for managing a house?¡± That makes me laugh and my broody mood is washed away. I follow Clara¡¯s directions and she leads me to a small cabinet where her chip is located. It¡¯s beautiful. The form curves around my ear as well, and the whole exterior is covered with dark green gemstones that match my hair perfectly. I quickly exchange the chips and then hear Clara¡¯s voice in my head. ¡°Perfect, that worked out. Holy hell, your magic runs smoothly. Are you ready? Adrian¡¯s ship just arrived in the system. I¡¯d say we surprise him before I get cold feet.¡± A set of coordinates locks in and I feel like I just have to concentrate a tiny bit to jump away. Clara somehow even managed to form most of the Teleportation spell. And I mean Teleportation, not Personal Teleportation I¡¯ve used before. I can¡¯t even do that spell on my own yet. I¡¯ve just started learning it. And still, Clara did it. That¡¯s crazy! ¡°Woah, hold on, Clara. I have to say goodbye first and how did you manage that spell? I don¡¯t even know how to do it on my own!¡± Oh, right,¡± she sounds a bit embarrassed. ¡°Old habits, I guess. As for the Teleportation spell¡­ You have to learn it as soon as possible. It¡¯s so much better than the other one. I¡¯ll help you along the way, don¡¯t worry.¡± Another set of coordinates locks in and this time I feel the destination nearby. The guesthouse. Again, the Teleportation spell almost forms on its own and I decide to trust Clara. I form the last bits as I¡¯ve seen in the spell guide and Clara tells me it¡¯s correct. Then I trigger the spell and appear inside the guesthouse, where I startle everyone in the living room. Even If it¡¯s instant teleportation, it still feels faster. And it takes less power! Clara is right. This spell is so much better. ¡°Hey guys, I just wanted to say goodbye. Adrian is here and I have to leave.¡± They compose themselves and we do a group hug. ¡°Take care, Sara,¡± Lydia says. ¡°Always,¡± I reply before triggering the spell again. Clara sure is efficient. I get a small glimpse of Adrian¡¯s starship with Space Sense before I appear right in the middle of the bridge. One word: Gigantic! My appearance startles the whole bridge crew and a lot of them start casting spells. The red-haired young man next to me, in what I guess is the Captain¡¯s chair, jumps to his feet in surprise and chokes on his coffee. Before the spells are finished casting, a male voice sounds through the overhead speaker. ¡°Everyone, stand down!¡± Everyone complies and the man next to me manages to stop coughing. I grin at him. ¡°Hello, brother.¡± ¡°What the fuck!¡± He exclaims in response. And I laugh despite his swearing. ¡°What are you doing here? Mom told me to pick you up at the mansion.¡± Before I can reply, Clara takes over the bridge¡¯s speakers. ¡°Well, let¡¯s say I got a bit overeager.¡± ¡°What the hell? Clara? You¡­ But you don¡¯t? Am I going crazy?¡± He sits back down with a groan. ¡°This is too much. I¡¯m losing it!¡± I put my hand on his shoulder. ¡°Sorry about that¡­ We both thought it would be fun to just jump here.¡± He takes a deep breath and then looks up at me. He starts to chuckle. ¡°Ah, don¡¯t worry. I just didn¡¯t expect you to appear next to me suddenly.¡± He stands up and suddenly I¡¯m hugged tightly. ¡°Nice to meet you, little sis,¡± he whispers in my ear. He steps back and turns to his bridge crew. ¡°Alright, change of plans. We don¡¯t have to fly to the planet anymore¡­ Lieutenant Gibson, get us to the wormhole, I¡¯m back shortly for the jump.¡± A young man nods eagerly and gets to work. I guess that¡¯s Lieutenant Gibson. Adrian turns back to me. ¡°Follow me, we have a lot to talk about.¡± Chapter 80: Fast Travel Chapter 80: Fast Travel Location: Magicon Empire; Valterion Duchy; Valterion System; VS Maxima Adrian leads me to another room right next to the bridge. It looks like an office with a big desk in the middle. Another door at the far end leads to another room. If this is his office, beyond must be his cabin. He walks right past the office desk and the other door opens. It shows a big living room. I guess, I was right. ¡°Come on,¡± he says. ¡°Let¡¯s get comfortable. I¡¯d like to get to know you.¡± He jumps onto one of the couches and I do the same with the one opposite. ¡°Sooo, hi¡­ I¡¯m Sara,¡± I say with a wink. ¡°Dude,¡± he snorts. ¡°That I can find out on my own. What else is there? I mean, I missed twenty years of your life¡­. There has to be something.¡± ¡°Sure, there is, but the only thing I know about you is that you almost look like Dad, and you have a big ass starship¡­ So how about you start?¡± He makes an awkward expression and moves a hand through his very short hair. ¡°Oops, you¡¯re right¡­ I thought Mom already told you about me.¡± ¡°Nope, all I know is that your name is Adrian and that you are OLD. Mom had to leave early, so I improvised a bit to get to you. I guess she will be quite surprised when she finds Clara missing.¡± ¡°Oh, she¡¯ll love S-57,¡± Clara chimes in, and I hear the smirk in her voice. ¡°Hey, I¡¯m not that old¡­ Not even a hundred yet. What¡¯s this all about though? I feel like I¡¯m missing a lot of context¡­ Who is S-57 and how did you manage to convince Clara to join you?¡± ¡°Well, I recently had a big power-up, and S-57 is my first AI. He¡¯s only rated for Novices though, so he¡¯s pretty much useless for me now. Maja, my other AI left for military training, which left me pretty much screwed. Then Clara offered to help and here I am.¡± Adrian shakes his head. ¡°I feel like I¡¯m still missing a lot¡­ How can your AI leave for military training?¡± ¡°Oh, you are!¡± I laugh. ¡°It¡¯s all part of my story, but now it¡¯s your turn. Who is Adrian Valterion?¡± He leans back. ¡°Fine, but don¡¯t think I let you get away with only telling me so much.¡± I chuckle and wink while letting a bit of my power leak out into the surrounding air. I quickly have to reign it in, as it feels like I opened the floodgates. This is nothing like the weak field of magic, I was able to create back in the Estriduros Republic to recover from longer jumps. ¡°You can try.¡± Adrain¡¯s eyes almost pop out of his head. ¡°What the hell?? What¡¯s this? Upper end of Master?¡± I shrug. ¡°Something like that, but I¡¯m not telling yet.¡± ¡°Ahh, come on¡­ Fine, what do you want to know?¡± With a big grin, I answer him. ¡°Everything, of course!¡± He barks a short laugh. ¡°Alright, we¡¯ve got the time¡­ The trip is going to take a while. You have to tell me about this so-called republic before we arrive though. I¡¯m not going in blind.¡± When I nod, he takes another breath and starts telling me about himself. It¡¯s funny, he is a lot stiffer than Mom and Dad. But he¡¯s also been part of the military since he graduated from RMA at thirty. So maybe that¡¯s the reason. He was always the competitive type though. Convinced Mom to get him a disguise and he worked his way up through the military ranks. Only when he reached the pinnacle and got command of this beauty of a ship here, the VS Maxima, he revealed his true identity. It caused a bit of an uproar with the top brass, but the bonds he formed with his crew are invaluable. I respect him a lot for that. Doing so takes balls. From what Maja told me, she and I are being trained to take command right away. Adrian also took another quite controversial way. He refuses to get any power enhancements from others, and his original Space core advanced completely without enhancements. He says, he wants to earn his own power, either naturally, or with his own money, just like he did in the military. Much to Doctor Philipps¡¯ frustration, he also convinced him to get both additional cores before reaching Master with his Space core, slowing his progression even further. But he persisted and is now a Master Space Mage and Senior in A&D and Utility. That¡¯s the moment when I decide to interrupt him and tell him that I¡¯m something like an Archmage¡­ ¡°Hold on a moment. How did you manage to convince Doc Philipps to do that? He almost jumped at my neck when I told him that I had a Junior Utility core next to my weird Junior Space core?¡± ¡°Oh yeah, he jumped me as well, but in the end, I managed to convince him. He has a weakness for VIP Gravity Ball tickets,¡± Adrian replies with a wink. ¡°Hold on, we¡¯re at the wormhole. Give me a second.¡± He closes his eyes and a second later I feel a space bubble move over me. He¡¯s doing it from here? Wow. Curiously, I reach out with my Space Sense. The Maxima is bigger than the size limits I learned of at the Mage Academy. I notice some pieces of Magitech along the hull which emit a faint feeling of Space magic, but Adrian¡¯s bubble ignores them and continues to encompass the ship. When the bubble closes and we enter the wormhole, it clicks, and I remember: No size limits for Masters! If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Adrian opens his eyes again. ¡°Alright, I can manage the travel in the background. Where was I? Ah, right, Doc Philipps. So yeah, I bribed him and got my cores, but you said you are a dual Mage as well? Double Junior, impressive that you managed to get onto the Maxima with that.¡± He stops and looks at me again. ¡°Wait, the aura earlier¡­ How did you do that with Junior cores?¡± ¡°Well, I guess it¡¯s my turn now to tell you a bit. My kidnappers put an Artifact around my core. It suppressed all my power, but it wasn¡¯t enough, and I registered as a Novice Space Mage in the Estriduros Republic. Over the years, it advanced to Junior, and I got a Utility core along the way. When Doc Philipps discovered the Artifact and removed it, my Space core exploded with power and devoured the Utility one.¡± I flash him a big grin. ¡°So here I am, the first pseudo-Archmage in existence.¡± He jumps up and almost fumbles the Wormhole Navigation spell. His AI must be hard at work, as a second later everything smooths out again. That was close! ¡°Are you fucking serious?¡± He calls out. ¡°This is insane!¡± I grin. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m serious, but you have to keep that to yourself. Mom and Dad want to protect me. If anyone asks, I¡¯m a Master in Space and Junior in Utility.¡± He nods. ¡°Got it. So with you at Master, we could speed up the trip by a lot. You can teleport a ship this size, right?¡± I shrug in response. ¡°Dunno, I¡¯ve never really tested my new core. It all happened pretty recently. I¡¯m also still learning the Starship Jump spell, but I should be ready in a few days with Clara¡¯s help. I¡¯ve only used Wormhole Navigation so far and only with much smaller ships. But I can give it a try at the next wormhole.¡± ¡°Sure, I hadn¡¯t planned on using any more wormholes after this one, but I can have Reggie include a few along the way. With you using them while I and Kira rest, that¡¯s still a boost in our travel time.¡± I raise an eyebrow. ¡°Who¡¯s Reggie and Kira?¡± ¡°Oh, right. Reggie is my AI, but he¡¯s currently hard at work as I almost fumbled the jump.¡± Then he blushes. ¡°Kira, uh, I mean Lieutenant Lopes is the second Space Mage in my crew. I can introduce you later if you¡¯d like.¡± ¡°Sure, so Lieutenant Lopes, is there something I should know?¡± I ask with a wink, and he blushes even further. He shakes his head. ¡°No, nothing at all. She¡¯s just my colleague.¡± That doesn¡¯t sound convincing at all¡­ Anyway, Adrian finishes navigating us through the wormhole while we continue to talk and a little bit later, I feel another source of Space magic envelop the ship. I ignore it, as this is probably Kira¡¯s doing. The bubble closes, power surges and we are somewhere else. When Adrian finishes talking about himself, I tell him a bit of my story. First my youth with Thomas, then the Academy, and meeting with my friends. Then I continue and tell him pretty much what I told everyone else when I recruited them for my crew. I leave the part with the Worldender Ship out, but everything else is fair game. Luckily, Adrian isn¡¯t holding a spell anymore, as he completely loses it when I mention my time on Earth. This causes me to laugh a lot at his expense. When I finish, I ask him for a tour of the ship, but he says he has to jump again and shows me my cabin instead. He tells me not to leave it for now because of protocol or something and leaves. I sit down on the bed and talk a bit with Clara. Half an hour later a soldier knocks at my door and brings me a tray of food. I thank him and dig in. It¡¯s good, but not the best. After that, I lie down to sleep. Let¡¯s hope I don¡¯t have to stay here all the time. That would suck!
Location: Red Sun Alliance; Indrina System; VS Maxima It¡¯s crazy. We only traveled for a week and we¡¯re already in the Red Sun Alliance where I had the encounter with the pirates. It took us with the Stargazer almost two months¡­ Master rank is truly insane. When I tell Adrian about that encounter and how we took them down with our guns, he laughs out loud and the other people in the mess hall look at him in question. Yeah, I¡¯m now allowed to move through the ship, and I even got my tour. Adrian wipes off some tears and turns to look at the others. ¡°It¡¯s just that my sister here took down a crew of pirates with only defensive spells in her crew and two Armortec cannons.¡± That¡¯s another thing I learned during that week of travel: Mom stopped at the ship before it arrived to pick me up and had every crew member swear to keep my existence a secret until she tells them otherwise. She also offered to transport those who didn¡¯t want to another ship, but almost no one took her up on it as they were way too curious. And when I say she swore them to secrecy, I mean that literally. It¡¯s the same spell Mom cast on the prison director and Lieutenant Larsson. And I guess on my friends as well. That¡¯s why Adrian can call me his sister whenever he wants. I was quite embarrassed when I learned this, as I called him brother with my first appearance without a care in the world. Of course, I channeled my inner actress and told everyone that I knew about the oath all along. Adrian wasn¡¯t fooled of course, as I asked him later on about that spell and finally got my explanation: It¡¯s a weird blend of A&D and Utility magic which results in that they can¡¯t talk about my existence with anyone not on this ship. Anyway, the crew joins in on Adrian¡¯s laughter and one of them claps me on the shoulder. ¡°That sounds like you had quite the adventure during your travels.¡± I flash him a grin. ¡°Oh, you have no idea¡­ Did you know that I even was part of a pirate crew for a short time?¡± With that, I tell the crew a few stories about my travels, and everyone has a good time. In the end, it gets quite crowded as more and more people hear about my stories and want to hear them firsthand. Adrian even had to tell them to get back to work before stations were unmanned. I try to apologize to him for causing that ruckus, but he just waves me off. Oh, and I met Kira during that week of travel as well. She¡¯s such a nice person. We immediately became friends and I spend most of my time with her when I¡¯m not with Adrian or jumping us through the one or other wormhole. It¡¯s also obvious that Adrian and Kira are more than just colleagues¡­ It¡¯s kinda funny how they think they are successful at hiding it. Everyone aboard knows it, but no one tells them. Speaking of wormhole travel. The Indrina System is one of those where we are going to use a wormhole. I glance at Adrian. ¡°Should we go to the bridge? It¡¯s almost time for my jump.¡± He nods in agreement, and I float our plates to the drop-off point. Then we are off to the bridge.
Location: Dakarti Federation; Gendi System; VS Maxima Another week later, our trip is already finished. Adrian''s final jump leads us right into the Gendi System of the Dakarti Federation. The direct neighbors to the Estriduros Republic. As always, the Maxima sends out information about who she is to avoid panics in the systems we appear in. I don¡¯t know if it''s because of the tensions with the Estriduros Republic or if the Dakarti people are just a lot more nervous, but they are the only ones to send out a ship to meet us after our appearance at the edge of the system. As this was one of our last jumps, I decided to join Adrian on the bridge, so when the communications officer calls out that the DFS Tilda hails us, I can¡¯t help myself and let out a small snicker. Adrian glances at me. Over the two weeks, we got to know each other quite well and he doesn¡¯t even have to say something for me to understand that he means something like ¡®What is it?¡¯ ¡°I know that ship¡­ I guess, I can say hi to Captain Rogers again? Maybe put some things right¡­ He thinks of me as an Envoy of our family and as I was only a Novice back then, he placed me at a far-off family branch.¡± Adrian bursts out laughing. ¡°Oh, I¡¯d pay to see that! Ensign Kurtz, send it over to my console, I¡¯ll take the call myself.¡± He winks at me. ¡°What I mean is that you take the call, and I laugh my ass off.¡± I fake a bit of annoyance and scowl at him. ¡°Fine, but you are going to pay him back for the million he offered me in pity.¡± That shuts him up, and I smirk while I take the call. Chapter 81: Another Return Chapter 81: Another Return Location: Dakarti Federation; Gendi System; VS Maxima The call connects and Captain Roger¡¯s broad figure appears as a hologram before Adrain. I stay standing to the side for now, as we want to surprise the poor Captain. ¡°Greetings from the Dakarti Federation, VS Maxima. This is Captain Rogers of the Tilda. May I ask who I¡¯m speaking to and what you intend on doing here? In case you are not aware, this is currently our frontline system defending against our anti-Mage neighbors.¡± Adrian nods in acknowledgment. ¡°Thank you, Captain, I¡¯m aware of the situation. My name is Admiral Adrian Valterion.¡± Captain Rogers stiffens and jumps up to salute. I stare at Adrian wide-eyed as well. He didn¡¯t tell me that he¡¯s an Admiral! I catch a small smirk on his face. Oh, that means war, he¡¯s doing it on purpose! ¡°No need for that, Captain,¡± Adrain continues. ¡°I¡¯m not here to represent The Empire or it¡¯s military. I¡¯m here on a private family matter. Due to the nature of your neighbors, my mother, the Duchess decided to send me along to help my little cousin.¡± He pulls me into the camera frame, and I give Captain Rogers a wave. ¡°Hey there, Captain, nice to see you again. Sorry for lying to you earlier¡­¡± Captain Rogers slumps down in his chair again and breathes heavily. His face lost all color. He shakes his head and sighs in resignation. ¡°I¡¯ll get my affairs in order¡­¡± ¡°What? NO! This isn¡¯t about you. You¡¯re doing great, I just wanted to say Hi again and return the money you gave me. We¡¯re here to get something from the republic that I lost along the way.¡± Captain Rogers just stares for a minute, then he barks a loud laugh. ¡°Hah, and I thought you were going to arrest me for what I did. Oh my god. That just took ten years of my life expectancy¡­ You can keep the money though. It wasn¡¯t that much. Being in your good graces is worth more, not that I know your actual position in the family.¡± That has me laughing as well. ¡°Yeah, sorry about that. I panicked a bit back then and wasn¡¯t sure if I could trust you guys. It was my first mission and then it went wrong like this¡­¡± ¡°All good, it was good training for my crew¡­ And now we can laugh about it, I guess? If you need any assistance though, just give me a call. The Tilda is ready.¡± I nod and Adrian starts speaking again. ¡°That won¡¯t be necessary but thank you. A little warning though, our actions might put your neighbors on high alert, so maybe strengthen your borders a bit. We¡¯re about to poke a hornet¡¯s nest¡­¡± The Captain nods. ¡°I¡¯ll send it up the ranks. Thanks for the warning. Good Luck, Rogers out!¡± We say goodbye to him as well and when the projection cuts off, I turn to my brother. ¡°Admiral, huh?¡± He flashes a broad and innocent grin. ¡°I thought you knew¡­?¡± ¡°Oh no, that won¡¯t get you off the hook, prepare for my revenge. It¡¯ll come when you least expect it.¡± ¡°Challenge accepted,¡± he smirks. ¡°So just what did you and the Captain do that he was so afraid?¡± I shrug. ¡°Trade secret.¡± He groans. ¡°Fine, don¡¯t tell me¡­¡± He turns to the bridge crew. ¡°Are you all ready? We¡¯re about to jump right into the capital system of an anti-Mage nation.¡± Everyone around us nods in determination and there are even a few ¡®ayes¡¯ thrown across the room. ¡°Good, then let¡¯s get this show on the road. Commander Stevens, you¡¯re our main defense line. Hook up with the battery, once we arrive, I want a shield all around the academy station. It¡¯s a big one, so it might be straining. Call in your department for help if necessary. Commander Relina, I don¡¯t plan on any offensive actions today, so your main job is to shield the Maxima in case they break through Commander Stevens¡¯ shields. Sara and I will be joining the infiltration team. Commander Schmidt, you¡¯ll be leading that team, we¡¯re in your capable hands. Captain Suri will have command of the ship, as always.¡± Clara helpfully put labels above the heads of each person Adrian mentioned. While I met a lot of people during the last two weeks, I met far from everyone. Commander Stevens is a tall black man with short dark hair sitting to my left on what I guess is the defensive console. His normally offensive counterpart, Commander Relina is a short black-haired woman with Asian features and a big grin on her face. I¡¯ve talked to her on a few occasions, and she is a very cheerful person. Captain Suri stands to the other side of Adrian and moves to take over the command chair from my brother. She¡¯s a tall woman and already looks to be in her forties. Her hair is colored completely white, which makes her blue eyes even more piercing. Her posture screams authority and I guess, she has quite a lot of experience if she got any longevity treatments. Lastly, there is Commander Schmidt. He has a striking resemblance to Magnus Schmidt of the Earth war recordings. He must be from the Armortec line. I guess we¡¯re in good hands for the infiltration. Adrian nudges me. ¡°It¡¯s time to suit up. Kira, err Lieutenant Lopes will do the jump.¡± I nod, and we follow Commander Schmidt out of the bridge. He turns around and asks with a surprisingly high-pitched voice. ¡°I¡¯m guessing you haven¡¯t worn an operator suit yet?¡± I shake my head. ¡°No, I haven¡¯t even heard about it.¡± That earns me a laugh. ¡°Alright, hang on, it¡¯s best if I show you directly.¡± We follow him down a few decks until we enter another room. It¡¯s quite spacey and eight people are already inside and talking with each other. They stop and salute when Schmidt enters the room. ¡°Alright everyone, suit up!¡± They immediately spring into action and open different lockers at the side of the room. Schmidt beckons me to follow him while Adrian moves to a locker as well. Schmidt opens the locker next to him and looks me up and down. ¡°No, too small,¡± he mumbles and opens the next one. ¡°Perfect. Okay, so this is an operator suit. It¡¯s pretty similar to your normal shipsuit, just way more protected.¡± ¡°Like a spacewalker suit?¡± I ask. ¡°Exactly, just not bulky at all. It also comes with integrated Magitech shielding, as not everyone is an A&D Mage.¡± He raises an eyebrow in question, and I shake my head. ¡°No, just Space and Utility. But I¡¯ve got this.¡± I show him my shield watch. ¡°Holy crap, that¡¯s Ancient! Your suit will be way better though, as it offers full body shielding.¡± He points to a few cabins at the back of the room. ¡°You can change in there if you want.¡± I look around and everyone is in a various state of undress. ¡°Err, yeah, I¡¯ll do that.¡± No chance in hell that I strip down before all those people, especially if one of them is my brother. Commander Schmidt laughs and hands me the suit. I thank him and enter the cabin. Two minutes later, I¡¯m finished. The suit even comes with a retracting helmet which I keep in its retracted state for now. I look in the mirror and sigh. Whoever designed this thing didn¡¯t think of women¡­ It¡¯s completely skin-tight and shows every. Single. Curve. Good thing I looked after myself over the years. I let out a dark chuckle. This is going to turn a few heads. I step outside and there are a few sharp intakes of breath and a few curses of ¡®holy shit!¡¯ ¡°Commander, you¡¯re bad with sizes!¡± One of the women calls out. I look at her. That¡¯s just unfair. While her suit is still tight, it¡¯s not even close to mine. She offers me an apologetic look and I can only shrug and repeat my inner mantra. At least I look good. Adrian averts his gaze and glares daggers at Schmidt. This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. ¡°Sorry,¡± the Commander apologizes to me, and I accept it. ¡°It¡¯s okay, I¡¯m not changing again¡­ We better get going.¡± I turn around and glare at one of the men. ¡°Don¡¯t stare at my ass!¡± He lifts his hands in apology. ¡°Sorry madam.¡± Adrian claps his hands. ¡°Alright, it¡¯s showtime. Kir¡­ Lieutenant Lopes is about to jump. You all know the plan. We start at the top and move downward until we find the target, then I or Sara will take us back to the Maxima. If we have to split up, stay close to one of us, we¡¯re your ticket out. Clara and Reggie will infiltrate the computers and hopefully find the location of the target. In this case, we might teleport again, depending on the distance. Questions?¡± There are none and Adrian nods. Seconds later, we jump.
Location: Estriduros Republic; Estriduros System; Mage Academy Station We reappear very close to the giant, squared station. Well next to the Maxima it doesn¡¯t look that big, but it¡¯s a bad comparison. Clara shows me an external view on my interface. I can see a gigantic shield bubble enveloping everything around us, including the station. There are two small Destroyers close to the station, but another two bubbles enclose them quickly, making them unable to move. Weapons start flashing, but those shield bubbles hold strong for now. We gather around Adrian, and he flexes his magic. The spell surrounds us, and we jump. Then we are on the top level of Mage Academy Station! We appear in the middle of a currently empty classroom. The soldiers take up their positions around me and Adrian. Commander Schmidt is upfront. ¡°Clara, do your thing.¡± ¡°Already on it, those code samples you¡¯ve got from Maja are a big help¡­ There, I¡¯m in. She¡¯s currently inside her cabin on level 19. The residential levels are shielded with anti-Space magic emitters to prevent what we¡¯re just doing, so we can¡¯t jump right to her. I¡¯ve got some coordinates on level 21, that¡¯s the closest I can get you. I¡¯m sending the same to Reggie, be ready to teleport us as soon as Adrian gives the go-ahead.¡± ¡°What do you mean with shielded? Like the prison? But Mom jumped there anyway and I¡¯m an Archmage too!¡± ¡°You are, but you are new. Jumping into anti-magic zones requires a lot of practice besides being an Archmage. We can¡¯t risk messing up right now.¡± ¡°You¡¯re right, sorry. Level 21 it is then.¡± Adrian looks at me. ¡°Clara said you are ready to jump?¡± I nod. ¡°Do it,¡± he confirms. I close my eyes, as it still makes everything easier. Clara helps a lot with the Teleportation spell, and I cover every one of us. Then I trigger it and we vanish. A second later, we are inside a park on level 21, and Schmidt begins to lead us toward one of the staircases that Clara marks on my projected map. There is still no one around, which is weird. I whisper to Clara. ¡°Why is no one here?¡± ¡°It¡¯s currently nighttime on the station.¡± Ahh, that makes sense¡­ We meet our first persons inside the staircase. It¡¯s two security guards with their weapons at the ready. Not that it buys them anything, as Schmidt casts a spell and they drop like boulders, unconscious. Two others from our squad strip them of weapons and bind their hands and feet together. Then we continue our descent. We pass level 20 while dispatching another two guards. This time they immediately started shooting, so our squad stopped holding back and took them down quickly. I felt a bit uncomfortable at first, but then I remembered the cruel collars and some sneering faces of the academy personnel. Yeah, they chose that themselves. When we enter floor 19, it¡¯s complete chaos. People run around wildly and in every direction. A siren blares and red lights blink. It sounds like an evacuation. I hope Miss Baker is still there¡­ My squad starts downing people with ruthless efficiency. Everyone with a weapon is dispatched by one of the soldiers with Magitech guns. The civilians and Mages are stunned by Commander Schmidt and Adrian with various spells. We don¡¯t care about binding their hands anymore, as all those people are either support staff or instructors and the rest is dead. Commander Schmidt reaches Miss Baker''s door and either Clara or Reggie opens it immediately. Luckily, she is still there. She is currently rushing to pack some things into a bag and doesn¡¯t immediately notice that her door has opened. When she does notice and looks up, she gasps. That¡¯s when Adrian¡¯s stun spell hits her square in the face, and she drops. ¡°I so needed to do that!¡± He exclaims with a chuckle. ¡°Okay, let¡¯s get out of here, we have what we need,¡± Commander Schmidt says. ¡°Wait,¡± I call out. ¡°We have to remove her collar. It can be used to restrict movement. If it¡¯s activated, we can¡¯t move her out of here.¡± ¡°Do it but be quick. More guards will arrive soon.¡± I kneel next to Miss Baker¡¯s unconscious form and put my hands on the collar at both sides of her head. I¡¯ve forgotten to take the modified UC-cable with me, but Clara told me we can simply rip the collar apart with Telekinesis if we just overwhelm it with power. Luckily, I now have the power to spare. I start flooding the collar with magic while focusing on the Telekinesis spell. ¡°That¡¯s enough,¡± Clara says, and I trigger the spell. All the magic reacts, and I move my hands apart, while still holding onto the collar. With a sound of ripping metal, it comes apart and I hold both halves of the collar. Immediately two men grab hold of Miss Baker, and Schmidt starts moving out of the room. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go. We have to move further down, as the upper levels are swarmed with guards. We have to reach level six to exit the shielded areas. Don¡¯t hold back, we¡¯ve two weeks of relaxation awaiting us.¡± Our squad moves out, and the guys holding Miss Baker and I are in the middle. A few minutes later, we reach another staircase and make our way down. So far so good. Two levels later, our luck runs out. ¡°Contact!¡± Calls out the woman at our back and before she finishes speaking, laser bolts start hitting us. Our suits¡¯ shielding activates and holds them back. Then the squad returns fire and Adrian casts a one-way shield to block off further laser bolts from the station guard. Our return fire is ineffective but at least Adrain¡¯s shield holds them back. The guards must be shielded as well or something. The woman at the back notices as well. ¡°Commander, they are shielded! Permission to switch to shieldpiercers?¡± ¡°Granted,¡± Schmidt replies. The woman nods and turns a dial at the weapon. Suddenly, I feel a weird form of magic emanating from the rifle, and the woman aims and takes a shot at one of our pursuers. The shot now is deep red and reminds me of the magical guns of the Stargazer. A second later, it hits one of the guards in the thigh, and the shielding he has shatters. Blood splatters the people around him and he falls with a cry and the others stop to give him first aid. Satisfied, the woman lowers the weapon, and we start rushing down the stairs again. Adrian¡¯s Shield spell follows closely behind us, but the guards stay back for now. This continues for another few levels until suddenly the doors above and below us open and two squads of guards spill into the stairway. We stop, and our small infiltration squad splits in the middle to cover both our front and back. The two guys holding Miss Baker look me up and down and must see something that satisfies them because suddenly, I¡¯m holding her in my arms and the two guys join our rear guard. I almost drop her in surprise, then I cast a telekinetic field under her and lay her down on it. She¡¯s now floating beside me, but I still have to hold her so that she doesn''t roll down the sides. I haven¡¯t tried any other shapes than flat planes for my fields and this is not the time to try out new things! ¡°Surrender, you are surrounded!¡± A male voice calls out. Commander Schmidt immediately replies. ¡°Let us pass. We¡¯ll be leaving. One way or the other.¡± There is a moment of silence, then laser bolts are flying. They hit Adrian¡¯s shield in the back which starts glowing brighter and brighter with each consecutive hit. It¡¯s not going to hold that much longer! When I turn to the front, the same happens there, but that shield is still holding strong. I guess it¡¯s from Commander Schmidt, who I guess is at least a Master A&D Mage. ¡°So be it then,¡± Schmidt says and raises his hand. He makes a fist, and my eyes almost pop out of my head. All the weapons of the guards in front of us get crushed in their hands! Then Schmidt moves his fist to the left and the guards who are still staring at their destroyed weapons are thrown against the wall where they slide down slowly. They don¡¯t get back up. Schmidt pants a little and signals us to continue down the stairs. We all follow them, and I take a quick glance at the guards, Schmidt has just thrown against the wall so casually. Most of them look worse for the wear, but I see a few of them still breathing. We don¡¯t care about them anymore though, as Adrian¡¯s shield is about to be overloaded. We have to reach the lower levels to teleport away. ¡°Pick up the pace,¡± Adrian shouts. ¡°My shield¡¯s going to blow any moment now!¡± Whatever that means¡­ Still, everyone in the back stops firing and turns around to rush down the stairs alongside me. I struggle a bit with Miss Baker and my Telekinesis spell which the two guys holding her earlier seem to notice. They drop their weapons which are secured with a sling around their torso and grab Miss Baker again. I nod at them in thanks and let the spell dissipate. I barely made two steps further down the stairs when there is a cracking sound accompanied by a bright flash of light. Then there are shouts of pain behind us and I glance over my shoulder. It looks like our pursuers were hit by something and got thrown against the wall as well. Did the Shield spell explode outward when it was overloaded? There is a lot of blood. I guess I have to ask Adrian later. He steps up right beside me and pants. ¡°You¡¯ll have to do the jump. I¡¯m quite spent after blocking so many shots, and I still have to jump with the Maxima. The overload at the end didn¡¯t help either. But at least it took care of everyone following us.¡± Ah, no need to ask anymore¡­ I was right. ¡°Yeah, I can do it. I didn¡¯t use much of my magic.¡± He nods in relief. ¡°Alright, then let¡¯s finish this!¡± Another couple minutes and one small guard encounter, which we quickly dealt with, later, we arrive at level 06. Clara immediately sets the coordinates for the Maxima, and I focus on the spell. With Clara¡¯s assistance, it takes less than five seconds until I can signal Commander Schmidt my readiness. He nods in acknowledgment, and I trigger the spell. With a purple flash, we all disappear from the Mage Academy Station. Chapter 82: Interrogation Chapter 82: Interrogation Location: Deep Space; VS Maxima When we reappear on the Maxima, things happen very quickly. While I¡¯m still getting my bearings, Adrian rushes to a console on the wall and starts talking with someone. Seconds later, his magic surges, envelopes the ship, and we are somewhere else. I notice that he used the Magitech to enhance his magic this time. He slumps down after the jump and leans against the wall for support. Looks like he really is exhausted. Then I take a look at our infiltration squad. The two men carrying Miss Baker have laid her on a floating stretcher and are panting heavily as well. Then I notice Commander Schmidt with a big frown on his face. I follow his gaze and take in a sharp breath. Three people from our squad are bleeding heavily from multiple wounds. How did I miss this? When were they hit? Just at this moment, a sliding door opens and three people in white clothes enter the room. They carry medical bags and immediately get to work. Schmidt looks at me. ¡°Are you alright?¡± I look myself up and down but don¡¯t notice anything wrong. Well, besides the still tight-as-hell infiltrator suit. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m good. The suit¡¯s shields worked perfectly.¡± He nods. ¡°Good. Follow me, we have to take care of the target before she wakes up.¡± He waves a hand while moving to the sliding doors that lead out of the room and the stretcher starts to follow him. I¡¯m a step behind him. He¡¯s right, Miss Baker is a Space Mage. I don¡¯t know if she has an AI, but even without it, she can still teleport line of sight. ¡°Where are we bringing her?¡± I ask him after we walked for about five minutes. ¡°We¡¯re heading for the brig. There are anti-magic fields to contain her. It¡¯s still about ten minutes away.¡± That brings the enormous size of the Maxima back to my mind. This ship truly is insane. I mean I jumped us into the same room we exited the ship from which is a few decks below the bridge. I guess it¡¯s something like the meeting or staging room for the infiltrator squad. Now we¡¯re walking toward the back of the ship, and a fifteen-minute walk means we have about one kilometer to go. Crazy. ¡°Is there a reason why the brig is so far away?¡± ¡°Yes, there is. You see, those anti-magic rooms interfere with the magical power grid around them. If we had the brig here, close to the bow, it would mess up a lot of systems. So, it¡¯s located in the back of the ship before our engines. They have their own power grid and only need to be connected to the bridge with a few conduits that can be shielded. Don¡¯t ask me for any more details¡­ I¡¯m not a Valterion,¡± he grins at me. ¡°I guess you have better chances of learning about everything ship-related in the future.¡± Hmm, this does make sense. While it¡¯s a logistical nightmare to take prisoners from the front to the back of the ship, there is still one answer: Magic. ¡°Thanks, Commander Schmidt. I could teleport us to the back if you want by the way.¡± ¡°No, let¡¯s walk. You can tell me a bit more about your instructor here along the way. It¡¯s better if you save your power in case, we have to do another quick jump. Oh, and when your brother¡¯s not there, you can call me Frank.¡± ¡°Well, we¡¯d need a wormhole for me to do a jump¡­ I¡¯m still struggling with the Starship Jump spell, but I guess we can walk a bit more.¡± Frank laughs. ¡°Don¡¯t be sad. Learning a new spell in just two weeks would be ridiculous anyway. So, what can you tell me about Mary Baker here?¡± I shrug. ¡°Not much more¡­ She always looked at me a bit weird, as if she recognized me somehow, but we now know that this is true. Other than that, is that she is a Senior Space Mage, and always dreamt of reaching Master rank. From what Doctor Philipps told me, she probably wanted to get a second core then, as it¡¯s better if you are already a Master with your primary core¡­¡± Franks chuckling interrupts me and I look at him with a raised eyebrow. ¡°What?¡± ¡°It¡¯s just¡­ Adrian told me a bit about how you didn¡¯t learn much about magic before reuniting with your parents a few weeks ago and now you¡¯re already reciting advanced core theories like it¡¯s nothing. I think you¡¯re going to have a lot of fun in college. Which one are you going to join by the way?¡± I stare at him. ¡°Adrian spilled all that? I¡¯m going to have a word with him!¡± Now Frank is almost doubling over with laughter. ¡°Oh yes, he spilled a lot. He can¡¯t hold his liquor. But don¡¯t worry, your secrets are literally safe with us. Your mother took care of that. So Earth still exists, huh?¡± Holy smokes, Adrian really told him everything! Good thing I kept the Worldender Ship for myself¡­ ¡°Yeah, It¡¯s pretty cool there. An empty planet, full of ruins of the past. Maybe you can go there sometimes. As for college? I¡¯m probably going to FBC.¡± Frank composes himself and stops laughing but there is still a big grin on his face. I always thought he was as stiff as Adrain, but he clearly is a funnier person. ¡°Lucky you. I had to endure RMA, and it was hell with all those other Nobles. I was so happy when I graduated and could join the Peacekeepers.¡± Well, that at least confirms that he belongs to The Schmidt family of Armortec. It also reassures me of my decision not to join the Royal Academy for college. I really don¡¯t want to waste my time navigating the Noble landscape. This sounds stressful. We continue to walk and talk until we finally reach a big, reinforced door. When we step through, I stumble. My magic is just cut off! This must be the anti-magic field Frank talked about. Left and right of the hallway are different cells and one of them is currently in the process of opening. Frank lets the stretcher float in, and it stops in the middle of the room. For a prison cell, it looks quite nice. Just like any other cabin on the ship. A bed, a desk, an adjoining bathroom, and even a small wardrobe. I imagined bare-bone metal furniture but not this¡­ It¡¯s probably my own prison experience speaking. Is it weird if I wish I was imprisoned here instead? Anyway, the door closes, and we walk back out of the anti-magic field. Frank leads me another few steps away and we end up in a mid-sized room with chairs and tables. At the side is a counter with spread-out food. My stomach rumbles and I¡¯m reminded, that I am really hungry. We grab some food, sit down, and dig in. ¡°What happens now?¡± I ask between bites. Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Ardian should join us in a few. Then we¡¯ll wake her up and ask a few questions. Adrian probably wants to lead the interrogation, so if you want to do it yourself, you have to speak up.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t we have to escape further before we can do an interrogation? The republic should be hot on our heels, right?¡± Just as I ask, I feel another bubble of Space Magic enveloping the ship and we jump again. Frank laughs. ¡°You were saying?¡± Just my luck¡­ I sigh. ¡°Where are we anyway? This time it¡¯s Clara who has the information. ¡°We did two unconventional jumps. Instead of jumping to another system, Adrian jumped us almost straight up. So we¡¯re in deep space currently. Far off from any civilizations. Lieutenant Lopes just jumped us further along. We¡¯ll stay for a few more jumps out here, then we return to more established routes. This way, there is almost no chance of anyone following us. We¡¯re pretty sure the republic doesn¡¯t teach any Tracking spells to its Mages.¡± Tracking spells? And deep space? That¡¯s two new things I¡¯ve never heard of. Well, deep space is self-explaining, but tracking? ¡°Are you saying there are spells that allow one to track a ship even if it jumps without a wormhole?¡± ¡°There sure are. You¡¯ll probably learn them in college. It¡¯s an advanced spell, but as a Master, you should be good.¡± Guess there is no way around college now. Good thing I already made my decision to go there. When we finish eating, we walk back to the big, reinforced door of the brig and find a waiting Adrian. ¡°What took you so long?¡± He asks. Frank points at me. ¡°Your sister¡¯s stomach is a black hole.¡± I glare at him. I didn¡¯t eat that much! ¡°Anyway, let¡¯s get this over with. I very much like to ask the woman a few questions,¡± Adrian says and steps through the door. ¡°Uhh, Adrian, I¡¯d like to start the interrogation myself.¡± He stops. ¡°Are you sure? She did kidnap you as a child¡­¡± I wave him off. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m sure. I mean I spent two years with her as a teacher and I¡¯d very much like to see her face when she realizes just who took her out of the academy.¡± He chuckles. Fine, fine. I get it. But you won¡¯t talk to her alone. Commander Schmidt will join you and I¡¯ll join you a bit later as well.¡± I give him a thumbs-up. ¡°Sounds good, let¡¯s go!¡± When we reach the now-closed cell door, a screen shows what¡¯s inside. Looks like Miss Baker woke up. She¡¯s currently sitting on the bed and looks around in confusion. One hand is at her neck, where the collar was previously. While I¡¯m looking, the back wall slides open and shows a single table with a single chair on one side and two on the other. An interrogation room. A computerized voice tells her to sit down at the table and she complies with a shrug. Frank and I in turn walk up to the next intersection and take a right turn. Another turn later, Frank stops at a door. ¡°That¡¯s the interrogation room. Are you ready?¡± I take a deep breath and nod. Then I grab the handle and open it. We enter the room from Miss Baker''s back, so we have to circle her first. When she hears the door opening, she starts to turn. She looks at me, then her gaze moves over to Frank. Suddenly it snaps back at me, and her eyes widen. I¡¯m reminded of the first time I met her. It was exactly the same. ¡°Hello Miss Baker,¡± I say and sit down opposite her. Frank ignores the chair and stands to my right with crossed arms. ¡°You¡­ You¡¯re Sara Nelson,¡± she says, and I lift my hand to stop her. ¡°We both know that this is not my name.¡± She blanches. ¡°You know!¡± I offer her a slight smile. ¡°I do.¡± ¡°Well, shit,¡± she says, ¡°now that attack on the station makes sense¡­ The Peacekeepers are known for such operations.¡± She glances at Frank who nods in confirmation. ¡°Now that you know the situation, you can probably guess why we¡¯ve rescued you from the republic.¡± I guess being collared and forced to work for the republic is a worse sentence than she would have gotten if she was caught in The Empire, but who knows? ¡°In case you don¡¯t, I give you a hint: Why?¡± I can¡¯t suppress a small glare that I send her way and she flinches. She takes a deep breath. ¡°The simple answer is money¡­ The Black Tiger Mercenary Company had a few bad runs, and we were slowly running out of money to keep our ship operational. Frank, that was our Commander started to take on more and more dubious contracts until we got our final one. The one that would have solved all our financial problems: Kidnap the unknown youngest child of Aidan and Jasmine Valterion.¡± I just stare at her. All this just because of money? Is that really it? But then there is the question of just who put out the contract. Frank must have noticed my struggles, as he asks the next question with a gruff voice. ¡°And the not so simple answer?¡± She sighs. ¡°It¡¯s not that different¡­ We still did it mostly because of the money, but there is also the reason that something like this has never been done before. This would have brought us a lot of renown and more and more lucrative contracts in the future.¡± It was still all about money in the end! Anger enters my voice. ¡°You blocked my magic just because of money! Why? What¡¯s wrong with you? What was your plan? Why did I end up in the Estriduros Republic?¡± She tries to move back because of my outburst but suddenly the chair she¡¯s sitting on sprouts restraints and holds her in place. ¡°I¡¯m really sorry,¡± she says instead while wincing. ¡°Implanting the Artifact was the only way, as it¡¯s well known that powerful Mage parents have established a magical connection with their children. The Artifact came with the contract, and we had to use it to be able to escape.¡± Suddenly, the door opens, and a furious Adrian enters. Miss Baker blanches even more upon seeing him. ¡°Shove your justifications up your ass!¡± He half screams. ¡°I don¡¯t fucking care. You kidnapped my sister when she was just a baby. Do you even know what she¡¯s been through?¡± He slams his hands on the table and Miss Baker jumps. ¡°And for what? For money? There are countless open contracts for mercenaries. Don¡¯t come up with this bullshit of not having any other options. The Empire takes care of its citizens! You just wanted to be the first people to kidnap someone of the Big Five.¡± She already admitted that, but I guess Adrian is too angry to notice. I put a hand on his shoulder. ¡°Adrian, this doesn¡¯t help.¡± He sighs. ¡°You¡¯re right, sorry. But how can you be so calm?¡± I can just shrug. ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­ She¡¯s guilty without question. But still, I¡¯d never met my friends or Maja without this, not to speak of the other things. I honestly don¡¯t know how to feel about this¡­¡± I purposely don¡¯t mention Earth, as Miss Baker absolutely doesn¡¯t need to know of that. Adrian takes a deep breath and puts his hands on the backrest of the second chair. Then he looks back at Miss Baker. I should probably stop calling her Miss Baker in my head¡­ Anyway, Adrian starts speaking again. This time he sounds a lot calmer. ¡°From what you told us, you were only contracted middlemen¡­¡± Mary nods. ¡°This means you had a destination to bring my sister to. Where was it and who contracted you? I know you didn¡¯t intend to end up in the Estriduros Republic like this.¡± Mary¡¯s face is still white when she clears her throat. ¡°That¡¯s right. We didn¡¯t even intend to come close to the Estriduros Republic¡­ It was an unlucky encounter with pirates that got half of the crew killed and the other half captured. I know you won¡¯t believe me, but we didn¡¯t like what we had to do to Sara at all.¡± She looks at me with an apologetic gaze and I just shake my head. Like Adrian said so nicely¡­ She can shove her apologies where the sun never shines. ¡°That¡¯s why I took an escape pod with her when our ship was about to be destroyed, and why we never told the Estriduros¡¯ military who Sara really is after we noticed that we are in an anti-Mage nation.¡± Adrian gets impatient again. ¡°That¡¯s all nice and good, but you still haven¡¯t answered my question.¡± ¡°Our goal was Terthia, but I think our contractor only intended to use that small nation as a neutral hub to do the exchange. I¡¯ve never met him, but from what Frank told me, that guy was very powerful probably an Archmage. We got the Artifact from him, and he told Frank that it was completely foolproof. That¡¯s why I didn¡¯t believe Sara was The Sara back at the academy. What further intentions the man had with young Sara, I don¡¯t know¡­¡± Nothing good I suppose, and a shudder runs down my spine. Adrian looks uncomfortable as well and when I look to the side at Commander Schmidt, I see him glaring daggers at Mary. Maybe the fact that he shares the name of the mercenary Commander fuels his anger further. Adrian shoves the chair back under the table. ¡°That¡¯s enough for now. Enjoy your stay, you¡¯re going to see a judge as soon as we arrive back at The Empire.¡± He turns around to leave and we follow him. Mary just nods in resignation. When we exit the interrogation room, Adrian looks at me. ¡°What do you think?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think she¡¯s lying¡­ And somehow I have the feeling that we haven¡¯t seen the last of this mysterious guy.¡± Chapter 83: Starship Jump Chapter 83: Starship Jump Location: Neutral Space, Close to The Empire; VS Maxima When we had all the information out of Mary Baker, the remainder of our trip back was relatively boring. Adrian and Kira did all of the jumps, as we stayed out of inhabited star systems for the most time, meaning all jumps were without the help of a wormhole which stopped me from doing any jumps myself. So, I spent most of my time down in my cabin trying to get that stupid spell to work. It¡¯s been so frustrating, as it always slipped away when I felt that I¡¯ve finally done it. Adrian wasn¡¯t much of a help either, as he¡¯s more of a do-or-die kind of guy. He firmly believes that I have to train on my own to get the best results. Frustrating! I tried asking Kira for help as well, but every time we met, we ended up gossiping about Adrian. If it wasn¡¯t clear before, now it is. They are definitively together and happily in love with each other. As I said, worst kept secret on the whole ship. I literally knew it within one hour on the ship. Everything changed though when I felt the spell lock in for the first time yesterday evening! This is why Adrian called for a halt, and we¡¯re now somewhere in space close to The Empire. Frustratingly, he insisted on waiting until the next morning before I could try it out. Said morning is right now! I wake up extremely early, like 0500 in military time and immediately get up and shower. After that, I put on my clothes and exit my cabin. A few turns later, I enter the officer¡¯s mess hall and grab something to eat. There aren¡¯t that many people right now and most importantly, there is no Adrian! So, after eating, I walk toward the bridge and knock on the door right next to the bridge entrance. No reaction¡­ I turn left and enter the bridge. While the security officer gives me a warning look when I enter, he doesn¡¯t say anything as I stop at the entrance. Right, I¡¯m not allowed on the bridge without Adrian¡­ Military protocol and all. ¡°Have you seen Adrian?¡± I ask him and he shakes his head. ¡°No, Admiral Valterion hasn¡¯t been here since last evening.¡± Then his face softens, and he smiles. ¡°It¡¯s your big day, right?¡± Yeah, the big bad security officer has a soft spot for me when I¡¯m not going against his security protocols. ¡°It is! I¡¯m finally ready to do the Jump spell.¡± I lift my hand for a high five, but he just shakes his head while smiling. Okay, that was too much¡­ ¡°Congratulations, have you already tried his cabin?¡± ¡°Yeah, I knocked, but he didn¡¯t answer.¡± The officer shrugs. ¡°Hmm, then you just have to wait a bit more¡­ Or maybe he¡¯s with Lieutenant Lopes? Anyway, see you later.¡± Yep, that¡¯s a dismissal. I turn around and leave the bridge. Maybe he¡¯s right and Adrian is with Kira? ¡°You know that you could just have asked me, right?¡± Clara¡¯s voice sounds in my ear and I face-palm. Of course, it¡¯s that simple¡­ ¡°Sorry, Clara, I forgot in my excitement. So where is he?¡± ¡°He¡¯s in hangar bay 3, waiting for you,¡± she replies with a chuckle. Oh. Does that mean I¡¯m not jumping the Maxima? That¡¯s probably it¡­ Now that I think of it, it¡¯s probably not the best idea to start with the biggest ship available, even with my power. ¡°Can you get me there?¡± ¡°Sure thing, here you go.¡± A set of coordinates settles in, and I trigger the Teleportation spell. That¡¯s the other thing I managed to learn during the trip: The real Teleportation spell! I can cast it now without Clara¡¯s support, and it¡¯s just so much better than Personal Teleportation. Way more efficient, and I think with a bit more practice, I can teleport things without teleporting myself. I arrive in hangar bay 3 right next to Adrian. He just looks at me and smiles. ¡°Hey there, sleepyhead. Are you ready to go?¡± He points at a small shuttle to our right. ¡°That¡¯s going to be our ride today, Kir¡­ Lieutenant Lopes will jump the Maxima ahead of us. We¡¯ll meet them in the Valterion System once you master jumping a starship.¡± I chuckle. ¡°You can call her Kira, you know¡­ Everyone on the ship knows.¡± Adrian looks at me wide-eyed. His mouth opens and closes a few times. A crewmate next to us groans. ¡°Dammit, why did you have to tell him now? A month longer and I would have won my bet¡­¡± He continues to grumble but continues to make the shuttle ready for flight. My brother finally finds his words. ¡°You¡¯re serious? But¡­ But we always met in secret.¡± I burst out laughing ¨C first the grumbling crewmate, now my clueless brother. ¡°Dude, I knew after being on the ship for less than an hour¡­ Do you really think your crew is that incompetent? We all have eyes, you know?¡± He blushes furiously, grabs my shoulders, and pushes me inside the shuttle. ¡°Shut up, you have a few jumps to do!¡± I can still hear the smile in his voice and don¡¯t resist his push. This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. The shuttle closes up after we enter, and Clara or Reggie take over the controls and we fly out of the hangar bay a few minutes later. ¡°You really could have waited a few more days,¡± Reggie¡¯s voice sounds through the speakers. ¡°I also had quite the sum bet on two more weeks¡­¡± Adrian just groans loudly and drops into a grav chair. ¡°Really, you as well? You¡¯re supposed to help me, not bet behind my back!¡± ¡°Oh, but it was too funny, I even have the script ready for a reality TV show based on you and Kira¡­ You want to read it?¡± ¡°NOOO!¡± I sit down on the chair next to Adrian and giggle. Looks like Reggie also has a good sense of humor. Clara silently snickers in my ear as well. After we are a few hundred kilometers away from the Maxima, the starship disappears. Then we are alone in this empty sector of space. It¡¯s peaceful. I can see distant stars all around us through the windows. Adrian clears his throat. ¡°So, all this aside¡­ Are you ready to do your first Starship Jump?¡± I jump up in excitement. ¡°Oh yes, absolutely!¡± ¡°Good, then follow me to the bridge. For the first few jumps, it¡¯s easier from there.¡± It¡¯s not far anyway, the shuttle is very small, smaller than my yacht. We just have to walk through one door and the small bridge is before us. It¡¯s just two seats behind a big window and a holographic console. Adrian sits down on the right chair, and I take the left. ¡°Okay, for your first jump, we¡¯re just aiming for a few thousand kilometers ahead of us. Clara already has the coordinates. Go for it when you¡¯re ready. You¡¯ve got this!¡± As he said, Clara locks in a set of coordinates, and I close my eyes. Then I concentrate on the Starship Jump spell. Now that I have the hang of it, I notice that it¡¯s quite similar to the Teleportation spell. It does make sense though, I mean I¡¯m basically doing the same thing, just on a much larger scale. There is just one more difference and that¡¯s the good old space bubble from the Wormhole Navigation spell. The combination of those two things is what made the spell so hard for me to learn. But I¡¯m ready now! The space bubble forms and envelops the ship. I grimace at the inefficient shape, as it¡¯s enveloping a lot of space around the shuttle as well, but that¡¯s the best I can do for now. Next, I combine the teleporting part of the spell with Clara¡¯s coordinates and hold it together. If I were to trigger it right now, I¡¯d just jump myself and maybe Adrian to our destination. Beads of sweat form on my forehead while I¡¯m concentrating. Now I can finally do the last part: Weave it all together! I mentally grab hold of the space bubble and bring it closer to the teleporting part of the spell. Then I shove them into each other and both parts stabilize now as a single one. I did it! Now I just have to feed the spell with power. And boy does this take a lot! If I still was a Novice, I¡¯d been dry of power in seconds. Now though, while it takes a lot, I¡¯m still good. Archmage cheat code! When the spell is filled up, I open my eyes and glance at Adrian. He gives me a short nod and I trigger it. Space Sense activates immediately, and I feel us entering hyperspace for a brief moment. The space bubble protects us, and we just move. It¡¯s weird to describe, as I know that all this happens in an instant. Then lights flash outside, and we are somewhere else. A look at the holographic map in front of me confirms it. I jumped us a few thousand kilometers ahead, just where we intended to be. I jump up in jubilation. ¡°I did it!¡± Adrian hugs me. ¡°Congratulations! That was completely smooth. The first one is always the hardest but looks like you¡¯re a natural. Ready for the next one?¡± ¡°Thanks, same distance or further?¡± ¡°Further, a bit more than a light year. Those short jumps are well and good, but still line of sight, what makes them easier,¡± he chuckles. ¡°I know you had your eyes closed, and you already relied on Clara¡¯s coordinates, but let¡¯s just do one more before we do the long-distance jump back home.¡± I nod at his reasoning. While I had my eyes closed, I still saw the destination beforehand. Let¡¯s see how I perform when jumping into the unknown. ¡°Let¡¯s do this. I think I have another jump in me, but then I need a break.¡± ¡°I figured, take your time and jump when you¡¯re ready.¡± I take a few deep breaths and close my eyes again. Clara, always knowing what to do supplies me with another set of coordinates. I somehow know that those are much further away. It doesn¡¯t matter, I can do this! I repeat the process of forming the space bubble and connecting it with the teleporting part of the Starship Jump spell. Then I feed it with power again. It takes a bit more, but way less than I expected. I guess it¡¯s a high starting cost but doesn¡¯t scale too much with additional distance. Anyway, the spell is filled up, and with another short glance at Adrian, I trigger it. The same sensations repeat themselves, and the shuttle just blinks out of space to reappear somewhere else. This time it¡¯s Adrian who jumps up first. ¡°You did it again! That was 1.5 light years just now, congratulations!¡± I¡¯m pretty exhausted now though, and only manage to give him a thumbs-up. Then I float my grav chair out of the bridge and activate the recliner function as soon as I¡¯ve got the space. Damn inefficiencies! Took a lot out of me. I think I¡¯m going to sleep for a while¡­ I awake a bit later to hear snippets of Clara scolding my brother. ¡°¡­ should have known better¡­ no back-to-back jumps¡­ first thing you learn¡­ take turns for a reason¡­ Oh, she¡¯s awake. Welcome back, Sara. Take it easy.¡± ¡°How long was I out?¡± I ask and have my chair cancel the recliner function. ¡°Just a few minutes,¡± Adrian replies, ¡°and I¡¯m sorry for pushing you too hard. You normally never do back-to-back jumps because of that very reason. We at the Peacekeepers obviously train it for emergencies, but only when we are very efficient with the spell. I guess, I got blinded by your Archmage nature¡­ Sorry again.¡± ¡°Nah, it¡¯s fine. I think I needed to experience that first-hand or I wouldn¡¯t have believed you¡­ I felt completely fine after the first jump and even during the second one, I thought everything was fine. Only after I finished, the exhaustion hit me like a truck.¡± Adrian nods slowly. ¡°That¡¯s better than most would have fared¡­ Must be your Archmage nature. Lucky us. But let¡¯s call It a day and get a good night¡¯s sleep. Tomorrow, you can jump us home.¡± ¡°Sounds good, but I need something to eat before I go to sleep.¡± A few minutes later, we eat some warmed-up rations and talk about random things. Adrian tells me a bit more about his time at college, but as he was at RMA, I don¡¯t listen too closely and drift off to sleep pretty fast. The next morning comes quickly, and I feel much better. My magic is back to full, and after a nice breakfast, we¡¯re back on the bridge. ¡°Alright, as you probably know, teleporting a starship directly into the Valterion System is prohibited. We¡¯re special though, as Dad won¡¯t throw us into prison if we do it, but it¡¯s still frowned upon. So better not to push our luck. Therefore, you¡¯re going to jump us close to one of the wormholes leading to the system, and I¡¯m going to bring us through the wormhole after. Sounds good?¡± ¡°Yeah, let¡¯s do it. Clara, you¡¯ve got the coordinates?¡± I do, here you go. Good luck!¡± Without further ado, I focus on the spell, and after everything is ready, I trigger it. Magic surges, we enter hyperspace, and my power flickers shortly, but Clara is there to smooth it out. Then we reappear, and I see a giant wormhole ring a few thousand kilometers before us. This time I jump up again and cheer. Adrian chuckles. ¡°You just left more than 80 percent of all Space Mages in the dust.¡± What? Why? He seems to read the confusion on my face. ¡°That jump just now was 347 light years.¡± Oh! Ooooh! Seniors range a maximum of 100 light years, and I just jumped more than three times the distance! Being an Archmage really is a cheat code! Chapter 84: Surprises Chapter 84: Surprises Location: Magicon Empire; Valterion Duchy; Valterion System; Shuttle Adrian stays true to his word and navigates us smoothly through the wormhole while I¡¯m still recovering. An hour later, we enter the Valterion System after a month of absence. My eyes widen slightly when I see the Maxima only a bit ahead of us. I did not expect them to wait for us. Adrian just smiles and Reggie sets course for the ship. Another thirty minutes later, the shuttle sets down in hangar bay 3. We step out of the ship and most of the officers I interacted with during our short trip stand there and cheer for my success. One of them though stares daggers at me. It¡¯s Lieutenant Kira Lopes. Ah dang it, the news must have gotten around that I turned the open secret into no secret at all. She immediately grabs me by the arm and leads me to the side where we can talk alone. ¡°Why did you tell everyone?¡± ¡°Huh, I didn¡¯t? I just told a single crewmate. And besides, it was an open secret anyway, I mean the crew and even the AIs had bets running on how long it takes until it gets out.¡± Now it¡¯s her turn to stare. ¡°For real? And you just told a single one?¡± ¡°Yeah, but I guess he told everyone immediately¡­ Probably because of the bets. Anyway, I¡¯m sorry.¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s okay, sorry for trying to blame this on you¡­ It¡¯s a relief actually¡­ No more hiding.¡± She half hugs me awkwardly and I pat her back. Looks like I didn¡¯t ruin my relationship with Kira. Now that I think of it, it must be a thing in my family¡­ Adrian hiding his relationship with Kira, and Christopher with Aria Axtendus. And both of them are very bad at it. That makes me chuckle and Kira shoots me a questioning glance. ¡°Ah, just thinking about my family and how they are very bad at hiding relationships.¡± Kira suddenly starts laughing. ¡°Ah shit, we¡¯re just as bad as Christopher and Aria, right?¡± ¡°Apparently, yeah. I haven¡¯t met them yet, but from what my parents told me¡­ It¡¯s the same.¡± ¡°Oh my, Adrian is going to love this,¡± Kira snorts and we walk back to the others. Now that things are cleared up with Kira, the next steps happen fast. The Maxima starts accelerating toward the planet again, and the crew does a few drills. I relax in my cabin, it¡¯s a twelve-hour flight after all. We could be faster, sure, but why hurry? Lying in my bed, I try to call Mom with the Communication spell, but I can¡¯t reach her. Looks like she isn¡¯t here in the system at the moment. Same thing with Dad. I think my next goal should be learning the upgrade for that spell¡­ The one that can cross system borders, or maybe even the Video Call one. I¡¯m an Archmage after all. Let¡¯s enjoy the benefits until I have to pose as a Junior or Senior at college. I must have dozed off, because when I awake again, Clara tells me that we¡¯re only three hours out from the Maxima¡¯s destination. I get up and stretch. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you say planet?¡± ¡°Did no one tell you? The Maxima will dock at one of the military stations close to the second gas giant. So, if you want to go home, you have to ask for a shuttle or just teleport. Or you could stay and watch Mary get transferred to prison¡­¡± ¡°Oh wow, I thought we flew to the planet¡­ Hmm, I don¡¯t need to see Mary being transferred, so I guess it¡¯s time to leave. I¡¯ll say goodbye first, though.¡± ¡°Alright, Reggie tells me that Adrian and Kira are currently in Adrian¡¯s cabin. I can give you the coordinates if you want to jump up.¡± ¡°Yeah, good idea. No, WAIT! What if they¡¯re naked or doing something else?¡± Hang on, I¡¯m asking Reggie¡­ Nope, you¡¯re good. They¡¯re eating breakfast at the moment. Reggie says you can join in.¡± Pfew¡­ That would have been awkward, just ewww. Anyway, I straighten my clothes and look in the mirror. Good enough! Then I use Clara¡¯s coordinates and jump to Adrian¡¯s cabin. ¡°Hey Sara, good morning!¡± Kira calls out immediately after my appearance, and Adrian gives me a lazy wave. ¡°Hey, you two, how are you doing?¡± I sit down with them at the table, and Adrian floats a plate over to me. ¡°We¡¯re good, thanks,¡± Adrian replies. ¡°You¡¯re here to say goodbye?¡± I nod and swallow down a bite of my breakfast roll. ¡°Yeah, Clara just told me that we¡¯re not going to the planet, so I¡¯m taking the fast exit.¡± Kira laughs. ¡°You just want to escape our wrath for exposing our secret!¡± I wink back at her. ¡°Oh absolutely, you guys are Scary!¡± That has us all laughing, and we continue with breakfast. Adrian tells me a bit about what will happen with Mary and what he and his crew will do shortly. In short, Mary will be put in prison and a judge will sentence her for a few more years. They will probably take her time in slavery into consideration, so there is a good chance she will be set free before she dies. I only shrug as a reply¡­ I honestly don¡¯t care what will happen to her. I¡¯m way more interested in her mysterious contractor, but that¡¯s a dead end for now. The Maxima will head back to the borders of The Empire and continue her patrols, which means I won¡¯t see Adrian and Kira for quite a while. After breakfast, I say my tearful goodbyes, and after a quick stop at the bridge to say bye to Commander Schmidt and the security officer, I ask Clara to give me the coordinates of home. Location: Magicon Empire; Valterion Duchy; Valterion System; Nua; Alburgh; Valterion Mansion When I reappear at home, I find it empty. S-57 grew up during that month though and greets me immediately. ¡°Hello Sara, welcome back. I have a message from your mother, she says that she will be back in three days. You are to enjoy your free time depending on when you return. The message was from the day before yesterday. Do you want a hot bath?¡± Huh, did he just transform into the perfect butler? ¡°Yeah, thanks S-57, I¡¯d like that.¡± ¡°Acknowledged, the bath is being readied now.¡± He really transformed into a butler! Even if it¡¯s still a bit rough. Mom¡¯s message is from two days ago, so I have another day till she returns¡­ Yep, I¡¯m going to relax. ¡°Lead the way, S-57!¡± Arrows appear on my interface, and I¡¯m led down some stairs into the basement. I didn¡¯t know that there was a basement¡­ Anyway, the stairs end, and my mouth drops open. It¡¯s paradise! To the left are different saunas, to the right a gigantic rainfall shower, and right before me is a small landscape of different pools. From the 25-meter swimming lanes, over the normal pool, to the bubbling hot tub. Everything is there! The background is covered with screens that show green hills and forests. Beautiful! I pick up my jaw from the ground and discover a locker next to the rainfall shower. Opening it, I find a simple bikini. Shrugging, I strip down to change and put it on. It immediately starts changing size until it fits me perfectly. Nice! Next, I put my clothes into the locker run to the hot tub, and jump in. Pure bliss! ¡°Wake me in a few hours.¡± I close my eyes and just enjoy it. Hours later, I exit the basement and decide to check on my friends in the guesthouse. Well, at least those who are still there. Maja, Simon, Thomas, and Shay are already with the military. I could ask S-57 if Jack, Alex, and Greg are still there, but I guess I¡¯ll let myself be surprised one more time. I knock at the door and Steven opens up as always. ¡°Welcome back Miss Valterion. I take it you want to visit your friends.¡± When I confirm, he shakes his head. ¡°They are out in the city at the moment. I can try to give them a call if you want?¡± ¡°No thanks, it¡¯s fine, see you!¡± I turn around and walk back toward the mansion again. While walking, I cast the Communication spell and am able to connect to Lucy. ¡°Hi Lucy,¡± I start but am immediately interrupted. ¡°SARA! You¡¯re back. Finally. How was your trip? Did you catch her? What is your brother like? Is he cute?¡± ¡°Whoa, whoa, hold on, Lucy. Let¡¯s meet up before I tell you, I missed you guys. Where are you?¡± ¡°Oh, right, sorry. We¡¯re currently at the rooftop bar of Goodwing Tower. Let¡¯s meet up there, the view is phenomenal.¡± ¡°Okay, see you soon.¡± I cut off the connection and let the spell fade. Then I shrug and teleport the last distance to the mansion and walk up to my room. I put on a nice green dress and after a bit of consideration add a pair of heels. Rooftop bar sounds fancy¡­ I better look the part. I finish my outfit with some glittering earrings that go nicely with Clara¡¯s AI chip. Speaking of Clara. ¡°Hey Clara, uhh, how do I say this? We¡¯re back now¡­ Do you want to return?¡± ¡°No, I think I¡¯ll stay with you for a while if you want me. But thanks for asking.¡± I swallow a sigh of relief. Honestly returning to S-57 for navigation would have been horror. ¡°That¡¯s great, Clara, thank you. Do you know if we can teleport to Goodwing Tower?¡± ¡°Not directly to the tower, but there is a teleportation hub in the city center. From there we can take the subway to Goodwing Tower and then the elevator up to the rooftop.¡± If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s do it that way. Whenever you¡¯re ready.¡± A set of coordinates locks in and I trigger the spell. I reappear in a white room and a voice through a speaker asks me to leave as soon as possible. I comply and exit the room. Then I enter what I can only describe as a gigantic public transportation hub. It¡¯s all underground, and there are so many people. Signs point in different directions and lead to various subway lines. Clara expertly leads me to the right one, and five minutes later, I sit down on the subway train. It¡¯s nothing special, but it¡¯s still a thousand times better than public transport on Acordus 3. Due to many stops, I spend almost twenty minutes inside the subway until finally the speaker announces Goodwing Tower as the next stop. I step out of the train and head for the elevators. ¡°Do you want to pay for the express option?¡± What? ¡°Express option?¡± I ask with a raised eyebrow. ¡°You can pay a fee, then the elevator will bring you to your destination without stops. I¡¯d recommend it, especially as you want to go all the way to the top of the tower.¡± Those people are crazy! They find ways to get money everywhere. Paying extra for an elevator¡­ This is just exploitation. ¡°Nah, I¡¯m good, there are like fifty elevators down here. How bad can it be?¡± Clara just chuckles in my ear, and I press the button to call the elevator. It arrives shortly after, and I press the button for the rooftop bar. The doors close, and the elevator starts shooting upward¡­ Just to stop after a few seconds and levels. A few people get in and I suppress a groan when I see them pressing all different buttons for different levels. The process repeats itself every few levels and after ten minutes and still only halfway up, I admit defeat. ¡°Pay it, Clara¡­ I can¡¯t take it anymore. It takes centuries!¡± ¡°Told ya. Payment is done, and the elevator won¡¯t accept new passengers anymore, as soon as everyone is out, you¡¯ve got a free ride.¡± At least I don¡¯t have to worry about money anymore, but this is still¡­ No, I can¡¯t accept it. Next time I just teleport and navigate with Space Sense. I¡¯d rather pay the fee for breaking the rules than for an elevator. The last person leaves, and my ride speeds up considerably. Just thirty seconds later, I reach the level of the rooftop bar. It¡¯s not actually on the rooftop, but on the top level of the tower. The entire top level! Finally! I step out and sigh in relief. Good thing I put on something fancy. Otherwise, I would have stood out like a sore thumb. Everyone else wears fancy clothes as well, and the whole bar screams upper class. I think they wouldn¡¯t even touch cheap booze with gloves. A waitress in a short black dress greets me upon entering the bar. ¡°Hello there and welcome. Do you have a reservation?¡± ¡°I¡­ uh, no? I just spoke with my friend earlier and she told me they were already here, and I should just join.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry,¡± she replies. ¡°I¡¯m just asking because it¡¯s a busy day, and we¡¯re quite booked today. But if your friend invited you, I guess they have an open seat at their table. Let me check if there were mentioned any late arrivals.¡± Her gaze goes vacant, and she taps a few things in the air before her. A few seconds later, she focuses back on me. ¡°Here we go, are you Sara?¡± I nod. ¡°Perfect, your friend did tell us that you are coming. Follow me, I¡¯ll bring you to them.¡± ¡°Perfect, thanks, Crystal,¡± I read from her nameplate and follow her through the bar. We pass quite a few tables; the bar is enormous in size. Everywhere fancy-dressed people are sitting. I wonder if some of them are Nobles. It could be. I really should get Mom or Dad to give me a crash course in all things Nobility before I am off to college. I notice my hair and eyes catching a few looks, but either no one dares to stand up and ask if I¡¯m a Valterion, or they all dismiss me as someone who just wants to look the part because I¡¯m not yet famous or known as a Valterion at all. Also, here in The Empire there are way more redheads than in the Estriduros Republic. I just shrug inwardly and continue to follow Crystal. It¡¯s better that way. I suppose, I have to deal with such things soon enough, so let me just enjoy the peace and quiet as long as I can. We finally reach a table next to a window, overlooking the city. At the table, Lydia and Lucy are sitting. Just the two of them. They haven¡¯t noticed me yet, as they are both looking out the window. I thank Crystal, and she leaves. The others recognize my voice and turn around. ¡°Sara!¡± Lydia cries out and jumps up to hug me. Lucy is not far behind. ¡°Welcome back!¡± We exchange greetings and sit back down. They leave me alone until I¡¯ve ordered something to drink. Then they pester me with questions about my trip back to the Estriduros Republic. I smile and start my short tale, while we enjoy our company, the drinks, and the view. It takes a few hours, and we even watch the sunset from up here, then we start to leave, while I ask Clara to take care of the payment. The others protest, but I don¡¯t give in. They have to save their money to enhance their cores in the future! They finally give in when Clara tells them that my family owns the bar anyway, and we all laugh a bit. I should have expected that. I ask them if they want to teleport home, but they decline and say they¡¯d rather take the normal way home and enjoy a bit more of the city with me. I happily agree and we leave the bar. This time I pay the fee right at the beginning of our descent and Lucy and Lydia stare in wonder at the smooth ride. When they ask how I did this, I just smirk. ¡°Trade secret.¡± A rather aggressive tickling attack has me spilling the beans a few seconds later though. After that, we take another subway back to the transportation hub, and instead of teleporting from there, Lucy calls a private shuttle, and we fly back toward the guesthouse. ¡°Did Jack and the others leave as well while I was away?¡± Lydia answers. ¡°Yeah, they left two weeks ago when your mom managed to loan them a relatively cheap freighter. Your mom¡¯s AI Miranda helped them register the company, so the ship now officially runs under MARA Deliveries, and Greg, Jack, and Alex are currently fulfilling their first contracts. Last thing I heard last week is that they are back in the Axtendus Duchy and transporting goods to a new system that¡¯s about to be colonized. A rather lucrative contract from what they told us.¡± ¡°Wow, that¡¯s great. Can¡¯t wait to hear their stories! Any words from the others?¡± Lucy shrugs. ¡°Nothing much¡­ We got a notification that everyone arrived at their military school, but that¡¯s it. I guess there is a communication blackout for fresh recruits or something.¡± ¡°There is,¡± Clara replies. ¡°The first half year is Boot Camp, where they are completely isolated. After that, depending on their behavior, they are allowed a few calls per month.¡± ¡°Oh, thanks, Clara,¡± I repeat what she just said for the others¡¯ benefit, and they nod in understanding. ¡°Thought so,¡± Lucy says. A while later, we arrive at the guesthouse, and as I¡¯d be alone in the mansion, I just decide to stay with the others for the night. Mom should return sometime tomorrow. I wonder if she¡¯s just coming home to chill, or if there is something more¡­ The next morning comes and goes and both Lucy and Lydia tell me that they are out for the day. Both of them work small jobs in the city to earn a bit of money. I tell them to have fun and slowly make my way back to the mansion. S-57 says hello, and I go to my room to grab some fresh and more comfortable clothes. Then I just sit down and practice a bit more magic while I wait for my mom. It happens around noon, a flash of magic in the living room rips me out of my concentration, and I stand back up and walk down to the living room. Down there, I find a smiling Mom¡­ and Dad as well! They are both here and smile like they just won something. ¡°Welcome back, Sara!¡± Mom catches me in a tight embrace and Dad joins in as well. ¡°We¡¯ve got a surprise for you,¡± she winks, ¡°but first you have to tell me what happened to Clara.¡± A surprise? I wonder what this is. So how do I explain this with Clara? Luckily, I don¡¯t have to, as she answers for herself. ¡°I¡¯m still there, Jasmine. I just decided that it¡¯s time to get back into it¡­ I¡¯m with Sara now.¡± Dad¡¯s jaw drops. ¡°You are? That¡¯s great news! I¡¯m happy for you.¡± ¡°Thanks, Aidan, it was time, I just noticed during the trip, how much I missed this¡­ And how lost Sara is in all things magical.¡± That last sentence comes with an audible snort. ¡°Hey!¡± I exclaim weakly, but I know she¡¯s right. ¡°That¡¯s what college will be for,¡± Mom replies and pulls a piece of cloth out of her pocket. ¡°Now for the surprise, come here.¡± She beckons me closer and when I comply, binds the cloth around my head to cover my eyes. ¡°What are you doing?¡± ¡°Well, we said surprise, right? So no peaking, and don¡¯t resist the teleportation, we¡¯re always with you and I promise you¡¯re going to love it.¡± ¡°Okaaaay¡­ Fine, I¡¯m ready.¡± Dad chuckles and puts an arm on my shoulder, then his magic envelopes me, and we teleport. We arrive somewhere else, and my parents slowly guide me somewhere. Then the piece of cloth gets removed from my eyes and I look through a window and see space beyond. I must be on a space station. Then my gaze turns a bit to the left, and my breath catches. It¡¯s the Stargazer! But she¡¯s gleaming in the distant sunlight, every surface looks polished and there is a whole new set of armor plating around the vessel. The guns also look brand new, and the magical guns look like they can rotate now! ¡°Is this¡­? Did you¡­? It¡¯s beautiful!¡± ¡°Yeah, we did,¡± Dad replies. ¡°Just a month to complete everything was quite hectic, but we managed. We know how much you love that ship, so we decided to give it an overhaul instead of gifting you a new ship for college.¡± They wanted to gift me a whole ship if I hadn¡¯t already had one? Crazy, but Dad¡¯s right, keeping the Stargazer is way better. And now I have all the upgrades I wanted without even asking. Or have I? I hug both my parents again with a few tears of joy in my eyes. ¡°Thank you! Can we go inside? I¡¯ve always dreamt of having the ship renovated.¡± ¡°Then let¡¯s get inside,¡± Mom laughs and tugs at my arm. Then we walk a bit and enter the ship through the airlock. I immediately notice the new shining floor, and before I notice something else, Mom suddenly transforms into a saleswoman. ¡°So here we have the new entrance area, you probably notice that we changed the floor layout and included additional safety doors to hinder possible intruders from immediately getting to the cargo section.¡± She¡¯s right, there is now a big secure door on both sides of the hallway connecting the airlocks. That does make sense. ¡°You¡¯ll also notice shortly that we moved the airlocks a bit further to the front of the ship, to have a clear separation. To your right now are only two small storage rooms for your immediate supplies and also the elevators that lead to the living quarters of the ship. To your left now are the main cargo rooms and the hangar bay, which was made a bit smaller, to just accommodate your yacht and make space for another set of elevators in the back, that connect the cargo and the workrooms above.¡± I just follow my parents in wonder. We turn right and take the elevator to the next deck. There, Mom shows me the new cabins which are bigger, but fewer in number, and the new communal area. Everywhere is new furniture, and I notice that pretty much everything has a gravity generator, and I can easily rearrange everything. When we finally reach the bridge, it has changed the most. Gone are the antique consoles and viewscreens, they make way for the modern and sleek consoles, I know from the Sulfira. Even those on the Maxima were already a little older. The most noticeable difference though are all the holographic representations over the consoles. ¡°As you can see, we completely overhauled the bridge. You now have holographic and hard light projectors instead of your old screens and the systems are way more intuitive and responsive. As you have Maja and now Clara as well, the ship has no dedicated AI, but either Maja or Clara can easily connect with the ship.¡± ¡°Absolutely true,¡± Clara replies through a hidden speaker. ¡°The connection is completely smooth, and Jasmine, you are very bad, you kept the biggest things from Sara for now.¡± Mom raises an eyebrow and Clara continues. ¡°The holoprojectors are everywhere on the ship, not just the bridge, and you¡¯ve got brand new engines which are way more powerful and efficient. And lastly, you¡¯ve got the full-on Magitech suite for the whole ship, not just your cheap room cleaning solutions.¡± I just stare open-mouthed. This is insane. ¡°Thank you, Mom and Dad!¡± I cry out and hug them again. ¡°This is perfect!¡± ¡°Glad you like it,¡± Dad chuckles, ¡°wanna do a quick test run? I heard you can teleport without a wormhole now¡­¡± ¡°Oh absolutely! But you said teleporting from here is prohibited?¡± ¡°Sure is, but I¡¯m also the Duke, so go ahead, I¡¯ll have Arnold send the coordinates to Clara.¡± She confirms the coordinates by locking them in and after a reassuring glance at Dad who nods, I focus on the Starship Jump spell. It¡¯s still a bit harder than my other spells, but it should get better with practice, just like all the others. When I¡¯m finished, I trigger the spell, and the Stargazer vanishes from the station with a purple flash. When we arrive somewhere else, I take a step back in exhaustion. ¡°How far was that?¡± ¡°Just about 600 light years,¡± Dad says. 600? Holy smokes, that¡¯s almost double the distance I did last time. ¡°Wow, where are we going anyway?¡± Mom steps forward and in those few seconds, she does another jump with the ship. ¡°We¡¯re going to meet the Emperor, of course.¡± I slowly nod. Yeah, those days are full of surprises¡­ Chapter 85: The Emperor Chapter 85: The Emperor Location: Magicon Empire; Magicon System; VS Stargazer It only takes a few jumps, as my parents jump ridiculous distances. I¡¯m not even needed for a second jump and pretty much before I know it, we appear close to a wormhole and a few space stations around it. ¡°Your turn again,¡± Mom smiles. ¡°Just this wormhole and we enter the Magicon System, more commonly known as the Capital.¡± ¡°The whole system is just called Capital?¡± I ask with a raised eyebrow and Mom waves me ahead. ¡°Just do the jump, you¡¯ll see.¡± So, I do as she said, still wondering what will await me on the other side. When the windows clear again after the surprisingly short trip through the wormhole, I can say I was NOT ready. I thought, I¡¯ve seen busy systems, but this is just something else. We immediately get contacted by a nearby station and are to state our destination, so that they can send us a flight path we have to follow because otherwise we¡¯d probably collide with one of the countless other ships here in the system. Luckily, Dad takes over and names our destination: Benson Moon. The man who contacted us does a short doubletake, but Arnold must have sent him something because, seconds later he confirms with ¡°Of course, Duke Valterion. Your flight path will be there shortly.¡± Shortly describes it nicely, because less than thirty seconds later, we¡¯ve got our path, and Clara sets the course. ¡°So Benson Moon, huh?¡± I ask my parents and they both chuckle. ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s a bit over the top, but it¡¯s where our ancestors founded The Empire¡­ It¡¯s been the center of government ever since, and the Benson family has their main residence on the moon. Well, I guess every one of the Big Five has a few houses there. We¡¯ll stay at ours after all,¡± Dad says in a bit of scholarly voice. I nod slowly. Things are starting to get interesting again. Who would have expected that I would meet the Emperor, who is also my great-grandfather today¡­ Wait, they said FBC is also here in the Capital. ¡°Soo, is my college also on that moon or somewhere else?¡± Mom shakes her head. ¡°No, but it¡¯s close. Both the Royal Academy and FBC are on the planet below. Wanna guess how they named it?¡± That¡¯s a trick question, right? And she¡¯s smiling broadly¡­ ¡°Don¡¯t tell me they named it Earth 2 or something?¡± ¡°No, but it¡¯s close. They named it Terra, the Latin word for Earth.¡± I shake my head at the irony. I¡¯m the only person alive who will set foot on both planets. I look at the holographic representation of the system before me. With a few gestures, all the other ships in the system vanish, and only the six planets and countless space stations remain. Terra is the third planet and besides Benson Moon, there is a second moon orbiting the planet. Terra is the only planet that looks like it has more residential areas than industrial. The other planets are all covered with insanely big production halls and some other things. I guess, that is all Magicon Incorporated. When I ask, Mom nods in confirmation. ¡°So why isn¡¯t the Valterion System so crowded? I mean we¡¯re building starships, and they are way bigger.¡± This time Dad answers. ¡°That¡¯s exactly the reason. Conor thought a bit more ahead and used a different system for all our production. It¡¯s just as busy as here, but we¡¯re not living there.¡± Ah, that makes sense¡­ And I guess relocating all this, would be too much of an effort. I shrug inwardly. What am I to say¡­ I mean if it works, why not? We slowly get closer to Benson Moon, and the traffic gets less and less. It¡¯s like an invisible barrier around the moon and we immediately get hailed again when we cross it. Dad takes care of it again, and we get assigned a docking arm at one of the space stations around the moon. After docking, we just grab our things and Dad teleports us to the Valterion estate on the moon¡¯s surface. Now that I think of it, the moon is about the size of Acordus 3. Crazy, the planet, I grew up on is just moon-sized. Okay, it was small, but still. My parents show me to my room and tell me to go to sleep early. Tomorrow, we¡¯re to meet the Emperor and most of the other Dukes and Duchesses. Yeah, perfect news for a peaceful sleep¡­ This is not making me nervous at all. I must have fallen asleep sometime, as I slowly wake up the next morning. Clara tells me to hurry up a bit if I want to eat something before the meeting, so I take a quick shower and dress up afterward. Mom handed me a nice-looking purple dress yesterday, so I just take it and put it on. It fits me perfectly, and besides being purple, there are also a few glittering diamonds along the seams. I twirl before the mirror and giggle in excitement. It¡¯s so beautiful! My heels click when I walk down the stairs and find my parents already waiting at the breakfast table. ¡°Good morning, Sara, did you sleep well?¡± ¡°Not really, Mom¡­ Telling me right before sleeping what would happen today was not the best idea.¡± She gets a bit of an awkward expression. ¡°Right, sorry¡­ Here, let me fix you.¡± She waves her hand, and suddenly, any lingering tiredness is washed away. She does it again, and I feel something happening to my face. Then she hands me a small mirror. Where did that come from? Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. I take it and take a look. I¡¯m wearing perfect make-up now! Holy smokes. It frames my face and accentuates my green eyes. Just wow. ¡°Thanks, Mom!¡± ¡°You¡¯re welcome. Those are Utility spells by the way. Keep an eye out for them at college, they are lifesavers. Now grab something to eat, we¡¯re already late.¡± She winks. I just take something small, I¡¯m not that hungry anyway, then Dad grabs us again with his Teleportation spell and we¡¯re somewhere else. If this is the Emperor¡¯s palace, then it¡¯s not like I expected. I was thinking about gold and gemstones on the walls with red carpets and all, but the reality is just a building like every other. We step out of the room we arrived in, and Dad leads us along the hallway. I nudge him and ask him why it¡¯s looking so mundane. He barks a laugh. ¡°I thought you noticed by now. Do we look like the typical Duke and Duchess out of your stories?¡± He indicates Mom and himself. ¡°Well no¡­¡± I say and Dad nods sagely. ¡°Exactly, the others aren¡¯t that different, and especially the Bensons are just living their normal life. There is no need for gold and all that stuff. We¡¯re just people, even if some upstart Nobles think differently,¡± he grumbles the last part under his breath. The hallway ends with a door, and this time, someone is standing beside the entrance. A tall man wearing a uniform nods at us approaching and knocks at the door. A few seconds later, the door opens and shows a big room beyond. A table in the middle is already occupied, and I immediately recognize almost half of them. They look exactly like their ancestors! I take in a sharp breath. Those are the most important people of The Empire! Mom gently puts a hand on my back, and we both follow Dad into the room. A man, who I recognize as an Axtendus from Axtendus Agriculture, with blonde hair and piercing blue eyes, speaks up. ¡°What¡¯s this about Aidan, and who¡¯s the girl?¡± Now everyone looks at me and I cringe a bit. They didn¡¯t tell them? The slightly older man at the head of the table gasps. He has green eyes and brown hair, that starts to get grey at his temples. My brain takes a second until I make the connection. He looks like Ferdinand Benson. It¡¯s the Emperor, and I guess he just realized who I am. Suddenly, he disappears and stands before me a fraction of a second later. Then I find myself in a big hug. ¡°Is that you, Sara,¡± he whispers, and I tell him yes. The hug gets even tighter. ¡°How? And where have you been?¡± Dad saves me and puts a hand on great grandpa¡¯s? shoulder. ¡°Easy there, John, you¡¯re strangling her.¡± He chuckles and releases me, then he turns around and faces the others again. Most of them have various expressions of disbelief on their faces, but a few of them also have wide eyes, after they realize who I am. ¡°Everyone, I present you Sara Valterion, my long-lost great-granddaughter!¡± Now everyone realizes and stares at me with wide eyes and open mouths. Dad takes the moment to chime in. ¡°She also comes with superb news.¡± Now the expressions turn to curiosity, and I have to suppress a glare at Dad. Really, he just throws me into the water like that? The Emperor signals to everyone to quiet down, and they all sit back down at the table. A few of them jumped up earlier. My parents and I also sit down with the others. Everyone still looks at me, and I clear my throat. ¡°Uhh, hi¡­ Nice to meet you, I¡¯m Sara.¡± That earns me a few chuckles, as the Emperor just said that. The others introduce themselves as well, but I forget most of their names in my nervousness. I guess, I have to look them up on the net later¡­ ¡°The news,¡± Clara whispers in my ear when I¡¯m just staying silent. Right, I¡¯ve got to tell them about Earth minus the Worldender Ship part, at least for now. ¡°Right, as you all know, I was kidnapped as a little girl. Due to different circumstances, including a pirate attack on my kidnappers, I grew up in the Estriduros Republic¡­ In case you¡¯ve never heard of it, it¡¯s on the other end of the galaxy and an anti-Mage nation.¡± That earns me looks of sympathy from everyone and I continue. ¡°It¡¯s all not important right now, but other circumstances led to me getting lost inside a collapsing wormhole.¡± Now that gets a few shouts of disbelief and Dad even has to quiet the others down. ¡°I somehow got pulled out of hyperspace and found myself in a half-destroyed and completely uninhabited star system.¡± I pause for dramatic effect and Duchess Song, I think her name was Xin, gets impatient. ¡°That¡¯s all nice and good, but can you come to the point? We don¡¯t have all day.¡± I grin back at her. ¡°I¡¯m already at the point. Care to guess which system I landed in?¡± The Magnus Schmidt look-alike from Armortec is the first to catch on. I think his name is Peter, but it also could be Paul¡­ I should have paid more attention. ¡°There¡¯s no way!¡± He calls out and Duchess Song looks at him. ¡°What is it, Pascal?¡± Oops, looks like both my guesses were wrong. ¡°She¡¯s talking about the Solar System and Earth, right?¡± He looks at me and I nod. ¡°Everything else wouldn¡¯t have made sense.¡± ¡°No way!¡± She exclaims, and everyone else looks shocked as well. Dad comes to the rescue again and stands up. ¡°Yes way,¡± he chuckles and waves his arm. A holographic projection of the pictures Maja and I shot in the Solar System appears. ¡°We compared the pictures with archive data, and it all checks out. Sara also brought data from computers from both the Magicon and Valterion planetary headquarters.¡± Another wave has the ad from the Magitech oven running, and everyone stares in silence. Duke Axtendus speaks up. ¡°So, the scientists were wrong and it didn¡¯t take 20,000 years? The radiation is gone?¡± Dad nods. ¡°So it seems, we¡¯ve had Sara checked out by our chief Doctor, and everything looks fine. There is no radiation poisoning or anything else. I¡¯d say Earth is habitable again.¡± The Emperor looks at me. ¡°So where is it? Where is the Solar System?¡± Ah dammit. This is going to be awkward! ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­ I traced back my route through hyperspace when I returned from Earth¡­ My ship didn¡¯t keep any navigational data, as I had no reference points. Also, I forgot to do any long range scans that would have enabled us to triangulate the location through nearby stars, I¡®m sorry¡­ Don¡¯t you have records about the location?¡± He shakes his head. ¡°No, we don¡¯t¡­ Shit, such great news, but still useless.¡± I glance at Dad. ¡°What about Conor¡¯s message?¡± He nods. ¡°Yeah, we might have the coordinates in our vault¡­ Sara found a message from Conor Valterion on Earth and it¡¯s apparently the second part of something he left in the family vault. The problem is, it only unlocks after 20,000 years, but we¡¯re working on it.¡± The Emperor sighs, there is a bit of relief hidden in the tone. ¡°Alright, keep me posted. A possible return to Earth¡­ This is going to be great.¡± He looks back at me. ¡°Thank you, Sara! I look forward to getting to know you better. Will you be joining RMA in the next semester? Your cousins are studying there as well.¡± ¡°Actually,¡± Mom starts, ¡°that¡¯s the other thing why we¡¯re here. We¡¯d like to keep Sara¡¯s return and existence secret for a little while longer. So, I¡¯d like to have your discretion. We still don¡¯t know who was behind her kidnapping, and Sara isn¡¯t ready to deal with all the Noble brats to give you a few reasons. Therefore, she will be joining FBC under a fake name.¡± Especially the Noble brats comment earns her a few chuckles, and everyone gathered is completely understanding. They all affirm, that my existence will be kept under wraps, or at least inside the family. I sigh in relief. The Emperor knocks on the table. ¡°Alright, with this, everything is done for today, I wish you a nice stay here on Benson Moon. If you need anything, you know where to find me.¡± He stands up and looks at me. ¡°Sara, will you join me for a bit?¡± ¡°Uhh, sure.¡± Chapter 86: Grandpa John Chapter 86: Grandpa John Location: Magicon Empire; Magicon System; Benson Moon; Emperor¡¯s Estate The meeting ends with the Emperor telling everyone to leave, including my parents. Mom protests, but he gives her a stern look. ¡°Jasmine, take your husband and go sightseeing or something, I don¡¯t care, but I want to talk to Sara alone.¡± ¡°Fine, fine, but you¡¯ll join us for dinner together with Grandma! Where is she anyway?¡± The Emperor chuckles. ¡°Alright, we¡¯ll all eat together tonight. Amelia is busy collecting your parents, so expect them as well for dinner.¡± Mom looks surprised. ¡°They are close?¡± ¡°Yeah, they were sighted in the Starseeker Kingdom just two days ago, so Amelia is there looking for them, and from what she told me earlier, she found them and is on her way back. It¡¯s been a while since I saw them last, and it¡¯s time for my son to take my place sooner or later¡­ That Sara is here now as well is an even better surprise for everyone.¡± Mom suddenly laughs out loud. ¡°Oh, I don¡¯t think that will work out as you plan¡­ You might just skip Dad and make Jonathan your successor instead.¡± The Emperor grimaces and makes a shooing motion. ¡°Yeah, yeah, now off you go, or I¡¯ll choose you instead.¡± Mom and Dad vanish without another word, and I just stand there, very confused. ¡°What the hell just happened?¡± Crap, I said that out loud! The Emperor looks at me with an amused expression. ¡°Come, let¡¯s go somewhere more comfortable, I¡¯ll tell you on the way.¡± ¡°Uhh, yes, your Highness?¡± He visibly recoils at my words. ¡°No, none of that! Call me Grandpa John or just John, but none of that highness stuff.¡± Grandpa John, huh? ¡°Alright, Grandpa it is.¡± ¡°Good girl,¡± he chuckles, ¡°now on to your confusion. You see my son and his wife, your actual grandparents, are something more akin to free spirits. They travel the galaxy all the time and don¡¯t care for much else. Your mother and uncle were basically raised by me and my other children while they were gone.¡± He sighs. ¡°Now that my retirement is nearing, I¡¯d like for my son to finally take responsibility, but it looks like it won¡¯t work out. He¡¯s the firstborn, so at least I have to check if he wants before I start asking my other children¡­¡± He stops speaking for a bit, and we walk in silence. Then we enter a room that looks like one of those old smoking rooms out of a movie. Wooden shelves with ornaments, red velvet on the wall, and comfortable armchairs around a table. The shelves are filled with lots of bottles and Grandpa immediately grabs two glasses while beckoning me to sit. The armchair is very comfortable, and I notice that it¡¯s an actual chair, without a grav engine. Is it that old or just made to look like this? Anyway, Grandpa John hands me a glass filled with brown liquid and sits down on another chair. ¡°Come on, try it. I think you¡¯ll like it, it¡¯s my favorite bourbon.¡± I take a sip, and it¡¯s surprisingly good. ¡°Yeah, I can see why you like it.¡± ¡°Glad you like it,¡± he continues under his breath, ¡°it has to be good for that price¡­¡± ¡°Soo, Grandpa John, why are we here? I feel like this is your man cave or something.¡± He laughs and almost chokes at his bourbon. ¡°True enough, this is exactly what it is! As for why you¡¯re here?¡± He pauses and looks me directly in the eyes. His are the same as Mom¡¯s. A piercing green, full of wisdom and also age. Emotion enters his voice when he continues. ¡°You¡¯re my great-granddaughter, Sara. I held you in my arms when you were born. Then you were just gone. No one knew where you were taken, and your father had to decide to continue hiding your existence and your kidnapping because it would have shown weakness to the lower Noble houses. Your mother didn¡¯t cope well with it, because it also meant that your parents couldn¡¯t use all the resources of The Empire to search for you. From what I know now, it wouldn¡¯t have changed much, but your parents didn¡¯t know that. Their marriage almost broke apart because of this, and your mother almost destroyed a planet in her rage during a war she fought shortly after. It broke my heart, to see her like this, and it took her years to return to a sense of normality. ¡°Now you¡¯re back, twenty years later, and I haven¡¯t seen your parents this happy in like ever. I want to be part of your life as long as I still can. You¡¯re my family, and therefore I¡¯d like to hear your story. What happened to you in those twenty years? You told us a bit earlier, but I know there is more. I just know it. Not everything was as happy as you told us. I want to know everything! Please.¡± His gaze is so intense, that the words just come out of me. I tell him everything from the beginnings on Acordus 3 including not knowing who I was, over the discovery of my weak magic, and my time at the academy. Grandpa¡¯s glass splinters into a thousand pieces when he hears about the collars, and he laughs happy tears when I describe pirate Captain Orin¡¯s face. Then I almost choke at the sudden magical pressure that leaks out of him when I tell him about what they planned with Maja, but he quickly sighs in relief, when I tell him that we made sure, that nothing remains of that project. He asks for every detail of my time on Earth and even notices that I left something out. He looks a bit sad because of this but doesn¡¯t comment. I struggle with it, but my parents told me to keep it secret until we can confirm it on our own. In the end, I tell Grandpa, that I¡¯ll tell him as soon as I¡¯m able. That brings the smile back to his face and he nods in understanding. Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. I finish my tale with the recruiting of my crew and our escape from the Estriduros Republic. I even tell him about my feelings and struggles after my first kills, a fact that I didn¡¯t tell my parents, and he gives me a comforting hug. ¡°I won¡¯t say it¡¯ll get easier, but you¡¯ll learn how to cope with it. I wasn¡¯t that different¡­ I was a complete wreck after the first time, but this is our life! I¡¯m proud of you, Sara. It was a hard decision you had to make, but a necessary one!¡± That stops my sobbing, and I manage to continue my tale. I finish with the best part: my magic. Sure, we want to keep my nature as a pseudo-Archmage more or less secret, but my parents also told me that I can tell the Emperor, as he¡¯ll find out anyway. He¡¯s currently the strongest known Mage in existence. ¡°So, one more thing, Grandpa John,¡± I smile at him, and release all holds I have on my magic. The full power floods out of me and fills the room until I stop and reign it back in. Grandpa John¡¯s eyes go wide, and his mouth drops open. ¡°Archmage?¡± He asks in disbelief, and I shake my head. ¡°Something like that. My cores merged, but I¡¯m still missing A&D. We¡¯re calling it pseudo-Archmage and our best guess is that it happened due to my Space core overpowering the inhibitor Artifact.¡± He nods sagely. ¡°Quite possible¡­ Sara, listen. Your parents probably already told you, but you have to be careful. You have the potential of becoming one of the, if not the strongest Mage ever. Especially now when you¡¯re still missing A&D and are still new to everything. The galaxy is big, and there are groups out there that would kill whole worlds if they learned of your potential!¡± I gulp and he goes on. ¡°I can protect you while you¡¯re here at college, but I won¡¯t be here forever. You have to get you¡¯re A&D core as soon as possible.¡± ¡°I know¡­ That¡¯s why we won¡¯t announce my actual power to everyone. I¡¯ll be joining FBC as a Master Space Mage and Junior in Utility. As for A&D, it¡¯ll take a while¡­ I need an Artifact core.¡± He winces. ¡°Well, shit¡­ That¡¯s going to be a problem¡­ The last one was found 500 years ago, but I¡¯ll keep an eye out. We¡¯ll find one for you.¡± ¡°Thanks, Grandpa.¡± ¡°You¡¯re welcome. Now enough talking. Wanna see the rest of the moon? Oh, and when you¡¯re at college, don¡¯t forget to check in and see me. I¡¯m just one jump away from the planet with your power. Don¡¯t worry about a permit, I¡¯ll take care of that.¡± ¡°Thanks again, I¡¯m sure going to visit! And yes, show me everything.¡± He chuckles and offers his arm. Then we jump somewhere else. The moon is nothing special, but it still has its highlights. Grandpa John shows me everything and even with teleporting from one place to the next, it still takes a few hours. No one seems to recognize us or better him though. When I ask, he chuckles and tells me he casted a Disguise spell on both of us earlier. I¡¯m quite shocked, as I didn¡¯t notice a thing, and I am proud of my magical senses, especially after unlocking my true power. Most powerful Mage indeed! So, we go on with visiting some beautiful places here on the moon and grab some sandwiches for lunch along the way. The highlight for me is when we just sit down on top of a mountain, right at the moment when the moon dives into the shadow of the planet below. It¡¯s beautiful, to see how the light slowly fades. This also ends our trip, as it¡¯s now time for family dinner. I guess I get to see three more members of my family now. And from what Grandpa John told me, two of them sound like complete hippies. Turns out I get to meet more than three new people. When Grandpa John and I arrive back at the Valterion Estate on the moon, we¡¯re led to the dining room by our AIs. Entering that room, I immediately spot my parents. There is also a man standing close to them who looks similar to Adrian. Is that my other brother Christopher? Must be, as he smiles broadly upon seeing me and rushes over to grab me in a hug. ¡°Hey little Sara, you¡¯ve grown.¡± Really, that¡¯s the first thing he says to me? Also, I¡¯m not little anymore! ¡°Hi Christopher, nice to meet you too,¡± I say with maybe a little too much force. A wince goes through his body. ¡°Sorry, I got too excited¡­ And call me Chris please.¡± He releases me from the hug and takes a step back. Then he notices Grandpa John and his expression freezes and he bows awkwardly. ¡°My Emperor.¡± Is this guy for real? Sure, Mom said he¡¯s completely into the Noble business, but that¡¯s over the top, right? Grandpa John thinks the same and frowns at Chris. ¡°Enough of that. You know that I don¡¯t require those formalities¡­ How often must I tell you to call me Grandpa John?¡± Chris winces. ¡°Sorry, it¡¯s a habit¡­¡± Suddenly a bored voice rings out. ¡°And that¡¯s why you stopped our vacation, Mom? Really? To listen to family drama?¡± I look around and notice a man with long blonde hair and a matching beard. The hair is unkempt, and he looks completely out of place here. I also notice the facial structure that matches Grandpa John, and the woman next to him who looks just as unkempt as the man, just with black hair and without a beard. Are those the people who I think they are? Mom¡¯s parents? My actual grandparents? Oh my, the others didn¡¯t exaggerate. A much more regal-looking woman in her sixties with grey-streaked black hair smacks the back of the man¡¯s head. ¡°Manners, Karl. It¡¯s time for you to grow up!¡± Then she looks at me and smiles. ¡°Oh Sara, come here. It¡¯s been too long. I¡¯m so glad that you are back. You can call me Grandma Amelia.¡± I return her smile and walk over to hug her. ¡°Hi, nice to meet you, again, I guess?¡± She chuckles and grabs me in a tight hug. The hippie woman next to Karl stage-whispers at him. ¡°Who is this woman?¡± Karl just shrugs. ¡°I don¡¯t know, looks like a Valterion though¡­¡± Grandpa John explodes and teleports right in front of his son and daughter-in-law. ¡°This is Sara, your granddaughter! If you weren¡¯t completely lost in your hippie lifestyle, you¡¯d also know that she was kidnapped shortly after her birth and just recently fought her way back to us through pirates, corrupt governments, and more! Can you finally start taking responsibility? I¡¯m about to retire. You have to man up!¡± Karl doesn¡¯t show much reaction and just shrugs and looks at me. ¡°Nice to meet you, I guess?¡± He gives a lazy wave. Yeah, that won¡¯t work out. If this guy becomes Emperor¡­ Grandpa John¡¯s head turns even more red, and I can imagine steam running out of his ears. I put a hand on his shoulder. ¡°Grandpa, I don¡¯t think this will work¡­ I think you should look into other options.¡± He lets out a long breath and nods. ¡°You¡¯re right¡­¡± Karl and his wife look at me curiously, then Grandpa John focuses back on them. ¡°Karl Benson. You are hereby disowned! From now on, you won¡¯t have access to any family assets and are no longer welcome on my moon. Now leave, I don¡¯t want to see you again as long as you don¡¯t start taking responsibility.¡± They both look completely shocked and Grandpa John waves a hand. They disappear. ¡°I should have done that years ago¡­¡± He mutters. We all look at him with different degrees of shock. Amelia is the one to speak up. ¡°You think this will work out? And where have you sent them?¡± Grandpa John shrugs. ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­ Maybe? They are on a freighter to the Song Duchy, and from there on they are on their own. Maybe they finally learn it this way.¡± Dad clears his throat awkwardly. ¡°Well, this is not how I expected the family dinner to go, but if you¡¯d all sit down, the food is ready.¡± Grandpa John chuckles darkly and we all sit down and wait for the food. It just appears a second later on the table and we start eating. I¡¯m still reeling from what just happened. Grandpa John just disowned them! Just like that. And I thought I knew about family dramas from TV shows. It¡¯s something else, seeing something like that in real life. Holy smokes, I still don¡¯t know the name of my hippie grandma! Chapter 87: Sara Green Chapter 87: Sara Green Location: Magicon Empire; Magicon System; Benson Moon; Valterion Estate The remainder of the dinner passes pretty much without further issues. I talk a bit with Amelia and Chris, and we get to know each other better. A pretty normal dinner if you ignore everything that happened before the food arrived. The end of dinner comes with another topic, that has been in the back of my head for a while but never became that relevant so far. ¡°So, I¡¯ve heard that you¡¯ll visit Ferdinand Benson College soon,¡± Grandma Amelia speaks up. I swallow my final bite. ¡°Yeah, my parents and I decided to keep me from all the Noble shenanigans for now.¡± She smiles. ¡°Good, but don¡¯t become too detached¡­ I don¡¯t want to repeat what happened earlier today.¡± A shudder runs down my spine. I will not become a hippie! ¡°Oh, not at all. I just want to familiarize myself a bit more with all the magical stuff and the nation here. I think that¡¯s enough for now¡­ No need for further hurdles in the form of young Nobles.¡± That has the whole table chuckling and Chris starts to speak. ¡°True enough, RMA is full of them, but believe me, it¡¯s more fun than you think.¡± ¡°Maybe, but I think, I¡¯m good for now.¡± I turn back to Amelia. ¡°So why did you bring up college so suddenly?¡± ¡°Well, you obviously need a new identity, and conveniently enough, I do have one for you. It¡¯s only a month till the semester starts, so you better start familiarizing yourself with it.¡± I look at Mom. ¡°Didn¡¯t you¡­¡± She shakes her head and stage whispers. ¡°Grandma Amelia is The Empire¡¯s spy mistress. You won¡¯t get a better fake identity and if she offers¡­ Take it!¡± She winks at me. Spy mistress, huh? So that¡¯s how she managed to keep track of my hippie grandparents. ¡°Okay, so what do you have in mind?¡± Grandma Amelia waves her hand, and a holoprojector comes alive and projects a young woman above the table together with a biography to her right. She has black hair with pink highlights at the tips, blue eyes, and her face is pretty similar to my own, just without the freckles and with a little bit darker complexion. She looks pretty good if it wasn¡¯t for the pink highlights. I look at the biography and take a sharp breath. That¡¯s comprehensive! A detailed family tree, that encompasses five past generations, a whole history of school and small jobs, connections with companies big enough to make the attendance at FBC believable, and much more. I look at the name. Sara Green. I like it. Way less suspicious than Valtron. Still, that¡¯s a lot to take in. Basically, more information than I know about my real life¡­ ¡°Is that really necessary? It seems a bit over the top?¡± ¡°Oh, absolutely! You¡¯re going to need it. While there aren¡¯t many Nobles at FBC, it¡¯s still the premier college for company scions, and their families leave no stone unturned if you manage to catch their interest. And with your looks and magical potential, that¡¯s pretty much guaranteed. So, you¡¯ll have a lot to study in the coming month. Your identity has to be waterproof, and you must answer questions about it without delay. Your AI can help you, but if your parents haven¡¯t taken care of it yet, you¡¯ll probably need a better one as well.¡± Clara takes that moment to chime in with a smug voice. ¡°Oh, I think she¡¯s good.¡± Grandpa John almost spills his drink. ¡°Clara? You¡¯re back in the saddle?¡± ¡°I sure am!¡± ¡°Fantastic,¡± Amelia replies, ¡°that takes care of one problem.¡± Now I wonder if there is even more to Clara than I already know¡­ They all seem familiar with each other. A question for later, I guess. ¡°Okay, thanks, Grandma Amelia.¡± ¡°You¡¯re welcome, and don¡¯t forget to visit us from time to time. We¡¯ll only be one jump away.¡± ¡°Sure thing, I already promised Grandpa. One more question, though. How do I, you know, look like her?¡± I indicate the hologram of Sara Green. Amelia looks at Mom with a raised eyebrow. ¡°Disguises are your specialty.¡± She chuckles. ¡°True enough¡­ We¡¯ve already built everything you need into the Stargazer, Sara. I¡¯ll show you later. It¡¯s a disguise chamber, that lets you magically alter your appearance.¡± Cool, and does that mean I can keep my starship? ¡°Nice, thank you, Mom!¡± We all talk a bit more, and then the Bensons and Chris say their goodbyes and leave. Location: Magicon Empire; Valterion Duchy; Valterion System; Nua; Alburgh; Valterion Mansion The following month passes quickly, maybe too quickly, but I still manage. I¡¯m now able to almost perfectly answer any question anyone asks about Sara Green, and I learned a long-range Communication spell to talk with my parents while I¡¯m at college. Unfortunately, it¡¯s not the Video Call one, so I can only voice chat with them. Lydia and Lucy also got their new identities from Grandma Amelia and are now named Lydia Walton and Lucinda Arkandi. We spent a lot of time together and trained our knowledge of those new identities. Luckily, Amelia made it so that we all knew each other from before. For example, Sara Green went to school with Lucy, and I know Lydia from business dealings between our parents. If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Yeah, that¡¯s another fact I missed earlier. Those fake identities include whole Companies that are behind them. I don¡¯t know if they were just created for us, or if Amelia already had them ready to use. Probably the latter. Just crazy. Anyway, it¡¯s now time for us to get going, so we all go out to the city to enjoy a last breakfast together. My parents join us as well of course, and so we all sit at the top of another tower and enjoy a completely over-the-top breakfast, courtesy to my parents. After that, we make a quick stop at Doctor Philipps¡¯ and say goodbye to Ronja, then we teleport up to the Stargazer, or the GIS Stargazer, as she is now designated: Green Industries Ship. Arriving there, Mom takes me to the disguise chamber on deck 04 and I step in to initiate the transformation, just like we trained in the past month. I tried to change my highlights to purple, but everyone insisted, that they have to stay pink ¨C a bummer, but what can I do? I initiate the process, and magic surrounds me. I don¡¯t feel anything else, but five minutes later, everything stops, and I look into the mirror that is included in the chamber. I look exactly like the hologram from Amelia. Sara Green is ready for college! I step out of the chamber and Mom and Dad are waiting for me. I hug them both, and we say our goodbyes. We all shed a few tears, but they also tell me that they¡¯ll be on Benson Moon in a month, and I better visit them there. Of course, I say that I¡¯ll be there, and then they teleport away. Now it¡¯s just Lucy, Lydia, and me. Time to set sail! A quick teleport brings me to the bridge, where the others are already waiting for me. ¡°Are you ready, Sara?¡± Lucy asks. ¡°Absolutely! Clara, do your thing and take us out, please.¡± The Stargazer is currently docking at a normal space station inside the Valterion System. As I¡¯m now Sara Green and don¡¯t have my Valterion privileges anymore, we have to travel without breaking the rules. This means cruising out to the wormhole and leaving from there. Only then we can use the Starship Jump spell. Luckily, we¡¯ve got Clara, and she expertly navigates us out toward the wormhole. It takes a while, and I already miss the short time I spent as Sara Valterion so far. Luckily, college isn¡¯t forever, and I¡¯m not required to travel around too much once I¡¯m there. We spend our time watching a movie and playing a few board games until Clara calls me to the bridge for the trip through the wormhole. It goes smoothly, and on the other side, we do a bit of a break to recover my power. Then it¡¯s finally time to speed things up! Clara gives me the coordinates, and I focus on the Starship Jump spell. I trigger it, and we jump a good distance closer to our destination. Then the exhaustion hits and I retire to my cabin. I don¡¯t even have the energy to ask how far I just jumped. I sleep like a baby. We take things slow from there on to not overwork my magic, and the process repeats itself for the next three days until we finally arrive close to a familiar wormhole. It¡¯s the one leading into the Magicon System. After flying through it, things get busy again and we get assigned a much more indirect route to the planet than with the ducal benefits I had last time. Clara follows it perfectly, and we arrive at our destination almost a day later: A mid-sized space station above Terra, that offers long-time leases of its docking arms. It doesn¡¯t come cheap, but it¡¯s expected for someone of Sara Green¡¯s status. Is it weird that I sometimes think of myself in the third person? Anyway, we spend the night on the ship again before we take one of the station¡¯s shuttles to get us down to the planet below. Location: Magicon Empire; Magicon System; Terra; Imperia The shuttle takes us down to the planet first thing in the morning. We didn¡¯t even have time to eat breakfast, as the 0500 flight was the only one that still had three open spaces. So, we arrive on planet Terra hungry and half asleep. Nothing a big cup of coffee and a hearty breakfast can¡¯t change! Luckily, I can ask Clara who immediately leads us to a small coffee shop in a back alley. ¡°This was your grandfather¡¯s favorite here on the planet.¡± She replies when I ask why we didn¡¯t go to one of the countless shops on the big street leading away from the spaceport. We are quick to trust her judgment and enter the small shop. The smell of freshly brewed coffee enters my nose, and I let out a long sigh. Just what I need right now. The young man with glasses and the name tag Nicholas behind the counter grins at us when we step into the shop. ¡°Good morning, ladies, I see some new faces have found their way to our shop. What can I get for you?¡± ¡°Morning,¡± I reply, ¡°I¡¯ll take a large coffee and one second¡­¡± I look at the holographic menu behind him. ¡°And the Imperial breakfast.¡± ¡°Good choice! And for you?¡± Lydia takes a chai latte and the same breakfast, which consists of pretty much one of everything, and Lucy takes another coffee and a French breakfast with croissants and a lot of jam. We sit down at one of the wooden tables and wait for our food to arrive. When I look around, I notice that we¡¯re the only customers, probably because of the back alley location of the shop. Nicholas arrives shortly after with our things and asks if he could join us and I happily agree. Maybe he can answer a few of my questions. We start to eat, and after a short while, I turn to him. ¡°So, Nicholas, how¡¯s life here in the city?¡± He raises an eyebrow. ¡°Oh, you are new, new! And please call me Nick.¡± Lucy nods. ¡°Yeah, we arrived just this morning, and Sara¡¯s AI led us right here. Apparently, you have a special place. Oh, and I¡¯m Lucy, this is Sara and Lydia.¡± ¡°Thanks, Lucy, my Grandma will like that, she¡¯s the owner. As for the city? I could tell you about it all day¡­ So, could you tell me what you¡¯re here for so I can tell you the relevant stuff,¡± he flashes a big smile, and his brown eyes sparkle. He¡¯s quite pretty with his dark-blonde hair and striking jawline, I have to say. Lucy notices as well, as she blushes quite a bit. ¡°Well, we¡¯re here for college¡­ It¡¯s our first year, so we¡¯re pretty much clueless.¡± ¡°Perfect, well not perfect for you, but for me. I¡¯m about to start college as well, so you¡¯ve come to the right man!¡± ¡°You are?¡± Lydia asks. ¡°Which one?¡± His smile gets even wider. ¡°I¡¯ll be going to FBC! The first one in my family, I got a full scholarship from the Benson Foundation because of my theory about hyperspace.¡± I grin back at him. ¡°That¡¯s amazing! We¡¯re going to FBC as well. Oh, and you have to tell me about your theory. I¡¯m quite interested in hyperspace as well.¡± ¡°Wow, great! So I¡¯ll be seeing you girls in the future.¡± His eyes flash to Lucy, who blushes even more. ¡°My hyperspace stuff has to wait for a bit though¡­ It¡¯s a lot, and I don¡¯t know if I¡¯m allowed to share. Now for the important things. As we¡¯re all going to FBC, I know exactly what to tell you¡­¡± Turns out Nick is a bit of a party guy, as he mostly tells us about the best locations to go out in the evening. Some of them sound pretty cool, and I¡¯m sure that I¡¯ll check them out in the future. We also learn a bit more about the city itself. Imperia is the capital city of Terra, and after Benson Moon pretty much also the capital of The Empire. It¡¯s big! As in really big, even bigger than Shanghai was on Earth. 150 million inhabitants, most of them work for Magicon in different functions, and the city is divided into different parts or districts as well. Just like in Alburgh, there are those giant towers, that pierce the clouds and offer a lot of space for people to live in or for companies to have their offices. Circling the towers is the remainder of the city, like the district with the spaceport where we are now. Other districts are for example all things administration, shopping, or most important for us, the university district. It¡¯s on the other side of the city, unfortunately, so we have to travel for quite a bit until we reach it. Nick said that especially the university district is like a city inside the city, as it contains everything, we students might need from dorms to sleep in, grocery stores, and restaurants, to the actual universities themselves. According to him, most students never leave the university district until they graduate. One thing, I¡¯m not planning to do, as I promised to visit my family on Benson Moon. I don¡¯t tell him that, of course, as Sara Green has absolutely no business up there. In the end, we all exchange contacts and promise to meet again once we¡¯ve settled in our dorms. Then we leave the coffee shop and start our trip through the city. Chapter 88: First Impressions Chapter 88: First Impressions Location: Magicon Empire; Magicon System; Terra; Imperia It takes more than an hour to cross the city while using the public transport. I can now understand why most students never leave the university district¡­ It just takes sooo long to travel through the city, especially through the central part with all the towers. But now we¡¯re finally there. The subway stops, and we exit the train. An escalator takes us back to the surface, and I have to pick up my jaw from the ground at what I see before me. A literal castle blocks my view with round towers and everything. A walkway goes right through the open central gate and lots of people walk through. ¡°You sure, we¡¯re at the right place?¡± Lydia asks and I can only shrug. ¡°I guess we¡¯ll find out¡­ Let¡¯s see what¡¯s on the other side, not that we can walk anywhere else.¡± That¡¯s not exactly true, as we could walk in the other direction, but that way leads back to the giant towers in the city center. The only way forward is through the gate, as the castle reaches left and right of us as far as my eyes can see. ¡°Hey Clara, do you know what that castle is for?¡± ¡°Of course, It was the original Royal Magic Academy and was extended multiple times over the years, until it wasn¡¯t practical anymore. Today it¡¯s what divides the university district from the rest of the city, and contains mostly offices of various professors, and small bars and shops on the ground floor. If you step through, you¡¯ll see the actual university district, and don¡¯t be surprised, it¡¯s big!¡± The giant castle got too small? Holy smokes, just how big did the RMA become? And then there is still FBC and a few other universities in the district! ¡°Thanks, Clara!¡± I turn to the others and tell them what I just learned. They both get big eyes, but agree, that we just walk through the gate. Once we are through, it¡¯s like we¡¯ve entered another world. There are countless buildings of varying heights. Some of them almost reach the height of the towers of the city center. Why didn¡¯t we see them from outside the castle gate? Is that an illusion like the Magitech of the administrative building in the Silvani System? And if so for what? To have a nice, unobstructed view of the castle? Crazy¡­ ¡°Oh wow, Clara didn¡¯t exaggerate¡­ That¡¯s one big district. Do you know which buildings belong to FBC?¡± Lydia and Lucy shake their heads, but Clara comes to the rescue again and highlights a path on our interfaces. ¡°Just follow the route. It¡¯ll lead you to the administrative building of FBC where you can check in and get your dorm numbers and everything.¡± ¡°Thanks, Clara, you¡¯re a lifesaver.¡± ¡°I know,¡± she replies smugly, and I have to stifle a laugh. We follow Clara¡¯s route and share the expectations we have about FBC with each other. When we walk past several food vendors, Lydia suddenly stops and approaches one of them. It¡¯s a noodle stand that sells different kinds of noodles in small cups. ¡°Hang on, I¡¯ll grab some¡­ I¡¯m hungry,¡± she says and does just so. It takes the vendor only a few seconds, and then Lydia returns with three steaming cups floating next to her. Huh? When did she get so proficient with Telekinesis? ¡°Thanks, Lydia, and nice magic!¡± I tell her when the cup floats over to me. ¡°I know, right? I¡¯ve struggled for so long, but now I¡¯m finally able to do dexterous movements with the spell.¡± Lucy looks a bit sulkily¡­ I can understand her of course. She finally reached Master with her A&D magic a few weeks back and Doctor Philipps got her a Junior Utility core, but she didn¡¯t get much practice in so far. ¡°You¡¯ll be fine, Lucy,¡± I put an arm around her shoulder. ¡°Just give it a bit of time¡­ I struggled just as much, maybe even more when I first got my Utility core.¡± It seems to comfort her a bit, and she nods slowly and grabs the cup of noodles. We dig in while we continue walking toward our destination. From the looks of it, we¡¯re heading for one of the tallest towers here in the university district. A quick hand swipe brings up the whole map of the district and my guess is confirmed. It¡¯s the FBC administration tower. As we get closer, the crowd thickens, and a long queue starts to form. I let out a silent sigh. This is going to suck¡­ There are so many people. We should have arrived earlier. All the other people don¡¯t look much happier. Everyone wears some kind of frown on their faces, or they simply stare into empty air, probably watching something on their interfaces. ¡°Aww, man this sucks¡­¡± I hear a male voice from behind me and turn around. ¡°I know, right?¡± I reply while taking in the young man. He¡¯s a bit taller than me and has dark brown hair in a messy hairstyle that somehow still suits him. His blue eyes seem to look right into my soul, and he flashes me a lazy grin. ¡°Well, hello there,¡± he winks at me, ¡°I¡¯m Tim, nice to meet you.¡± He offers me his hand to shake. I take it while replying. ¡°Hi Tim, I¡¯m Sara, nice to meet you too. Are you joining FBC as well?¡± He snorts. ¡°Yeah, obviously¡­¡± Ah, dang it¡­ Of course, he is. We¡¯re in the same queue. I blush a little, which makes him laugh even more. I turn back around in annoyance, ready to ignore him. He quickly stops laughing and taps my shoulder. I turn my head slightly so that I¡¯m just able to see him. ¡°What?¡± Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, it¡¯s just so different to be finally able to talk to normal¡­¡± He suddenly stops and blanches a bit. ¡°Forget what I said¡­ I¡¯m sorry, can we start anew? I¡¯m Tim Skadi, a new student at FBC, Utility and Space Magic.¡± Hmm, something¡¯s off about him, but I don¡¯t know what. Not that I can judge him, as I¡¯ve got something to hide as well. Let¡¯s see if I can find out more about him in the future, that¡¯s going to be interesting. I flash him a disarming smile. ¡°It¡¯s okay¡­ I just don¡¯t like people laughing at me. I¡¯m Sara Green, Utility and Space as well.¡± Then I point at the other girls. ¡°Those are my friends, Lucinda Arkandi, and Lydia Walton.¡± ¡°Sorry again, another dual-core, huh? Maybe we see each other in classes. You did follow the rule, right?¡± The rule, as I learned while studying my Sara Green identity, is what Doctor Philipps said: No second core before the primary core reaches Master. I of course didn¡¯t follow the rule when Maja and I just implanted the core, but it did work out for me in the end. Sara Green on the other hand did follow the rule, so I return his earlier wink. ¡°Of course, I¡¯m not dumb after all. But I¡¯m Space primarily, so I guess sharing magic classes won¡¯t be possible, right?¡± ¡°You¡¯re already a Master in Space magic? Holy shit, that¡¯s¡­ Wow. Congratulations! But you¡¯re right, I¡¯m primarily Utility, so I guess we¡¯ll see? Maybe some additional courses?¡± ¡°Yeah maybe, we just have to survive this queue first¡­¡± He chuckles and waves his hand in my direction. ¡°Agreed, here, my contact. Give me a call if you want. I think I¡¯m going to go sightseeing for a little longer¡­ The queue is killing me.¡± I watch him leave and accept the contact request. Lucy suddenly shoves my shoulder and grins broadly. ¡°So Tim, huh?¡± ¡°Shut up, I didn¡¯t tease you about Nick either¡­¡± Lydia bursts out laughing. ¡°Oh, you two¡­ Just like some teenage girls bickering about boys.¡± Lucy immediately shuts up after both our comments but then turns to Lydia. ¡°So, what about you?¡± She asks with a raised eyebrow. Now it¡¯s her turn to be silent. ¡°Well, I¡¯m still looking¡­ Every girl I take an interest in just seems to turn out straight or other things in the end¡­ Maybe I get lucky here?¡± We both quickly abandon all teasing and hug her. I just realized something. She really was interested in Maja and after that¡­ All the times we spent together? Was she? Ohh, shit! ¡°I¡¯m sorry Lydia¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay, I¡¯ve realized way earlier¡­ It was kinda fun, seeing you so clueless.¡± ¡°Hey, I¡¯m not clueless!¡± They both look at me, then burst out laughing until I join in. Yeah, okay, maybe I¡¯m a little bit clueless. Finally, we¡¯re able to move a bit forward, but from the way things are looking, it¡¯ll still take quite a while. I cast my telekinetic bench, and we all sit down. The others around us look quite envious until there is a shout of triumph before us. I get up to look at what this is about and see a blonde girl sitting on her own telekinetic bench while looking quite smug. Our eyes meet, and she offers me a thankful nod of respect. I just grin and sit back down. Over the next thirty minutes, we slowly move forward and are now almost able to enter the building. In the meantime, more and more students managed to cast a form of my telekinetic bench and almost everyone is now sitting in the queue. Utility magic really is the most common class. It takes almost another hour of waiting until it¡¯s finally our turn to approach the counter. There, another surprise awaits us: No person is standing behind the counter! Instead, a hologram of a nondescript female face greets us. It¡¯s an AI! ¡°Good morning,¡± she greets us. ¡°Please state your names, so that I can sign you in.¡± We quickly do so, and the AI is silent for a moment. ¡°There you are, Sara Green, Lucinda Arkandi, and Lydia Walton. I just need your fingerprints and retinal scans, then you are officially enrolled. Please move over there.¡± A panel to the left lights up, and we step over there. The AI is already talking to the next group of people. What we have to do at the panel is self-explaining and I put my hands on the scanner. A second later it¡¯s done, and the screen shows me a welcoming message. ¡°Welcome to FBC, Miss Sara Green. Your room is in building 14, room number 63-407.¡± Lucy and Lydia follow after me, and unsurprisingly, they get the same room number. ¡°And for that, we had to wait almost two hours in line?¡± Lydia asks. ¡°This can¡¯t be right¡­¡± True enough, but Clara led us here so¡­ We exit the tower and start walking toward building 14. Once we¡¯re outside, I catch sight of a grinning Tim Skadi. He sees us as well and waves. ¡°Hey there, are you finally done?¡± Lucy frowns. ¡°What do you mean?¡± His grin slips a little. ¡°Well, I told you, that I¡¯ll go for a walk, right? Soo when I circled the building, I noticed those panels all around and the people stepping up to them.¡± I look at where he points and notice the exact same panels we¡¯ve just used inside. What the hell? Tim continues. ¡°I just decided to approach one on a whim and guess what? I was able to register and skip the whole queue. Even funnier is that the panel congratulated me for my initiative, and I¡¯ve now got a coupon for one of the restaurants here on campus.¡± He turns and grins at me. ¡°Wanna join me for dinner?¡± Lucy¡¯s frown turns into a full-blown scowl, and she explodes. ¡°And you just waited here to ask that? You didn¡¯t think we would have liked to skip the queue as well? Are you fucking serious?¡± Tim lifts his hands apologetically. ¡°I wanted to, but I¡¯m not allowed to¡­ You see, the panel mentioned a penalty if I were to tell someone else about it if they haven¡¯t already registered. Apparently, this is a first test of the university staff to find outstanding students among the masses or something. I¡¯m sorry.¡± I can¡¯t say I¡¯m happy about how things turned out. But can I really blame Tim? I guess not, but the university staff better stop doing stuff like this¡­ So now about the dinner¡­ Does this count as a date? Should I accept? I shrug inwardly. Free food is always nice. ¡°You better make up for the stunt you just pulled¡­ Your invitation for dinner can be a start.¡± Lydia looks at me with an open mouth, and even Lucy has wide eyes. Well, this was a bit out of character for me. Tim¡¯s grin returns. ¡°Gladly. Tomorrow at eight?¡± ¡°Sure. So, what building do you live in?¡± He smiles even wider. ¡°I¡¯m in building 12, and you?¡± ¡°We¡¯re in 14.¡± ¡°Bummer, but I guess I see you tomorrow then. Take care, I have to organize the delivery of my things.¡± ¡°See you.¡± He leaves, and once he¡¯s gone, both my friends¡¯ gazes snap at me. ¡°Explain yourself. Why did you let him off the hook so fast?¡± Lucy half snaps. Lydia calls out at the same time. ¡°You¡¯re going on a date?!¡± ¡°Woah, chill. Who said I let him off? Also, we can¡¯t blame him too much, I mean Clara played us as well¡­¡± I just completely ignore Lydia¡¯s question and pretend I didn¡¯t hear her. ¡°Huh, you¡¯re right. Why didn¡¯t you tell us, Clara?¡± Lucy asks. ¡°I¡¯m not allowed to?¡± Clara responds in my ear with barely contained laughter, and obviously on the interfaces of my friends as well, as their faces go through various expressions. ¡°Technically, I just told you where to go. I didn¡¯t say you have to join the queue. But seriously, I¡¯m just as restricted as Tim was just now. It¡¯s something the college does, you¡¯ll learn about it soon enough.¡± ¡°Fine, fine, now you better make yourself useful and lead us to our dorm building. We¡¯ve already lost enough time in that queue.¡± ¡°Sure thing.¡± ¡°Good idea,¡± Lucy says. ¡°Yes, let¡¯s go,¡± Lydia replies, then Clara projects a map on our interfaces and we¡¯re off toward building 14. I barely make a step when Lydia¡¯s arm lands on my shoulder. I turn my head to her. ¡°What?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t pretend you haven¡¯t heard me earlier. Spill!¡± I look at Lucy a bit helplessly, but she just crosses her arms and raises an eyebrow. I sigh. ¡°Fine¡­ Yeah, I guess I¡¯m going on a date tomorrow.¡± Chapter 89: Courses Chapter 89: Courses Location: Magicon Empire; Magicon System; Terra; Imperia; FBC We arrive at building 14 without further incidents and when we enter, we find an entrance lobby just like in every other residential tower I¡¯ve been to. The ground floor just features some places to sit down, a receptionist¡¯s counter, and some elevators in the back. There are already lots of people inside, and another queue leads to the single receptionist behind the counter. Lucy huffs in annoyance. ¡°There¡¯s no way I¡¯m going to wait in another line.¡± I agree and immediately ask Clara. ¡°Do you have a map of the building for us? Our room should be on level 63 if I¡¯m reading this correctly.¡± ¡°I have one, here you go. And yes, your room is on level 63.¡± A map appears in my vision and highlights level 63. Our room, number 407 is marked in green and is conveniently close to the elevators. ¡°Follow me,¡± I tell the others, and we walk toward the elevators. One of them arrives shortly after, and after stepping in, I press the button for level 63. A panel asks for my handprint, and after pressing my left hand against it, the panel turns green. Then the elevator starts moving. ¡°Uhh, did you just get a restaurant coupon as well?¡± Lucy asks, and when I open my notifications, my eyes widen slightly. ¡°Sure did,¡± Lydia says, and I nod as well. Lucy seems deep in thought. She clears her throat. ¡°I guess they reward us when we show initiative? I mean, first Tim and his self-check-in, and now the same happened to us when we look for our room on our own.¡± ¡°Probably,¡± I agree with her but am interrupted by the elevator arriving on level 63. ¡°Huh, I guess it¡¯s time to inspect our new room.¡± Thanks to Clara¡¯s map, we find it without issue, and another scan of my handprint later, the door opens and shows a living room without much furniture beyond. We step inside, and the door closes behind us. A dark-skinned girl with shoulder-length black hair jumps out of her seat upon us entering. We¡¯ve got another roommate? ¡°Uh, hi, I¡¯m Sara, nice to meet you. Are you our roommate?¡± I step forward and offer my hand. The girl composes herself and puts some loose strands behind her ear. The girl shrugs, and smiles. ¡°I guess so¡­ My name¡¯s Alina, nice to meet you too.¡± We shake hands. Her grip is quite strong, and Lucy and Lydia introduce themselves afterward. We then sit down and talk a bit more about ourselves. Alina is from the Armortec Duchy. Her family¡¯s company produces parts that are later used by Armortec¡¯s trademark Magitech guns. It¡¯s kinda cool hearing about this, considering that I¡¯ve got those guns on the Stargazer. And because my parents upgraded them recently, I¡¯ve now probably even got the parts from Alina¡¯s family. We meanwhile talk about ourselves, well about our fake identities, but as far as Alina knows, this is our life. I actually feel a bit bad about all this, but for now, I can¡¯t change it. ¡°So, are you going to get our stuff?¡± Lucy asks a while later. I look at the living room we¡¯re currently inside, then at Alina. ¡°Do you mind if I get a bit more furniture for our living room as well?¡± ¡°Oh, not at all. I¡¯m also waiting for some things, but delivery services are completely overloaded these days.¡± ¡°Perfect, everyone step back, please. I¡¯m getting as much as possible in one go. Clara?¡± Instead of an answer, I get a set of coordinates, leading to one of the storage rooms of the Stargazer. Now that we¡¯re in our dorm and I¡¯m not endangering anyone, I¡¯m finally free to teleport. A flash of power later, and I¡¯m on my ship. We¡¯ve prepared thoroughly over the past month, and so I now have three beds, a plush sofa, and lots of other things that make our stay in the dorm as comfortable as possible standing before me. Oh, and lots of clothes of course! My pseudo-Archmage core makes multitasking as trivial as breathing, so I grab everything with my Telekinesis and move it closer to me, while I¡¯m readying another Teleportation spell that brings me back to the dorm. One last look confirms that everything is in order, and with another flash of power, I arrive back inside the dorm. Alina stares at me with wide eyes, and I slowly set everything down on the floor. Then I let out a long breath, as doing so many things at once still took a considerable amount of my power. Alina opens and closes her mouth a few times before speaking. ¡°That was crazy, holy shit! I didn¡¯t believe you at first when you said you were a Master in Space magic, but this? Yeah, that confirms it and you¡¯re not even that winded!¡± She clears her throat. ¡°Soo, uhh, would you guys be down to form a team for the Exploration course?¡± Exploration course? I look at the others and they look just as confused as I am. ¡°What do you mean?¡± I ask while Lucy and Lydia start moving our stuff to the adjoining rooms. ¡°Oh, you haven¡¯t looked at the curriculum yet?¡± ¡°No, we just arrived¡­ I wanted to take a look in the evening.¡± Her face falls. ¡°Oh, then forget what I just said¡­¡± ¡°No wait, can you explain? Exploration sounds interesting.¡± If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. She sits back down on the old couch and waves her hand. The room¡¯s holo-projector comes alive and shows the description of a course called Exploration for Beginners. A picture of a team of six students in shipsuits is shown next to the text. Alina clears her throat. ¡°So basically, every course available at FBC has a description like this. This is the Exploration course, and it is exactly as the name suggests. First, you have theoretical lessons with a professor, then you either get a small starship from the university, or can use your own if you have one, and you have to explore someplace within the galaxy to get your grade. Therefore, having a strong Space Mage in one¡¯s team is a huge advantage.¡± My eyes go wide as saucers when I read the description and listen to Alina''s words. This is perfect. It¡¯s exactly what I want to do! And with the four of us, we almost have a team. ¡°Wow, I¡¯m so taking this course, and I gladly form a team with you, Alina.¡± She smiles happily, and another wave of her hand makes the projection disappear. ¡°Perfect, then let¡¯s get this dorm furnished, then we can register. There are limited slots for that course as the university only has a fixed number of ships.¡± ¡°What if I got my own?¡± I ask curiously. ¡°You have?¡± I point at all the things I teleported here earlier with a raised eyebrow. ¡°Ohh, I thought you had them in a warehouse or something¡­ But that changes things, with our own ship, we can join the course even if it¡¯s already full. No need to hurry then, I guess.¡± I smile, but we still start moving things around with our Telekinesis. Alina didn¡¯t follow the rule, from what she told us. She¡¯s a Senior in Utility, and surprisingly took a Junior A&D core as her secondary. That comes in handy with our guns, I guess. In the evening, I finally have some time on my own and do exactly what I said earlier. I lie in my bed and take a look at all the available courses. Let¡¯s just say there are a lot! I just browse through the list and have Clara mark every one that interests me. I¡¯ll make a final decision later on. It¡¯s recommended to take a maximum of eight courses throughout the first year, and I plan on doing exactly that. I need a bit of free time to visit Grandpa John and the others after all. I also can take my time¡­ Dad promised to get me a Song Medical age treatment within the year, so I don¡¯t have to worry about dying of old age anytime soon. In the end, I narrow down the huge list to exactly eight courses I want to take. Well nine, but the extra one doesn¡¯t count as it only is during the first week. It¡¯s the introduction course for FBC, explaining all the things that are available on campus and pretty much everything else I need to know as long as I study here. Two of the other courses are both for Space magic. The first one is an introduction course or a course for beginners. I decide to take it anyway because, besides teleporting, I don¡¯t really know much about Space Magic. Due to my strength, I also take the advanced Space magic course, which requires me to be at least a Senior in power level. I guess it¡¯s because of the requirement for the Starship Jump spell, but I¡¯m not sure. It would make sense though. My third course is the introduction course for Utility magic. I take it for the same reasons as the Space one, as I want to learn more about this class of magic. I mean, I¡¯m basically only using Telekinesis and Communication at the moment, and I definitively want to learn all those simple spells Mom¡¯s using to make her life easier. Unfortunately, I can¡¯t take the advanced course. It requires one to be at least Senior in strength as well, and Sara Green is only a Junior Utility Mage ¨C a bummer¡­ My fourth magic course is called Magic and Artifacts. Especially the part with Artifacts caught my eye, as one of them blocked my magic for so long, and I need an Artifact core to get access to A&D magic. This brings me to my fifth and last magic course. It¡¯s called Improvised Combat for Non-A&D Mages. I had to laugh when I first read that name, but upon reading the description, I became more and more interested. In the end, I decided to take the course, as I end up in combat situations more often than I want to admit, and it¡¯s still unknown when I¡¯ll get my third core. I pretty much improvised all the time so far, so why not get a formal education on improvising? My sixth course is of course the Exploration course I¡¯ve talked about with Alina earlier, and my last two courses are completely non-magical. The first is a simple Leadership course because that¡¯s pretty much a position I¡¯ll end up in the future. Be it Captain of a starship or an official position at Valterion Heavy Industries. I originally wanted to take an art course for my eighth slot, to relax a bit more and to try it out, but Clara then showed me a message from my mom: Hi Sara, I hope you arrived well in your dorm. Did you get the restaurant coupons? Please say yes, I made a bet with your dad. Anyway, I don¡¯t want to mess too much with your course selection, but you should consider taking the History of The Empire course. I¡¯m pretty sure you¡¯ll like it, considering the adventure you were on in the past months. Please call me soon, see you, Jasmine I guess, I¡¯ll take that one as my last course then¡­ That¡¯ll probably teach me the official version of what happened on Earth and afterward. The description of the course doesn¡¯t say much, only that it¡¯ll give us an overview of what happened in the past 11,000 plus change years. So yeah, that¡¯s it. I¡¯ve got my eight courses and stand back up. Tomorrow is the last free day, then the introduction to FBC begins. Well free until the evening when I have dinner with Tim. Speaking of dinner, we¡¯ve got another set of coupons, why not use them today? I return to the living room and find Lydia already lounging on the couch. ¡°Hey there, have you already decided on your courses?¡± ¡°Sure have,¡± she replies, ¡°and you?¡± ¡°Yeah, same. Which ones did you choose?¡± She sits up and pats the seat next to her, so I sit down. ¡°Well, obviously the Exploration course. That¡¯s so cool, then the beginner course for Utility Magic, and improvised combat. Other than that, I¡¯ve got an administration, a management, a political, and a foreign relations course. I¡¯m not sure about my last one so far.¡± ¡°Sounds cool! Are you leaning toward becoming something like a diplomat in the future? Oh, and Mom recommended taking The Empire history course, maybe that¡¯s something for you as well?¡± ¡°Yeah, exactly. I¡¯ve always liked to talk to people, and make their lives easier, so why not do it in an official position for The Empire? Maybe I can also visit home from time to time like this. And thanks for the recommendation, I¡¯ll look into it.¡± ¡°You¡¯re welcome. What about the others? I was thinking about using our coupons for dinner.¡± ¡°Great idea! They¡¯re still in their rooms, let¡¯s check on them.¡± She gets up and walks toward Alina¡¯s door, which leaves Lucy for me. I walk over and knock. The door opens shortly after, and I see Lucy lying lazily on her bed. ¡°Hey there, I¡¯ve just finished with my courses. What¡¯s up?¡± ¡°Oh just wanted to check on you and if you¡¯d be down to use our restaurant coupons right away. And I guess I¡¯d like to hear about your course choices.¡± I wink at her. ¡°Hah, I bet you want to hear about them! And yeah, going out to eat sounds nice. But first, let¡¯s talk about our courses. What did you choose?¡± ¡°I asked first,¡± I grin at her and she groans. ¡°Fine, fine, here you go¡­¡± Turns out, Lucy did the same thing with A&D as I did with Space. She¡¯s taking both the introduction and advanced courses. Other than that, she joins Lydia and me in the Utility and Exploration courses. Then she plans to visit the Magic and Artifact course, which reminds me of our promise to find out more about magic. Another course we share! Her last three courses are non-magical as well, and she¡¯s with Lydia in the management and administration courses. Her final one surprises me a bit, as it¡¯s a military primer for A&D Mages. When she explains that it¡¯s mostly about learning the role of an A&D Mage on a starship, I am quite pleased by her decision. Chapter 90: A Date? Chapter 90: A Date? Location: Magicon Empire; Magicon System; Terra; Imperia; FBC We relax a lot on the next day and finish furnishing our dorm. Alina¡¯s stuff arrives as well, and she finally can finish up her room as well. Turns out she¡¯s a big fan of the Valterions and has posters of my parents and my brother Adrian hanging on her wall. There are a few others with the trademark Valterion hair which I guess are other relatives of mine. ¡°Sooo do you want to tell me why your walls are plastered with Valterion faces?¡± I ask while struggling to keep a straight face. She blushes. ¡°They are my idols¡­ I¡¯m fascinated by starships, and they just build the best ones!¡± I manage to keep my composure and wink at her. ¡°That¡¯s cool. You¡¯re going to like my ship then. I only recognize the Duke and Duchess though¡­ Who are the others?¡± Alina jumps up. ¡°You¡¯ve got a VHI ship?! Holy shit! Wow¡­ I¡¯m glad I asked you to join my exploration team,¡± she starts chuckling. ¡°As for the others¡­ they are not that famous, most of them are executives of the actual Valterion company and this is Adrian Valterion. He¡¯s in the military and already an Admiral. He¡¯s famous for not using any power enhancements to get stronger for whatever reason. I¡¯m trying to do the same, that¡¯s why I didn¡¯t follow the rule. I¡¯m just missing the Space core for now. Doing so must be effective as from what I¡¯ve read, he is considerably stronger than his peers.¡± Well, dear Alina, part of the reason why Adrian chose that path stands right before you¡­ I can¡¯t tell her that, of course. I wonder if she has a crush on him though. Not that she has any chances as Kira has him wrapped around her fingers. I¡¯m still interested, though. ¡°That¡¯s the only reason why you have such a big picture of him?¡± I ask with a raised eyebrow, and Alina blushes even more. ¡°Errr, sure?¡± She blows out a breath. ¡°No, you¡¯re right. I mean look at him, he does look extremely good, right?¡± I cough awkwardly. I can¡¯t say my brother looks hot, can I? ¡°Well, he¡¯s not really my type, but you¡¯re right. I guess he has a girlfriend though¡­¡± ¡°Probably, he¡¯s too old for me anyway¡­ It¡¯s a shame that the Duke and Duchess don¡¯t have a third child at our age. Imagine going to college with them. But they would probably be at RMA anyway¡­¡± She shrugs. I choke at my spit when she says that and cover it up with another awkward cough. That was a close one. Holy smokes and it¡¯s only my second day! Is this a joke from my parents to get me a complete Valterion fangirl as a roommate? Considering their sense of humor, it¡¯s certainly a possibility. I finish up my talk with Alina, and later on, we all go out to explore the campus a bit more. One thing I notice is that there is no exact separation between FBC and RMA or other colleges. Everything is pretty much next to each other, so there is a good possibility, that I¡¯m going to meet the one or other Noble scion. But that¡¯s a later problem as I notice something that makes my eyes shine: A professional Gravity Ball field! I so have to check out if there is something like a college team. That would be amazing. When we return to the dorm it¡¯s almost time for my dinner with Tim, so I quickly take a shower and start getting ready. Unfortunately, my pink hair tips don¡¯t match my favorite purple dress, and I have to ditch it. Instead, I grab a black one with matching heels and style my hair to one side so that Clara¡¯s AI chip is visible and functions as an eye-catcher. Lydia gives me a low whistle and winks when I exit my room, and the others wish me luck as well. Then I exit the room and make my way down to the lobby where Tim said he¡¯d wait for me. Uhh, he has dressed up! Waiting for me in the lobby is one fine-looking Tim Skadi, wearing a dark suit with white sneakers and a big grin on his face. ¡°Woah,¡± I say, ¡°one could mean you¡¯re out for a date, Tim.¡± He winks. ¡°Aren¡¯t we? You do look the part as well, Sara.¡± ¡°Why, thank you. Shall we? Let¡¯s see how this goes, I guess.¡± His smile slips a little, I must have said something wrong¡­ Ugh, I¡¯m so bad at this. He offers me his arm and I hang on, and then we walk out of the building. We talk about some random things until we arrive at our destination. I look at him with a raised eyebrow. ¡°You sure your coupon includes this restaurant? It looks fancy.¡± ¡°Apparently, it does. I guess, we try, right?¡± We step inside, and a waitress greets us. Tim shows her his coupon, and from how things look, this fancy place is included. Lucky me, I guess. She leads us to a table with a candle burning in the middle and explains how to access the menus, then she leaves us again to get our drinks. We both quickly order something to eat, and the waitress tells us it will arrive shortly. Then we start talking. First a bit more about ourselves, then about the courses we¡¯ve chosen. In the meantime, our food arrives as well, and we start to eat. It¡¯s delicious! I¡¯m having a slab of steak, that is grilled to perfection. Still a little bit bloody, but not too rare, just how I like it. Tim goes with a vegetarian alternative and has a big salad with falafels and some pitta bread. Apparently, he is from the Axtendus Duchy, and his family leads a larger consultation company. He¡¯s the magical prodigy of the family, and so he managed to secure a spot as FBC instead of going to a normal college in his home system. I still notice some minor slips in his story, just like yesterday. Nothing major, but still. I make a mental note to have Clara investigate him a bit more later tonight. The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. As I expected, Tim is in the Space magic introduction course as well. Other than that, he goes full-on Utility magic courses and has a lot of administration courses as well. Surprisingly, he also chose the Exploration course. ¡°Oh, nice, then we¡¯ll see each other there too!¡± I call out when he mentions this. ¡°Do you already have a team?¡± He looks quite surprised as well when he learns that I also have that course. ¡°Huh, isn¡¯t it already full? I don¡¯t see your name on the list, or did you give me a fake one? And no, I don¡¯t have a team yet¡­ I was thinking of just checking out the others and deciding then.¡± At his last question, I just have to laugh. ¡°No, not at all. But I have a starship and my roommate Alina said we could join in as additions with our own ship.¡± ¡°Oh, that¡¯s true. I didn¡¯t expect that.¡± He chuckles. ¡°May I ask what kind of ship you have?¡± I flash him a broad smile. ¡°You may, but you have to join my team to find out.¡± I decided to ask him on a whim just now. The others are probably fine with it¡­ Maybe we can convince Nick as well, then our team is already full. He starts laughing. ¡°Oh, then count me in!¡± He grabs his wine glass and drinks a sip. At the same time, I send him some information about the Stargazer. I notice the exact moment when he reads it, as he almost chokes on his wine. He starts coughing. ¡°What the fuck?!¡± ¡°Language,¡± I wink at him. ¡°Looks like you made a good choice.¡± ¡°Sorry, but that¡¯s just insane. That¡¯s a VHI ship! How¡¯d you get that? They are expensive as hell.¡± ¡°It was a gift from my parents when I reached Master rank in Space magic. I had about the same reaction as you just now¡­ But don¡¯t worry. Apparently, it¡¯s an older model so it was much cheaper. They¡¯ve had it renovated though, so it looks newer than it is.¡± ¡°If you say so¡­ Still crazy.¡± ¡°Yeah¡­ Shall we head out and get some drinks? My treat.¡± We¡¯ve both finished eating, and the evening is kinda fun, so I come up with that idea on a whim. Tim agrees gladly, and we end up in a bar and get some drinks. When it¡¯s getting late, Tim accompanies me to building 14 and we say goodbye. I turn back once I¡¯m about to enter my building and notice a bit of disappointment on Tim¡¯s face. Did I do something wrong? Did he expect a kiss or something? Why am I so bad at this? Inside the elevator, I let out a long breath. The evening was fun, and it probably counts as a date, but I don¡¯t know if I¡¯m ready for more just now¡­ I guess I¡¯ll see in the future. Now onto more important things. ¡°Clara, I¡¯ve got the feeling in the back of my head that something stinks about his story¡­ Can you check him out?¡± ¡°I can, I¡¯ll tell you tomorrow. You should sleep though. You¡¯ve got a big day ahead of you.¡± Right, tomorrow is the first day of introduction! With that, I quickly return to my room and get ready for bed, then I lay down to sleep and am out in minutes.
The next morning comes way too quickly, and I wake up with a groan. That was one drink too much! Oh, I wish I¡¯d already know a spell to wash that fatigue away. My roommates greet me cheerfully when I enter our living room, and they seem to enjoy my misery. Then we all eat some toast, as we forgot to stock the kitchen with proper things, and head out toward the lecture hall for the introduction course. During the elevator ride, Clara tells me about her findings. ¡°I looked into Tim last night, but there isn¡¯t that much to find on the net¡­ I did find his parents¡¯ company though, and it looks legit to me. I can¡¯t tell you more, I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯d say there is nothing to worry about but it¡¯s probably best if you trust your feelings¡­ So keep an eye out.¡± ¡°Thanks, Clara,¡± I whisper back. I guess Tim is a mystery to solve later on¡­ On our way to building 03, Lydia speaks up after she looked at the map on her interface. ¡°Is it underground?¡± ¡°So it seems,¡± Lucy answers. We enter building 03 where the course takes place and follow the streams of people down a set of stairs. Sure, there are elevators too, but there are already long lines before them. Just how many people are in this course? The answer is pretty much all of them. When we finish our descent and walk through a set of doors, the room opens up and looks like a giant stadium. U-shaped, with rows and rows of seats, steadily leading down toward a stage at the back. Thousands of people are already sitting there and waiting. We quickly find a few empty seats and sit down to wait. More and more people arrive over the next thirty minutes until almost every seat is occupied. I estimate the number of people at around fifty-thousand, and I can barely make out a word of what the others are saying. The background noise of so many people talking at once is just too much. Then I feel a flash of Space magic down at the stage and my head snaps there. I notice a few other heads turning as well, but most of the people continue talking. Down there stands a bald man in his sixties. He¡¯s probably much older than that, and when I concentrate a bit, I manage to catch a glimpse of his tightly contained power. He feels powerful, almost like Mom and Dad. Probably another Archmage, and if I have to guess, I¡¯d say he¡¯s the headmaster. I nudge Lydia next to me and she shoots me a questioning gaze. I just point at the stage, and she immediately understands and pokes Lucy, while I do the same with Alina to my left. Just at the right moment. The man down below suddenly clears his throat. The sound carries through the whole stadium despite the lack of any obvious speakers. If I had to guess, I¡¯d say it¡¯s another spell. The noise slowly dies down, and everyone turns to look at the man on the stage. ¡°Good to finally have your attention,¡± the man chuckles. His voice is deep and sounds even a bit rough. ¡°Now let me introduce myself. My name is Reginald Benson.¡± He¡¯s quiet as this declaration causes another uproar in the stadium. Grandpa John told me before that the headmaster at FBC is his cousin two times over or something but hearing it in person from the headmaster is another thing altogether. For most of the others, this fact seems to be news though, as I can hear whispers all around me. ¡°Benson! Crazy¡­¡± ¡°One of the Magicon family?!¡± ¡°I¡¯ve got to tell my parents¡­ Unbelievable.¡± I chuckle quietly and look at my two friends. I didn¡¯t tell them, as I wanted to see their reactions. Lucy takes it in without much issue. For her, it¡¯s just another person, but Lydia sits there wide-eyed. She turns to me and upon seeing me grinning broadly, she starts frowning. There is accusation in her voice when she whispers. ¡°You knew!¡± It¡¯s more of a statement than a question and I nod. ¡°Yeah, sorry, but your face was worth it.¡± I can¡¯t wait to take her up to Grandpa John¡­ That¡¯s going to be even more fun! The headmaster claps once, and the sound carries through the whole stadium. Everyone quiets down again. ¡°Yes, I¡¯m of The Benson family. But no, I¡¯m not a prince or something¡­¡± He chuckles again. ¡°I¡¯m more than a distant cousin. But this doesn¡¯t matter today. What matters is you!¡± He waves his hand over all of us. ¡°You are the future. Young Mages like you are the cornerstones on which The Empire will thrive into a bright future. So take a look around. What you see are the faces of the future leaders of countless companies, future politicians, and many more!¡± He waves his hand and a giant projection with the FBC logo appears behind him. ¡°Now, without further ado, let¡¯s jump into what you¡¯re here for. The introduction to Ferdinand Benson College!¡± Maja’s Adventures 1 Maja¡¯s Adventures 1 Location: Magicon Empire; Valterion Duchy; Valterion System; MES Estrella Soon after Maja said goodbye to Sara, she finds herself aboard the MES Estrella, an Empire-owned ship, that collects new Peacekeeper recruits from the Valterion System and a few adjoining star systems. Maja opens the door to the cabin she was assigned and takes in the view. There is a small bathroom in the back, a desk and a small wardrobe. The furniture is rather utilitarian but what would one expect? She notices a signal that tries to connect to her holographic interface. As an AI, she doesn¡¯t have one, but that¡¯s a quickly solved problem. Maja grabs onto the signal and connects directly to the source. A data stream enters her processing core, and she quickly dissects everything. Ah, so there¡¯s the bed¡­ She sends a quick signal back through the connection, and the left wall splits open with a slight click. A foldable bunk bed slowly moves out of the wall and starts to fill half of the small cabin. Maja quickly signals for the bed to fold back up and fully enters the room. The door closes behind her and leaves her alone for the first time after the packed shuttle that brought her, Simon, Shay, Thomas, and 353 other people up to the Estrella. Maja walks up to the wardrobe and stores the special backpack she got from Jasmine Valterion. Besides clothes and cosmetics, it contains her most valuable possession: A magical battery, that can recharge her artificial body for up to two months. Jasmine told her that while her nature as an AI will be generally hidden, there will be a few people among the instructors who know. They will either recharge the battery as needed or exchange it for a new one. The two-month charge limit is caused by the size of the battery. It would get too big to carry around and hide if it included a bigger charge. After storing the backpack, Maja sits down on one of the two chairs at the desk. I wonder if I get a roommate for the trip. I mean the Estrella is a big ship, but we also picked up more than 350 people from a single city¡­ She fights the urge to connect with the larger computer system of the starship, as this would immediately blow her cover. A cover that was carefully crafted by Sara¡¯s mother. A cover that enables her to join the elite non-Mage command track of the Peacekeeper Academy. Maja is going to be known as Maja Yarin, born and raised on Nua, where she caught the interest of the Duchess, and is now being sponsored by the Valterions to attend the prestigious command track for people who aren¡¯t Mages. People like her cover are rare. Most people who aim for command positions within the Peacekeepers are already Mages or plan to get an awakening core as soon as possible. Still, people without access to magic exist in command positions, and Maja is going to be one of them! Bored, Maja turns on the room¡¯s holo-projector and zaps through the available TV channels. She stops when she finds one that shows the surroundings of the Estrella. It¡¯s busy out there. Shuttles dock and leave in accord, and a small freighter is close as well. Containers float between the two vessels while Maja keeps watching. Fascinating, everything¡¯s perfectly timed. There is no waste of time at all. Clearly another AI at work¡­ Maja is so lost in her thoughts, that she doesn¡¯t even notice her cabin¡¯s door opening. Only when it closes again, and a female voice clears her throat, does she look up. Whoops! I¡¯m turning into Sara with all those distractions. She sits up straight and turns off the holo-projector with a short signal to it. ¡°Hi, I¡¯m Maja. Maja Yarin, I guess we¡¯ll be roommates until we reach the academy.¡± She gives a lazy wave and grins at the new girl. She¡¯s tall. Even taller than Thomas. A quick check measures her at 186 centimeters. A literal giant for a woman. Her hair is just as blond as Maja¡¯s. She does have bangs though and her eyes are silver-gray, almost reflective. She seems to study Maja as well and grins back. ¡°Hey, I¡¯m Ellie. Nice to meet you!¡± She looks around in the small cabin and frowns. ¡°Uhh, do you know where our beds are?¡± Maja nods. ¡°Yeah, they¡¯re folded into the wall. It¡¯s a bunk bed, but I¡¯d prefer to keep it away till we need it¡­ It¡¯s taking up a lot of space.¡± Ellie looks from wall to wall. ¡°Yeah, I can relate. The cabin is tiny. Anyway, have you eaten? I¡¯m starving and I could use a bite. Wanna check out the mess hall?¡± ¡°Sure, just let me freshen up a bit, alright?¡± Ellie gives a thumbs up. ¡°No problem, I¡¯ll put away my things in the meantime.¡± Maja stands up and walks to the wardrobe to take out her cosmetic bag that¡¯s inside her backpack. It includes another special thing she received from the Duchess. A few steps later, Maja enters the tiny bathroom at the back of their cabin and closes the door behind her. She opens her bag and takes out a skin-colored stripe that looks like chewing gum. She stands before the mirror and carefully puts the stripe on the inside of her cheek. The stripe is a small piece of Magitech that was originally developed for spies and important people to protect them from poison. Its function is simple. It disintegrates everything that enters the user¡¯s mouth after they close it. Unfortunately, it only lasts a bit longer than an hour, so Maja has to use a new one for every meal she¡¯s taking. Annoying, but I can¡¯t decline every meal I¡¯m offered. People will get suspicious if I do. A look in the mirror confirms that the stripe is invisible. Maja nods at her reflection and puts her hair into a ponytail. Then she exits the bathroom and is ready to go. Ellie is already waiting for her. ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. They exit their cabin and walk along the hallway toward the mess hall. Left and right are entrances to other cabins. They meet a few other people along the way, and some even join them. A few hundred meters later, they reach a sliding door that leads to a big mess hall. There are a lot of people already eating and Maja notices Thomas and the others sitting at one of the tables. She turns to Ellie. ¡°Hey Ellie, there are a few friends of mine, do you mind if we join them?¡± ¡°Oh, you¡¯re here with friends? Yeah, we can join them. Let¡¯s just get something to eat first.¡± Maja nods, and they proceed to join the line for the food. Then, a few minutes later, Maja leads the way, and they sit down next to Thomas. Simon and Shay sit opposite them. They all startle when someone suddenly sits close to them but are quick to relax when they recognize Maja. They do a quick round of introductions, then everyone continues to eat and chat. Turns out, Ellie is also joining the special non-Mage command track. That¡¯s why she¡¯s my roommate instead of Shay, I guess. Maja¡¯s Magitech stripe works like a charm, and all the food she eats vanishes as soon as she closes her mouth. Her eating food earns her a few raised eyebrows from her friends, so she quickly sends them a message to their interfaces to explain things. While they¡¯re eating, a slight rumble goes through the ship. It started moving! The ship¡¯s finally on its way toward Peacekeeper Academy. It doesn¡¯t take long until everyone finishes up, and Maja says goodbye to her friends. She returns to her cabin together with Ellie. There they talk a bit more about themselves before Ellie calls out that she¡¯s tired and they get ready for bed. While they change into their pajamas, Maja notices a massive scar across Ellie¡¯s abdomen. Holy shit! ¡°Oh my god, Ellie! What happened to you?¡± She asks with a surprised voice. Ellie¡¯s face falls, and she sits down on the now unfolded bed. With a sigh, she looks back up at Maja. ¡°I guess, I can tell you right now¡­ Sooner or later it¡¯ll come up anyway.¡± She takes another deep breath. ¡°When I was little, pirates attacked the passenger liner I was aboard with my parents. First, they asked for valuables. Then¡­ Then things suddenly changed. I was only twelve back then. I learned later on that someone recognized one of the pirates as Mad Tony¡­ You might have heard of him.¡± I haven¡¯t¡­ But Mad Tony doesn¡¯t sound good. Let¡¯s see. In a split second, Maja connects to the ship¡¯s open network and searches for Mad Tony. The results are shocking. Oh no¡­ Poor Ellie! Mad Tony was famous for killing all his victims as soon as someone recognized him. Maja rushes over to Ellie and grabs her in a hug. ¡°I¡¯m so sorry, Ellie!¡± Ellie returns the hug after wiping away a single tear. ¡°It¡¯s okay. The Peacekeepers caught him soon after. The bastard¡¯s dead now!¡± She clears her throat. ¡°That¡¯s how I got my scar. He almost gutted me, I barely survived¡­ A squad of Peacekeepers saved me. I¡¯ve kept the scar as a reminder. I¡¯ll never be caught unprepared again. The next time I cross paths with pirates, I¡¯m commanding a warship and take them all out!¡± Looks like her parents didn¡¯t make it¡­ But I also don¡¯t want to ask. It¡¯s just so sad. Why are there people like this Mad Tony out there? Maja sniffs. ¡°Thanks for letting me know, Ellie. Let¡¯s hunt all those pirates together!¡± Ellie leans back from the hug and looks Maja in the eyes. ¡°Really? You would join me? We barely know each other.¡± Hell yeah, I would. Sara would kill me if I declined the chance of hunting some filthy pirates. ¡°Absolutely. Pirates are scum! Also, my best friend was kidnapped by pirates not once but twice. She¡¯d skin me alive if I didn¡¯t help with hunting pirates.¡± That elicits a snort from Ellie. ¡°Wow, that¡¯s bad. She¡¯s not here, right?¡± ¡°No, she¡¯ll be going to FBC in a few weeks.¡± It would be nice if Sara was here though¡­ At least she¡¯s got Lucy and Lydia. ¡°Ohh, is she a Mage?¡± ¡°Yeah, pretty strong too. Maybe she¡¯ll visit us at the academy someday.¡± Ellie shakes her head. ¡°I don¡¯t think so. We¡¯ll be pretty isolated at the academy. I¡¯m not sure, but I think the first months will be in complete isolation.¡± What?! Maja repeats her thought out loud. ¡°What?!¡± ¡°Yeah, something like boot camp, I think. I¡¯m not sure, but it would make sense. I¡¯ve read a few military fictions, and the MC always has to go through a grueling boot camp in the beginning¡­¡± Another quick search on the net confirms Ellie''s thoughts. There is indeed something like a boot camp at Peacekeeper Academy. ¡°I guess you¡¯re right,¡± Maja replies. ¡°It would make sense.¡± After that, they both decide to go to bed. From there on out, they fall into some kind of routine over the next two weeks: Light exercise inside their room in the morning, followed by a shower and breakfast with Simon, Thomas, and Shay. Then the three Mages leave to practice their spells, and Maja and Ellie mostly go for another round of exercises at the ship¡¯s gym. After lunch, Maja studies whatever she finds interesting every day while Ellie watches some shows on her interface. In the evening, they play games with whoever is in the mood to play. During those two weeks, the Estrella makes a lot of stops, and the amount of people aboard the ship is constantly growing. Maja only ever accessed the deck she¡¯s living on, but apparently, there are more than 20 identical decks that make up the Estrella. That¡¯s thousands of people! Then it¡¯s finally time. Maja and the others are currently having lunch in the mess hall when a ship-wide announcement interrupts their talks. ¡°Attention, this is your Captain speaking. We are now doing our final jump, then I¡¯ll release you all to the care of Peacekeeper Academy. I hope you had a pleasant flight and I wish you all the best during your time at the Academy.¡± Simon lets out a long breath. ¡°Finally! I thought we¡¯d never arrive.¡± Location: Magicon Empire; Armortec Duchy; Cintman System; Peacekeeper Academy This time it was a rather short wormhole, and just an hour later, they arrive at their destination. Maja and Ellie have returned to their cabin and are currently watching the live stream from the front-facing camera of the Estrella. The picture clears after the ship exits the wormhole and they get their first view of the star system they¡¯ll call home for the next few years. Huh, I thought there would be more to it. ¡°It¡¯s kinda underwhelming,¡± Ellie pretty much voices Maja¡¯s thoughts. ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s not busy at all, and I would have expected more space stations and stuff,¡± Maja replies while frowning. ¡°Exactly, where even is the Academy? I don¡¯t see a station that¡¯s anywhere big enough to fit all recruits.¡± She¡¯s right! There are only three planets and a few space stations. But all the stations are more like mid-sized stations. They may fit the passengers of two Estrellas, but that¡¯s only a fraction of all the Peacekeeper recruits. ¡°I don¡¯t know. Maybe the bigger ones are currently behind the sun?¡± ¡°Yeah, maybe¡­ I guess we¡¯ll see.¡± It quickly becomes clear that the Estrella doesn¡¯t fly to a hidden place behind the sun. Instead, she heads for one of the space stations Maja and Ellie noticed earlier. About one and a half hours later, the ship docks at said station, and an announcement tells everyone to grab their things and disembark the ship. It takes another hour until the two of them leave the ship. They keep an eye out for Thomas, Simon, and Shay, and Ellie is the first to spot them because she¡¯s so freaking tall. Maja follows her lead, and they quickly reunite with the others just as they enter a big open room, that seems to fit most of the people who were aboard the Estrella. Maja catches a lot of confused whispers. All the other people are just as confused as she is. No one knows where the Academy is. But everyone agrees that this station can¡¯t be it. This is until Maja catches a faint voice amongst the masses and cranks up the sensitivity of her ears. ¡°You guys do know that the whole Cintman System belongs to the Peacekeeper Academy, right?¡± Maja¡¯s head snaps to the left where she catches a small man with dark hair. He¡¯s the one who¡¯s just said that. Around him, every single head turns in his direction as well. There are exclamations of disbelief from all around. Maja rewinds what she¡¯s seen so far in her head. I guess that makes the most sense¡­ Wow, I can¡¯t wait to see more! Chapter 91: Introduction to College Chapter 91: Introduction to College Location: Magicon Empire; Magicon System; Terra; Imperia; FBC I stare down at the headmaster and wait for his next words in anticipation. All the people around me are the same, and the whole stadium falls into complete silence. You could hear a pin drop, despite the 50,000 of us in the room. ¡°This course will take place for the remainder of the week and provide you with all the information you will need to have a successful time here at Ferdinand Benson College. Some of you might already know most of it. Either be it from siblings or you found some other crafty solutions to get you information beforehand. Therefore, if you feel that you already know enough over the next few hours, you are free to leave and use the remainder of the week for other activities until normal courses start next Monday.¡± He pauses for a short smirk, and I notice a lot of people eyeing the exits. Not that I plan to leave, as I¡¯m absolutely clueless about magical colleges. ¡°I do have one request for you, though. If you decide to leave, please do so during our scheduled breaks or right now before I start. If you leave during the explanations, it will only cause unnecessary distractions for your fellow students. Now before I begin, does anyone want to leave?¡± The noise goes up a few notches again, and a lot of people stand up from their seats and start walking toward the exits. I guess it¡¯s a few thousand, but despite them being gone some ten minutes later, the stadium still looks packed. Headmaster Benson clears his throat again. ¡°Now that we¡¯ve got this over with, let¡¯s dive into the actual topic. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve already noticed while browsing the available courses, that we at FBC offer two kinds of courses.¡± There are voices of agreement throughout the stands and Lydia leans over to me. ¡°He means magical and non-magical, right?¡± ¡°Yeah, I guess so. But isn¡¯t there a third kind? Like our Exploration course?¡± Alina chimes in from my other side. ¡°My cousin was here a few years before me and told me that as long as it includes magic, it¡¯s classified as a magical course. As the Exploration course does include magic, you have your answer. Oh, and the non-magical courses are often held across multiple colleges, so there might be a few normal people visiting as well.¡± Huh, that¡¯s good to know¡­ Probably similar to what I learned from my family that I might meet some people from RMA during my time here. ¡°Thanks, Alina. I have to ask though, why didn¡¯t you leave when you already had a cousin attending here?¡± She shrugs. ¡°I don¡¯t know everything¡­ And if it gets boring, I still can leave during a break.¡± We missed a bit of the headmaster¡¯s speech with our talking, but from the things I¡¯m picking up, he just finished explaining the things Alina just told me. ¡°¡­ one of the premier colleges in The Empire. That¡¯s why I expect your best behavior when you share courses with students from other colleges. Now with that out of the way, let¡¯s dive a bit deeper into the courses we¡¯re offering you in the next few years.¡± He pauses for a moment, a hand goes to his ear, then he looks around in the stadium. I follow his gaze and notice someone in the back rows lifting their hand. They are sitting on the opposite side, so I can¡¯t recognize them. ¡°Ahh, we do have a question. One interesting enough is that the school¡¯s AI decided to change today¡¯s topics to answer it. Young man, do you know the Project Voice spell, or should I come up and repeat your question?¡± That throws out a lot of questions in my head. Is there an AI listening in to everything we¡¯re saying? Or how else did the college staff become aware of his question? ¡°Clara,¡± I whisper under my breath. ¡°Is there someone listening in?¡± That would cause a lot more problems. I would have to be much more careful with my fake identity and everything. ¡°There is always someone listening in¡­ But don¡¯t worry, I take care of any slips you might make. As for the current situation? Your good friend Tim specifically contacted the college¡¯s AI to ask his question.¡± The hell? That¡¯s Tim over there? My thoughts are interrupted by his voice ringing through the stadium. ¡°No need, headmaster Benson. I¡¯m quite versed in Utility magic.¡± The headmaster chuckles. ¡°Very well, then please go ahead and ask.¡± ¡°Okay, so we¡¯ve all noticed the long lines and everything at registration. And I¡¯m sure more than one of my fellow students got rewarded for doing something on their own initiative or thinking outside the box¡­ My question is why. Why are you rewarding this? Hell, why are you creating situations like that at all?¡± Headmaster Benson suddenly smiles broadly. ¡°Ahh, that¡¯s why the AI was so excited. This is going to be a superb year. To answer your question. Yes, we do this on purpose. The reason is simple. We don¡¯t want to settle for mediocrity. We want to have the best students! Therefore, for every single one of you, I encourage you to exploit the system, find loopholes, and take advantage. Everything is fine but one thing. Do not cheat! Cheaters don¡¯t have a place here at FBC, and if I, or anyone of the staff finds you cheating, you¡¯re going to be expelled immediately.¡± He turns back to Tim. ¡°You Mister Skadi are a prime example of what we try to achieve with this reward system. Not only did you manage to skip the queue at registration, but you also used the tools at your disposal and found your room without help, as have many others of you. And now you even called out and questioned the system directly.¡± He smiles even more. ¡°You can expect another reward after this lesson.¡± The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. He''s quiet for another moment, clearly listening to the AI again. ¡°Ahh, another good question. It was asked by multiple people, so I¡¯ll just say it myself. What¡¯s the difference between exploits and cheats? The answer is simple. Everything you manage on your own is fair game. If it requires external help, be it your AIs or other people, it¡¯s cheating. You might have noticed that your AIs already avoid cheating, as none of them told you to circumvent the line earlier.¡± Wow, his explanation makes complete sense in hindsight. Clara already explained it to me but now that I have some context¡­ And Tim as well. He was only allowed to tell us about his line-cutting after we waited through the line. Yeah, the system is genius. I wonder if I am able to find an exploit in the cheating rule? I guess that would be worth quite a big reward. Headmaster Benson continues to answer further questions about the reward system and clarifies a few more things. I¡¯m only listening halfheartedly, as I¡¯m thinking about possible exploits I can use in the future. Another clap snaps me out of it a while later and the headmaster announces the first break for the day. I look at the time on my interface and am quite surprised that it¡¯s already time for lunch. That was quick! We¡¯ve got a whole hour, so we decide to eat at one of the restaurants on campus. I look toward the exits and notice a lot of people trying to get out. That should count, right? ¡°Hey Clara, I¡¯m allowed to teleport, right?¡± ¡°You are, but only to your room or to one of the jump rooms across campus.¡± ¡°Perfect, then get me to one close to a nice restaurant.¡± Clara provides the coordinates, and I look at the others. ¡°Ready to skip another line?¡± Lydia laughs. ¡°Oh, for sure!¡± The others nod as well, and I grab the four of us with the Teleportation spell. Then we disappear with a purple flash. Inside the jump room, a voice asks us to leave as soon as possible, and we quickly comply. Once we¡¯re outside, I get a ping on my interface. Another reward! I laugh out loud. My guess was true! This time it¡¯s a coupon for a free massage. I like that very much. ¡°What is it?¡± Lucy asks. ¡°Got another reward just now.¡± ¡°Nice! Congratulations. But now let¡¯s eat.¡± I quickly agree, and we enter the next restaurant we can find. It¡¯s a fast-food chain, but none of us cares, we only have an hour after all. I turn to Lucy again. ¡°Have you talked to Nick about the Exploration course?¡± ¡°Yeah, he didn¡¯t want to at first, but I managed to convince him. So, we¡¯ve got our full team. He¡¯s only a Junior Utility Mage though.¡± Alina snorts. ¡°Only, she says. That¡¯s completely normal. Not everyone is a genius like you two with one core already at master and let¡¯s not talk about all the money you probably had funneled into your advancement.¡± Lucy blushes a bit. ¡°Sorry about that¡­ I didn¡¯t mean it negatively, but we have to consider it during the course. We want to be the best exploration team after all.¡± ¡°And we will,¡± I cut in, ¡°Junior in Utility is no joke. I¡¯m the same, and you know what Jack managed with the same power level.¡± I immediately hear a ¡°careful¡± from Clara in my ear, as Jack isn¡¯t part of Sara Green¡¯s life, but Alina doesn¡¯t seem to notice. Lucy does though and nods furiously. ¡°Yeah, sorry, I get it.¡± ¡°Should I call them over, so that you can talk a bit more about the exploration course?¡± I relay the question to the others, but they all agree that it¡¯s probably too early to talk about courses when we haven¡¯t finished our first introduction lesson yet. With that, we finish eating and slowly make our way back toward the underground stadium as the hour of break is nearing its end. Unfortunately, there is no teleportation involved this time, and we have to retake the stairs. The room is already quite filled up when we return, and we don¡¯t bother with finding our old seats again and simply sit down where we find four empty seats. A bit later the doors close again, and Headmaster Benson reappears on the stage down below. ¡°Welcome back, I hope you all found something to eat, as we¡¯ll be diving right back into it in a minute. Now that we¡¯ve cleared your questions about the reward and exploitation system, I¡¯d like to return to our original topic of the day. Courses. The most important for you is probably the grading, so I¡¯ll tell you a bit about it, even though, I think the things you are learning are way more important than your grades,¡± he pauses for a short chuckle. ¡°Anyway, to put your minds at rest, grading will follow the same principles as you know from your junior schools in both the magical and non-magical courses.¡± That causes a collective sigh of relief while my friends and I, barring Alina are quite confused. ¡°Clara?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve got you. It¡¯s pretty simple. For non-magical courses, you simply have to hand in assignments or do written tests, and for magical courses, you are graded according to your competence in the taught spells. Things like casting speed, stability of the spell, and power wastage. Like I said, basic things you won¡¯t have to worry about.¡± ¡°Uhh, spell stability and power wastage? Those are things that can be measured?¡± ¡°Of course, don¡¯t you know that? But you don¡¯t have to worry. Your spells are some of the most efficient I¡¯ve seen. Stability is just a matter of doing enough repetitions. You¡¯ve got this!¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯ve never heard of those terms before¡­ Mage-hating nation, you know?¡± I whisper under my breath. ¡°But thanks for the reassurance!¡± ¡°Ah shit, they didn¡¯t even cover the basics? I¡¯m sorry.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be, I get it. And yeah, they told us what class to choose and taught us the bare minimum to be able to cast spells, nothing more.¡± Clara is silent for a long moment, and I start listening to the headmaster again. Looks like he¡¯s explaining the different levels of the courses at the moment, as he¡¯s currently talking about power requirements for the advanced Space magic course. He stops for a short laugh. ¡°Now I¡¯ve told you all those things, but do we even have students here that qualify for the course? Can all the Seniors and above lift their hands for a moment, please?¡± Why is he asking this? He should know the power levels of the students¡­ Still, I lift my hand, just like about 500 other people around the room. That¡¯s not many! Reality hits me hard. Space Mages are really rare people. I¡¯ve been spoiled with my family! Ugh, I suppress a grimace, as suddenly many people look at me with awe. Luckily, headmaster Benson starts to continue. ¡°Good, we¡¯re a bit above average for this year. That¡¯s fortunate for all of you who registered for the Exploration, Practical Diplomacy, Security, and all the other courses that include excursions! If you manage to include a Senior Space Mage in your teams, they can speed up your trips considerably with the signature spell Starship Jump. In case you don¡¯t know about it, it allows the Space Mage to jump starships without the help of a wormhole. So, I encourage you to seek them out. And to you, Space Mages, don¡¯t forget to ask for compensation. It¡¯s your time after all and I¡¯m pretty sure you don¡¯t want to play taxi for all your time here at FBC.¡± He ends with another chuckle, and I suddenly notice even more gazes directed at me. Did the Headmaster really say that? He just announced us Space Mages as glorified taxis! Oh my, I guess I¡¯ll be busy in the future¡­ Chapter 92: Taxi Chapter 92: Taxi Location: Magicon Empire; Magicon System; Terra; Imperia; FBC The lesson continues with headmaster Benson telling us a few more things about the courses at FBC and what to expect from them. Most importantly, he tells us that the course requirements aren¡¯t hard facts at all. If we are for example only a Junior Mage and want to attend an advanced course, we can present some arguments to the Professor and then they get to decide if they let you join or not. Mostly it¡¯s the student telling them that they are close to an advancement, or that they get some power enhancements soon. I keep that fact in the back of my head, as this would allow me to visit the advanced course for Utility as well if the beginner course was too simple. After that, the headmaster calls the course finished for the day and tells us that tomorrow Professor Williston will take over the lessons. He says goodbye and wishes us a successful first year at FBC. Then he simply vanishes. The other students sit still for another moment, then a great uproar goes through the seats, and all the Senior Space Mages and above are swarmed by the students around them. Myself included. ¡°Can you join my team?¡± ¡°¡­ just need a Space Mage.¡± ¡°Please!¡± ¡°I¡¯m Jason, nice to meet you.¡± I¡¯m immediately overwhelmed and look helplessly at Alina. She sees my discomfort and claps her hands. The sound must have been magically enhanced, as it¡¯s unnaturally loud. But it does its job and the crowd around me stills. ¡°Guys, relax. You¡¯re scaring her. Keep it civilized and form a line!¡± Alina calls out. It seems to work for a moment until some people try to push themselves forward or try to form a second and third line. Alina explodes. ¡°For fuck¡¯s sake, are you too dumb to form a line? I thought we all learned how to do it at registration! Do it right, or we¡¯re gone, and you lose out on one of the strongest Space Mages in our year.¡± Oh wow, she has a temper. And did she just increase my value during her rant? I know that I¡¯m probably the strongest here, but she doesn¡¯t! She only knows that I¡¯m a Master, and from what I saw, Masters aren¡¯t that rare¡­ Well, not that I care¡­ Might be able to ask for more if I¡¯m going to play taxi. I wonder if they are up to pay with other things than money? If it¡¯s one thing I don¡¯t need, it¡¯s money. Shoot, but Sara Green probably does¡­ Maybe I can ask for a little money and something on top? Anyway, Alina¡¯s rant was effective, and the students around us start forming an orderly line. Alina smiles, and Lucy and Lydia stand protectively behind me. ¡°Good, now it¡¯s probably the time to tell you, that my friend Sara here already has a team for the Exploration course,¡± Alina continues, indicating herself, Lydia, and Lucy. There are a few groans throughout the line, and a few people already start leaving. ¡°You¡¯re only four, though,¡± calls out one voice from the middle of the line. Others nod in agreement and one of those who left even steps back into the line. ¡°I shake my head, deciding it¡¯s time for me to speak up. ¡°Sorry guys, but Alina is right. If you¡¯re looking for a Space Mage for the Exploration course, you¡¯re wrong here. We¡¯ve already got a full team of six.¡± This time they get it and start leaving with defeated expressions. It¡¯s about a quarter of the people who formed up before me, but that still leaves almost thirty people with hopeful expressions. I cock my head. That should be possible and would make things easier, than sitting here in the stands of the stadium. ¡°Clara, is there like an office that fits all those people we can rent?¡± Lucy raises an eyebrow when she hears this, and Alina¡¯s eyes light up. Yeah, she gets it. Teleporting thirty-plus people is another sign of my strength and raises my value. ¡°There sure is, I¡¯ve taken the liberty and reserved one, meaning you can teleport right inside. Whenever you¡¯re ready.¡± She locks in a set of coordinates, and I grin broadly at the other students, waiting in line. ¡°Alright guys, if you¡¯re still interested, move closer, and we move the negotiations to a better place. Just don¡¯t resist.¡± I get a few questioning glances, but everyone moves closer. I flex a bit with my magic power and envelope everyone, then I grin broadly and trigger the Teleportation spell. A fraction of a second later, we¡¯re inside the office, Clara has just booked. A few students look at me wide-eyed, while others wobble a bit on their feet. First-time teleporters, I guess. I let out a soft chuckle and sit down behind the main desk in the room. ¡°Alright, take a seat, then we can start discussing what you might need from me.¡± Most of the others sit down at the big conference table before me, while my friends sit down next to me. One of the few who keeps standing looks at me with a conflicted expression. ¡°Did you just kidnap us? Where are we? Is this even legal?¡± I¡¯m about to answer when I get a notification on my interface. It¡¯s another reward! I start laughing when I see just what I¡¯m getting. This is perfect. The man who just asked starts scowling. ¡°What¡¯s so funny?¡± ¡°Sorry, sorry. I just got a reward for starting a negotiation from a position of power. I guess I did something to impress the college staff¡­ Anyway, don¡¯t worry, we¡¯re still on campus, I just booked us an office here so that we don¡¯t have to do all the negotiating in the stadium.¡± The young man nods and sits down. ¡°I guess you got something good then?¡± Oh, absolutely. I¡¯ve just got a coupon for a free Magitech personal shield device. This is a nice upgrade to my shield watch, as it covers my full body. Not that I¡¯m telling him that. ¡°I did, yeah.¡± He grunts, and all the others still standing sit down as well. An awkward silence fills the room, until I clear my throat. ¡°What are you waiting for? You¡¯re the ones who want me as your taxi.¡± The same young man from earlier speaks up again. ¡°Hi, sorry for earlier. I¡¯ve just never been teleported without prior warning¡­ My name¡¯s Dave, and I¡¯m planning to take the Archeology course together with my friends,¡± he indicates the people next to him. ¡°Since pretty much all the planets in the vicinity have already been archaeologically investigated, we¡¯re thinking of trying our luck further out. Maybe we¡¯re even lucky and find the long-lost Solar System?¡± He ends the sentence with a weak chuckle, and I have to fight very hard to keep my expression neutral. That was a close one. Maybe it¡¯s even possible? I mean Dad is still trying to open the vault and if he manages, Grandpa John probably announces Earth. This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. ¡°Therefore, we need a strong Space Mage, as we¡¯re otherwise not able to cross the needed distance to find some interesting places. What do you think?¡± He looks at me with a hopeful expression, and his friends almost make puppy eyes. I can¡¯t say I¡¯m not interested¡­ Maybe such archeological sites even contain magical Artifacts? Maybe even a core? That would be insane! ¡°Let¡¯s say I¡¯m interested, Dave, what can you offer me?¡± He cringes, and his expression drops a little. ¡°We¡¯re all on a scholarship¡­¡± There are some sardonic chuckles around the room, and I whisper to Clara. ¡°Mark those people, please. I don¡¯t think I want to work with them.¡± ¡°Done.¡± Five people light up on my interface, they all sit close to a young man with clothes that just scream money. He even wears a weird symbol on his outer coat, right above his heart. It doesn¡¯t look like a company logo, more like a family crest. Is that a Noble? He wears a confident smirk on his face and seems to enjoy Dave¡¯s discomfort. I must have spaced out longer than intended, as I only hear the last words from Dave¡¯s next sentence. ¡°¡­part of our findings.¡± He looks back up with hope in his eyes. Dammit, now I feel like an idiot. ¡°Sorry, Dave, can you repeat what you just said? I spaced out a little.¡± The probably Noble dude snorts and Dave¡¯s face fills with anger. ¡°And here I thought you would be different¡­¡± He starts to get up, and his friends join him. They all turn to leave the room, and the Noble dude suddenly wears a satisfied expression. Do they know each other? ¡°Clara, what did he offer me?¡± I whisper again, while Dave and his crew leave the room. ¡°He offered you part of their findings and a co-authorship of any papers they write. Sorry for not telling you earlier, I was researching your new Noble friend over there¡­¡± Huh, that¡¯s the perfect offer! Dang, why didn¡¯t I listen? ¡°Can you contact Dave and ask them to wait in an adjoining room? Book it, if necessary. I don¡¯t care, but I want on their team. I can¡¯t miss the chance of possibly finding an Artifact, even if it¡¯s a low chance. Tell him I take their offer if he doesn¡¯t want to wait, but don¡¯t let them leave!¡± ¡°I¡¯ve got you¡­ One second. Room is booked, and Dave got the message. You should probably continue with the others. You¡¯ve been silent for a while. I¡¯ll keep you posted about Dave.¡± She¡¯s right. ¡°Sorry everyone, I had to deal with something that came up, but now I¡¯m back. For your information, I¡¯m happy with other forms of payment besides money, and I also offered Dave to be their Space Mage for the Archeology course. I didn¡¯t mean to drive him off¡­¡± Now the Noble dude scowls in my direction and stands up. ¡°I hope you just made a joke¡­ I and my team would also like to contract you for the Archeology course. My name is Charles Ferdinand Junbun, grandson of Baron Junbun of the Armortec Duchy. I¡¯m happy to pay any price you want, just don¡¯t take that charity case¡­ You¡¯re way better off with us. Consider this an offer to enter the Noble circles.¡± Silence descends over the room. There are whispers about how crazy it is to get such an offer over a simple contract and questions of why I¡¯m even hesitating. Luckily Clara comes to the rescue and gives me a quick overview. ¡°First of all, such an offer is crazy. He¡¯s basically inviting you to be one of his retainers. Your power really must have impressed him. If you took this offer you¡¯d be basically part of the Junbun Barony with all the benefits and obligations. Not that I advise you to take that offer, as they are bottom rank of what Nobles can be. Even below that if he¡¯s not attending RMA, but that¡¯s a topic for later, as I¡¯ve just got a message from Dave saying, that they¡¯ll wait in the second office to talk to you later.¡± Perfect, this Noble guy just rubs me wrong¡­ I¡¯d rather take Dave¡¯s offer a thousand times over. I clear my throat. ¡°Thanks for the offer, Charles.¡± There are sharp intakes of breath, and Charles and his goons start scowling. ¡°The correct form of address would have been Lord Junbun or at least Mister Junbun. You pretty much just insulted him,¡± Clara chuckles in my ear and I shrug inwardly. ¡°But I have to decline. I¡¯ve already offered to be Dave¡¯s Space Mage, and I don¡¯t plan to go back on my word.¡± Charles jumps up and slams his hands on the table. His face is red in anger, and he starts shouting. ¡°Do you even know who I am? Who are you, a country bumpkin? Don¡¯t you know what I just offered you?¡± He starts radiating magic. It feels like Senior in strength in both Utility and A&D. Does he want to intimidate me? I have to suppress a snort. What an idiot. Lucy starts radiating her magic as well to counter him, but I put a hand on her shoulder to stop her. ¡°Leave it, he¡¯s not worth it.¡± She stops, and I turn back to Charles. ¡°Mate, I don¡¯t care who you are, and I know full well what you just offered. I just don¡¯t care. And stop flexing your magic, you make the others uncomfortable.¡± He just continues sneering. ¡°You¡¯ll regret this, mark my words.¡± His friends get up, and he suddenly focuses all his magic on me and my friends. This time I don¡¯t stop Lucy from pushing back, and his eyes go wide when Lucy hits his magic with her Master power level. I see multiple people groaning under the magical assault, and this is the last straw for me. ¡°Get the fuck out,¡± I shout at them, ¡°if you¡¯d have any kind of relevance in The Empire, you would be at RMA, now piss off, and don¡¯t think anyone cares about the grandson of a random third-class Baron!¡± Clara reads my mind and supplies me with a set of coordinates. I grab them roughly with the Teleportation spell, and before they can retort, teleport them to the jump room we jumped into earlier today during lunch break. I let out a long sigh¡­ Now I know why Mom hates dealing with Nobles so much. ¡°Sorry everyone, he was just an ass¡­¡± The others in the room just stare at me, not believing what I just did. Everyone is too stunned to make a noise. I can just shrug inwardly. First of all, I don¡¯t have a clue about Noble politics and second, I¡¯m just way above him in the hierarchy¡­ That probably sounds a bit arrogant, but what can I do? Well, I guess I made my life as Sara Green just a bit harder, but if worst comes to worst, I¡¯ll just ditch the disguise, even if that means I have to deal with even more Nobles¡­ I hear a gasp from my left and notice Dave standing at the open door with his jaw on the ground. ¡°Did you just?¡± ¡°Yeah, I did¡­ I¡¯m really sorry about earlier, I was researching that dude when you made your offer because his goons laughed at you, that¡¯s why I missed you talking.¡± He nods slowly but steps back into the room, his friends follow soon after. ¡°Do you know what you just did? You¡¯ve made an enemy today¡­ And, and just for us?¡± ¡°Bah, I¡¯ve dealt with worse, and I like your offer way better than theirs. Who knows what we¡¯re going to find? But that¡¯s something for later, when we talk about the fine details, for now, let¡¯s just say you¡¯ve got your Space Mage.¡± His team lets out sighs of relief and Dave answers. ¡°Thank you!¡± With that out of the way, I encourage the others to continue making their offers. It takes a while to get them over their shock, but in the end, they start talking again. I take on the one and other offer while declining a few as well. At least things don¡¯t escalate anymore, and everything stays civil. In the end, I¡¯m contracted by three additional teams, helping out in the Diplomacy, Security, and Courier courses. The last one comes as a surprise and is a luxury service that deals with bringing goods from A to B as fast as possible. As I didn¡¯t know what they even learn in that course, I asked them and when they answered, I was even more surprised. Apparently, they aim to exploit the system and get a reward, as the normal workload of the Courier course is negotiating deals with cargo companies and booking slots on freighters to find the fastest possible route for the goods they have to transport. It¡¯s basically an advanced and practical negotiation and strategic thinking course. The students who contracted me, hope to exploit the system by hiring me and skipping all the negotiating and planning stuff. I laughed out loud when I heard this, and immediately accepted. It¡¯s also the only contract where I accepted only money as payment without asking for more, as I¡¯m just too curious of the outcome. Maja’s Adventures 2 Maja¡¯s Adventures 2 Location: Magicon Empire; Armortec Duchy; Cintman System; Peacekeeper Academy It doesn¡¯t take long until the room is packed and every single occupant from the Estrella has entered. Maja hears the door closing far behind her, then another one at the front opens and a man steps through. He wears a white dress uniform with lots of shiny pieces affixed to it. On top of his head is a hat with a golden ME at the front. He is followed by another two men who wear the same uniform. The only difference Maja notices is the different number of golden stripes on their shoulders. The man at the front has four, while the other two only have two. That¡¯s a Commander and two Lieutenants¡­ Probably the station¡¯s commander with his two aides. Said commander claps once, and the sound reverbs through the room. Slowly the communications die down. It still takes about two minutes until everyone fully faces the Commander and pays attention. He just keeps standing there the whole time with an impassive expression. Maja notices a slight twitch on one of the Lieutenant¡¯s faces behind him. That¡¯s never a good sign. Finally, the Commander opens his mouth. He just utters a single word before being silent again. ¡°Pathetic!¡± The single word slams down on everyone with its full weight. Curious expressions around Maja turn to shock, and all smiles vanish. The Commander nods once. ¡°Good. Now that I have your attention, my name is Commander Marcus Fletcher. You will call me Commander Fletcher or just Commander. What I see before me are the faces of people who don¡¯t know what it means to be a Peacekeeper. But you¡¯re here to change that. That¡¯s commendable!¡± He stops for another moment to let the words sink in. Then he continues, still punctuating every single sentence with a short pause. ¡°You¡¯re now probably asking yourselves what I mean by that. So let me explain this to you. You all are now Peacekeeper cadets which means you have to act in a certain way. Remember who you represent in the future. You¡¯ll be part of the greatest military force the galaxy has ever seen. This means you have to show DISCIPLINE!¡± He literally explodes saying the last word and before anyone can react to this, he continues shouting. ¡°WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE TO LET A SUPERIOR OFFICER WAIT FOR TWO FULL MINUTES WHEN THEY ARE ADDRESSING YOU?¡± The words hang in the air again while most of the young people around Maja lower their heads in shame. A few even mumble an apology. Suddenly, the Commander looks in Maja¡¯s direction and she follows his gaze. She notices the short guy from earlier look back at the Commander. There is no trace of shame on his face, and he stares forward defiantly. ¡°You,¡± Commander Fletcher starts, ¡°what¡¯s your name?¡± ¡°I¡¯m cadet Steven Chen, Commander Fletcher, sir.¡± ¡°Cadet Chen, you¡¯ve got some spine, don¡¯t lose it. This goes for all of you. If you don¡¯t do anything wrong, you don¡¯t have to feel ashamed for it.¡± His gaze moves through the room and lingers on a few faces. Maja and Ellie included. Maja rewinds everything that has happened in her head again. Oh, those are all the people who immediately paid attention to Commander Fletcher. Steven Chen was the only one who didn¡¯t lower his head after the Commander¡¯s outburst though¡­ That¡¯s either a crazy good perception from the Commander or good AI support. ¡°Now with this out of the way, we can finally return to the actual topic of today. First of all, welcome to Peacekeeper Academy, cadets. In case you don¡¯t know, you¡¯ve entered the Academy the moment the MES Estrella left the wormhole.¡± He stops again, clearly awaiting another outburst. This time everyone stays silent though and Commander Fletcher nods once. ¡°That¡¯s better! And yes, before you ask the staff later on, let me confirm. The whole Cintman System belongs to Peacekeeper Academy and will be your home for the following years. This includes the planets. In fact, you all will be visiting one of the planets during your first assignment that starts tomorrow after you¡¯ve got your uniforms.¡± He stops again and indicates the two Lieutenants who take a step forward. ¡°To get those, you have to follow Lieutenants Smith and Yang. The Mages among you are with Lieutenant Smith,¡± he indicates the taller Lieutenant to his left who nods once. ¡°Everyone else is with Lieutenant Yang.¡± This time the smaller, but more muscular Lieutenant with Asian features nods. They both turn around and walk to two different doors that had just opened. Still, no one moves, everyone keeps looking at the Commander. A slight smile finds its way on his face, and he nods. ¡°Cadets, you are dismissed.¡± He vanishes with a purple flash, then the new Peacekeeper cadets make their way to their respective exits. Maja sends a quick message to her three friends wishing them good luck, then she follows the tall Ellie toward the exit. A line forms quickly, with Ellie and Maja in the middle. This leads to another period of waiting until they finally reach Lieutenant Yang. ¡°Names?¡± He asks. ¡°Maja Yarin, sir,¡± Maja replies, introducing herself. Ellie is quick to follow. ¡°Eleanor Zekic, sir.¡± The Lieutenant¡¯s eyes lose focus for a short moment, then a slight smile enters his face. ¡°You¡¯re both command track, huh? Congratulations. Just follow the hallway and turn left at the next intersection. Then your destination is the third room on the right. The Commander will personally take care of you once everyone is there.¡± Ellie nods. ¡°Thank you, Lieutenant.¡± Then they both continue down the hallway until they reach the indicated room. There are already a few people waiting inside, including cadet Chen, the guy who caught the attention of Commander Fletcher. He nods in greeting when Maja and Ellie enter, then he returns to standing ramrod straight in the middle of the room. There are 16 other people inside the room with a slight majority of young men. A few stand just as straight as cadet Chen, while all the others are way more relaxed and talk to each other. Maja and Ellie mostly stay by themselves and only exchange a few pleasantries with the others. Every few minutes a new person enters the room until it closes behind the 49th cadet. ¡°Guys, we can¡¯t mess up this time, we¡¯re the elite class, so follow my example once the Commander enters,¡± cadet Chen calls out. He¡¯s right. He also seems to be one of the few who have a clue what¡¯s going on. The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. Maja and Ellie exchange glances, and they both nod slightly. Then another door opens, and Commander Fletcher enters the room. ¡°Attention! Commander on deck,¡± cadet Chen calls out, stands somehow even straighter, and puts his right palm to the forehead to perform a salute. Surprisingly, all the cadets follow his example. The Commander looks visibly pleased. ¡°That¡¯s better. Thank you, cadet Chen. You may be at ease.¡± Everyone relaxes their postures, while most start shuffling around and relax their whole bodies, cadet Chen still stands somewhat stiff with his hands behind his back. Commander Fletcher gives him a nod in appreciation and Maja quickly follows cadet Chen¡¯s example. A few others do so as well. Commander Fletcher starts chuckling. ¡°There¡¯s no need for the correct postures right now. You¡¯ll have enough time to learn them in the following weeks. Now, I welcome you all to one of the most prestigious tracks within Peacekeeper Academy. You are the best of the best. Look at your neighbors. These are the faces who will be commanding starships and whole fleets in the future, freeing up our Mages to concentrate on their magic. I expect greatness from you. Don¡¯t disappoint me. Your training will start tomorrow. You¡¯ve got the rest of today at your convenience. I¡¯ll be sending you your room numbers where two sets of uniforms will be waiting for you. You are responsible for those uniforms. The one you are wearing needs to be impeccable at all times. You have to change into your uniform before further exploring the station. Good luck cadets, dismissed.¡± He disappears again and Maja intercepts another signal that tried to connect to her interface. He seems to like disappearing on us¡­ Also, here¡¯s my room number. Rather annoying with the uniforms though. Good thing I don¡¯t sweat. ¡°What¡¯s your room, Maja?¡± Ellie asks. ¡°Mine is 03-76.¡± Maja doublechecks her own number. ¡°I¡¯m in 03-75, so I guess we¡¯re not roommates anymore.¡± ¡°A bummer, but hey, at least we¡¯re still close. Shall we?¡± Maja nods, and they exit the room. Their room numbers luckily came with a map of the station, so they are very easy to find. As expected, Maja and Ellie have their separate rooms next to each other. They decide to meet each other again in thirty minutes in the hallway, which should leave them enough time to put away their things, freshen up, and put on their uniforms. The door closes behind Maja after she enters her room. This time there isn¡¯t a bathroom included, just a single sink right next to the entrance. Hmm, even more utilitarian¡­ I guess we won¡¯t be spending much time here. Good thing I don¡¯t need to use the bathroom¡­ Ah, there¡¯s the uniform. Said uniform lies neatly folded on the small metal bed at the back of the room. There are two of them, next to each other ¨C just like Commander Fletcher said. Maja grabs the top piece from the left stack of clothes. It¡¯s a black, skintight shipsuit that works as a general protection against breaches aboard a ship or station ¨C a must-have for pretty much everyone besides Maja. She also notices a signal emanating from the shipsuit and connects to it. Ahh, it can be made see-through at the arms and legs, just like the ones Sara is always wearing. Maja nods to herself, strips down, and puts on her new shipsuit. She puts her old clothes beside her backpack and makes the shipsuit mostly see-through. Now only the important parts are covered by the black color. Dark grey cargo pants and black boots complete her lower half, while a simple black shirt and a dark blue jacket finish the rest. That¡¯s very different from what the Commander and Lieutenants were wearing. I guess I¡¯m now wearing what the Peacekeepers wear while following their normal duties? Not that it matters¡­ I better pack away the other uniform in case they surprise us with an unannounced deployment or something. Hmm, I¡¯m probably not allowed to keep my own backpack. Is there a new one? Ah, there it is! Her quick search ends when she opens the small wardrobe next to the bed. A backpack in the same dark blue color as her jacket stands at the bottom. She grins when she finds a note inside that tells her about a hidden compartment for her magical battery. She quickly proceeds to empty her old backpack and puts the battery inside the hidden compartment. Then she puts away most of her other things and puts the second uniform up top. Closing up her new backpack she tries it on and nods. It fits perfectly. She leaves the backpack in the room and steps outside again to wait for Ellie. It doesn¡¯t take long until her former roommate exits her room while wearing the same uniform. They look each other up and down and grin, then they set off to explore the station and maybe find Thomas and the other Mages. Turns out all the Mages are long gone. After they walked through all the public places on the station and didn¡¯t find the others, Maja decided to ask one of the other soldiers aboard the station. Apparently, Lieutenant Smith immediately led all the Mage cadets to another starship, and they left right after. Wow, I didn¡¯t expect to be separated from Thomas, Shay, and Simon that fast¡­ Ellie tries to comfort Maja, but in the end, they return to their rooms sooner rather than later. Maja¡¯s mood is still down, and Ellie decides to go to sleep early. ¡°Who knows what they come up with tomorrow,¡± she says after saying good night to Maja. Maja lies down in her bed and closes her eyes. While she doesn¡¯t need to sleep, she learned how good a bit of relaxation can be. A few hours later, her relaxation is suddenly interrupted by a loud siren. Maja sits bolt upright. A quick check marks the time at 0400 military time. What¡¯s happening? ¡°Cadets, report to hangar 14 immediately. Bring your issued backpacks, nothing else. I repeat, report to hangar 14 immediately.¡± Oh, is that one of those drills Ellie talked about earlier? Excitement fills her, and she quickly gets up. Luckily, she didn¡¯t bother with getting out of her uniform last night, so she¡¯s ready in seconds. Maja quickly grabs her backpack and leaves the room. The station¡¯s map shows her the way to hangar 14. Still, she hesitates and turns in the other direction instead. Five steps later, she stands before Ellie¡¯s door and knocks. ¡°I¡¯m coming, one second!¡± Ellie cries through the closed door and Maja sighs in relief. Good, she¡¯s awake. That would have been embarrassing. Thirty seconds later, the door opens and Ellie steps outside. ¡°Oh, it¡¯s you. Hi Maja, are you alright?¡± ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m good. How about you? This gotta be a drill, right.¡± ¡°I think so. Good thing we went to bed early. Let¡¯s go!¡± They follow the directions toward hangar 14. On their way, they catch up with a few other cadets. They look all dead tired except Steven Chen, who storms ahead with a smile on his face. Maja notices, that some others don¡¯t have their backpacks with them. And one cadet is without his uniform. He only wears pajama pants, nothing else. I don¡¯t think the Commander would like that. Maja rushes ahead and taps the guy on the shoulder. He turns around and looks like he is sleepwalking. ¡°Mate, where is your uniform,¡± Maja hisses. That wakes the guy up. He looks down on himself and his eyes widen in panic. ¡°Shit! Thank you.¡± He turns around and rushes back the way he came. Ellie catches up with Maja and chuckles. ¡°That¡¯s nice of you.¡± Maja shrugs. ¡°That would have been bad for everyone. Better we keep the Commander happy.¡± ¡°True enough,¡± Ellie agrees. A bit later, they reach the hangar and form up around cadet Chen. This time they all follow his example and stand at attention in neat lines 10 wide, five rows deep. Maja looks around and with a few expectations only sees dead tired faces. A minute later, the Commander enters the room, and everyone salutes him. He nods once, then returns the salute. ¡°Good morning cadets, I hope you slept well.¡± There is a slight smirk on his face. ¡°Behind me is a shuttle that will bring you down to Cintman 3. There you will get further instructions. Good luck cadets.¡± After that, he vanishes again. He keeps doing that¡­ A door opens, showing the interior of a shuttle. Cadet Chen is the first one to move and enters the shuttle. Everyone else quickly follows. Once everyone has boarded, the shuttle¡¯s door closes, and it departs the station. Cadet Chen stands up and turns to face everyone. He pats his bulging backpack. ¡°I hope you all have your things packed. I guess that we¡¯re currently flying toward boot camp, which means we¡¯ll have to make do with the thing we have with us right now.¡± There are curses all around the shuttle. As Maja had noticed earlier, not everyone brought their backpack. When accusations start flying around, Maja stands up as well and whistles loudly. ¡°Everyone shut the fuck up!¡± All the faces turn to her. ¡°As Steven just said, we probably have to make do with the things we have once we reach the planet. We¡¯re the elite track though, so act like it! I¡¯d say it¡¯s best if we pool our resources once we¡¯ve landed and go from there. Who¡¯s with me?¡± Ellie is the first one to cheer and voice her agreement. Most of the others quickly join in. Cadet Chen nods approvingly but before he can say anything else, the shuttle¡¯s captain tells everyone to sit down and fasten their seatbelts. The shuttle is about to enter the atmosphere of Cintman 3 I hope this won¡¯t be too bad! Chapter 93: Noble Ways Chapter 93: Noble Ways Location: Magicon Empire; Magicon System; Terra; Imperia; FBC The remainder of the introduction week goes by way too quickly, and suddenly it¡¯s Friday. Lessons today end at noon, and everyone starts leaving the giant stadium. I only see that Charles dude a single time during that week, but he just stares daggers my way and leaves for another section of the stadium. But I also notice that he¡¯s not the only one looking at me strangely. Pretty much everyone Clara identifies as a lesser Noble scowls at me or starts making rude jokes about me when I¡¯m in earshot. Looks like that Charles dude went to all of them and complained about me¡­ Maybe I should put in a little bit of effort and try to smooth things over a bit? I shrug inwardly. let¡¯s start with the simple things. It¡¯s our first weekend in Imperia. We¡¯ve got better things to do than dealing with idiot Nobles! As we¡¯re all new to the city, we decide to go out to have some fun. Our group of four quickly grows to six when Lucy and I invite Nick and Tim, and as I still feel a bit bad, I also invite Dave and his archeology crew. He quickly agrees, and our group grows to eleven people. We arrange to meet up at 8 p.m. which means, I still have a few hours to do other things. I tell the others that I have to look after the Stargazer for a bit and leave them be, then I cast the Teleportation spell and jump away. Instead of going to the Stargazer, I have Clara give me the coordinates for Benson Moon, as my great-grandparents asked me If I¡¯ll visit this weekend. As I¡¯m probably wasted tomorrow, I decide to just jump up there today. I arrive in one of the jump rooms with a purple flash, and the door immediately opens to show me another disguise chamber. A written note appears on the screen, telling me to use the chamber to shed my Sara Green identity, as she can¡¯t be seen up here. I do just so and exit the chamber as my real self a few minutes later. I jump in shock, as I almost walk into a broadly grinning Amelia Benson. ¡°Grandma Amelia!¡± I shout out in surprise, and she smirks at me. ¡°Hi Sara, I heard you met your first Nobles?¡± ¡°How¡¯d you¡­? Right, spy-mistress¡­ Yeah, I guess I did. Not that it worked out that well¡­¡± She bursts out laughing. ¡°Oh, you messed up really well. Come your grandpa is waiting. He doesn¡¯t have much time today; I¡¯ll tell you about that Junbun boy later.¡± She offers me her arm, and I quickly grab on, then we teleport into another room in the Emperor¡¯s Estate. It¡¯s a cozy living room and Grandpa John lounges in one of the floating armchairs with a pipe in his mouth. Said pipe quickly disappears when he notices his scowling wife. He chuckles weakly. ¡°Can we pretend you didn¡¯t see that?¡± Then his face brightens when he sees me. ¡°Sara! Welcome back. Come here.¡± He pats another armchair next to him. I sit down smiling. ¡°Hi Grandpa John, where did that pipe go?¡± I ask with a big smirk, and Grandma Amelia starts chuckling. ¡°Yeah, where did it go, John?¡± She asks with a raised eyebrow while still chuckling. ¡°Errr, it¡¯s gone, okay? Let¡¯s just leave it there.¡± He looks not a single bit like the all-powerful Emperor he is under his wife¡¯s stern gaze. ¡°I hope you threw it into the sun,¡± Amelia replies and sits down on a third armchair. Then they both turn to me. ¡°So, Sara, how was your first week?¡± I clear my throat. ¡°It was really cool! I¡¯ve already learned so many things about the college and all, even if the real lessons haven¡¯t begun yet. I¡¯m excited for them to start. It starts with Space magic on Monday. And that whole exploit the system practice¡­ That¡¯s crazy. I¡¯ve been hired by some guys on the Courier course who want to skip all the booking of cargo ships by using me as an express service. I¡¯m curious how that will turn out.¡± Grandpa John laughs out loud. ¡°Oh, this is going to be fun! You¡¯ll have to fight for it, as the professor of the course will certainly see this as cheating at first, but don¡¯t let that discourage you! There is a way, and I¡¯m pretty sure you¡¯ll find it. You¡¯ve done it before after all,¡± he winks at me. I¡¯ve done it before? What does he mean? I start thinking of all the possibilities until Grandma Amelia claps her hands. ¡°Enough of that. You can think later. There is still time. Would you like some tea?¡± I happily agree, and she speaks under her breath, and a few minutes later, three cups of tea appear before us. We continue talking about college and other stuff until Grandpa John regretfully informs us that he has to leave for his appointment with Duchess Song. I tell him goodbye, and he disappears. Grandma Amelia looks at me sternly. ¡°Now onto the topic of the day¡­ Didn¡¯t you say you want to avoid Nobles?¡± She asks with a raised eyebrow. I sigh. ¡°Yeah, I did, but I couldn¡¯t help it¡­ He was an ass, and I couldn¡¯t just sit there and take it. It¡¯s just been a week and it seems I made every single Noble at FBC my enemy¡­¡± If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. She stands up and puts an arm on my shoulder. ¡°It¡¯s not that bad¡­ But you are right, they won¡¯t become your friends anytime soon, and there will be a few consequences you¡¯ll learn about sooner or later. Luckily, Nobles are a minority at FBC, and they are all from Baronies. Everything higher should be at RMA, or under disguise just like you. They don¡¯t have any political power, so you don¡¯t have to fear anything from that Junbun boy, even as Sara Green. That said, you probably can¡¯t stop him from using his influence to make a few things harder for you¡­¡± She stops, and I frown. I messed up, but I just couldn¡¯t let Dave down like this. Also, Charles rubbed me wrong right at the beginning¡­ And what is his problem with Dave? ¡°Can¡¯t you just make that problem go away?¡± I ask weakly, not really expecting a yes. She shakes her head. ¡°No, you started it, so you have to see it through. Sara Green doesn¡¯t have connections that high. That said, if it gets worse, or that Junbun boy brings in higher-level Nobles to harass you, give your brother a call. Christopher will take care of things in a way that is believable for someone of Sara Green¡¯s social standing. He¡¯s very good at this. I can give you a piece of advice though. Once you have joined lessons with RMA, try to make friends with a few of the Nobles there. If you don¡¯t mess this up, the Junbun boy should back off, as they have way more influence than him. Just don¡¯t anger them as well,¡± she winks at me. ¡°Also, try to get some lessons on Noble things, or browse the library¡­ Your parents should have told you at least a little bit, but I guess that¡¯s just how they are. They probably have a good laugh once they hear of this mess.¡± Yeah, that sounds like my parents¡­ We both look at each other and grin. I nod at Grandma Amelia in understanding and silently promise to look up some things once I¡¯ve got time. ¡°Okay, thank you. Can you at least tell me what Charles¡¯ problem is with Dave Rowlins?¡± ¡°I can, yes. One moment.¡± She stares into open air and mumbles under her breath. ¡°Ah, there it is. Your new friend Dave¡¯s parents lost their small company due to bad dealings between the Junbun family who own the former parent company of Rowlins Inc. and another Barony. Those dealings resulted in a heavy fine for the Junbuns, and they decided to pay it off with the ownership of Rowlins Inc. The other Barony, the Powells accepted it, but they fired the whole board of directors of Rowlins Inc. meaning Dave¡¯s parents lost everything. They went to court and got a partial win: The Powells had to pay them off for firing them, and the Junbuns were ordered to pay for the academic career of the oldest child of the Rowlins, and the other families of the fired board of directors. That¡¯s Dave¡¯s friends, they are all on a scholarship by the Junbuns. This resulted in Charles Junbun losing his place at RMA and made them hate each other with a passion.¡± ¡°Holy shit!¡± I can¡¯t hold back my swearing and stare at Grandma Amelia with wide eyes. ¡°How is something like that legal? Just transferring companies between Nobles and stuff¡­¡± Grandma Amelia shakes her head. ¡°It isn¡¯t¡­ Especially not what the Powells did. But The Empire is big, and we can¡¯t stop everything. Therefore, everyone can take legal action in court without worrying about court costs. There aren¡¯t any. That¡¯s the best option the Big Five came up with a few thousand years back. In your friend¡¯s case specifically, Dave¡¯s parents received a lot of money from the Powells for what they did, and the process is still running. From what I see, they have good chances of getting their company back in the end.¡± I nod slowly. From what she is saying, everything should end up well for Dave, but still¡­ That such things happen in the first place is just wrong. ¡°Thanks for letting me know, Grandma Amalia¡­¡± She nods. ¡°You¡¯re welcome, and I see, you don¡¯t like it. Me neither, but I don¡¯t know how to change it¡­ Maybe you¡¯ll have a few ideas in the future when you take your rightful place as Sara Valterion.¡± Yeah, maybe. We continue talking for a while until I have to leave for my appointment with my friends. I say goodbye to Grandma Amelia and promise to drop by the next weekend. She stops me for another few minutes to send me a file. When I open it, my eyes go wide. It¡¯s a spell explanation for the Master level Utility spell Video Call! I focus back on a grinning Grandma Amelia. ¡°It¡¯s from your parents. You can''t learn it at FBC because you are limited to Junior level Utility spells as Sara Green. But they already miss you very much, so they decided to give you this spell to call them in your free time. You can¡¯t use it out in the open though, as this will blow your cover. If you want, you can train the spell up here on weekends or whenever you have time. Or just go to your ship if you prefer the solitude. Once you¡¯re done, I¡¯ll teach you another spell to conceal the use of Master level spells so you can also use it to call your parents from your dorm room.¡± I quickly hug her. ¡°Thanks, Grandma Amelia, I¡¯ll definitively take you up on your offer to train up here.¡± She grins and tells me goodbye as well. Then I teleport back to the disguise chamber and turn back into Sara Green. With one stop at the Stargazer to grab a dress and heels that didn¡¯t fit in the closet in my dorm room, I teleport back down to the planet. It¡¯s time to explore the city! I make it barely in time. My roommates are already waiting for me when I step out of my room after changing into my dress. ¡°Took you long enough,¡± Lucy greets me jokingly. ¡°Sorry, I noticed that I didn¡¯t have a fitting dress for the occasion tonight, so I quickly had to buy a new one. Took me longer than I expected.¡± Lydia and Lucy of course know where I really was, but I obviously can¡¯t tell Alina that I was meeting with the Emperor and Empress just to say hi. Luckily, my excuse works and Alina just grins. ¡°I have to say it was worth it, though. You look fantastic, Sara!¡± ¡°Thanks, Alina,¡± I reply. ¡°You don¡¯t look half bad either.¡± I wink at her. ¡°Are you all ready to go? I think the others are already waiting.¡± ¡°Yeah, let¡¯s go!¡± Lydia agrees and we leave our room and take the elevator down to the lobby. We meet the others at the old RMA castle that now functions as the entrance of the college sector of the city. Dave is the first to notice us, and waves awkwardly. ¡°Hey girls, nice to see you again. We wave back, and I take care of introductions. Dave¡¯s friends are a bit reserved at first. Now that I know the story, I can understand them. We¡¯re all rich kids with big companies backing us. When Nick tells them that he¡¯s on a scholarship as well, they finally start to interact with us a bit more. The tall, dark-haired guy is called Fabio, and the others are Toby, Lena, and Kylie. The two girls are blonde twins and both almost as tall as Fabio. Toby on the other hand is way smaller but has muscles like a bouncer. He¡¯s got his hair completely shaved at the sides and the remaining hair is in mid-length dark curls. With introductions out of the way, we¡¯re finally ready to go. Tim takes the lead and after a short pause at the subway entrance, he shrugs and ignores it. That earns him more than one raised eyebrow. ¡°I¡¯ve booked us a shuttle, my treat. Just buy me a drink later tonight,¡± he laughs and five minutes later, we arrive at a landing pad where said shuttle is already waiting for us. Maja’s Adventures 3 Maja¡¯s Adventures 3 Location: Magicon Empire; Armortec Duchy; Cintman System; Cintman 3; Peacekeeper Academy Maja barely notices the shuttle entering the atmosphere. There is one slight rumble, but then it¡¯s a smooth flight again. Not sure why we had to buckle in¡­ Probably legality stuff. It takes only ten additional minutes until the shuttle slows down a lot and begins to hover above a landing pad. Seconds later it sets down and the door opens. A gruff voice calls from outside. ¡°Cadets, out with you and line up!¡± Of course, cadet Chen is the fastest one out, and everyone else quickly follows. They all line up in five neat rows and stand at attention. Before them is a bearded man wearing the same uniform the cadets are wearing. The only difference are the two stripes on his shoulder which mark him as a Lieutenant. ¡°Welcome on Cintman 3, cadets. My name is Lieutenant Dexter and I have the honor of giving you your first official orders.¡± The shuttle¡¯s engines spin back up and Lieutenant Dexter stops due to the noise. ¡°Overeager pilots,¡± he mutters, too silent for anyone to hear but Maja. She takes the moment of silence to take a look around. Cintman 3 looks rough. Besides the sprawling military complex before her, everything around is a desert. As far as her eyes can see, there is nothing else besides sand. Meanwhile, the shuttle is gone, and the noise has died down. ¡°As I said, I¡¯m about to give you your first orders as Peacekeeper cadets, so listen up.¡± Now he¡¯s probably going to tell us what boot camp is about. ¡°While you are part of the command track, everyone of you needs to learn the basics, just like any other Peacekeeper! That¡¯s why you are here on Cintman 3 ¨C probably the least habitable planet within the system. Here you learn one important lesson: Survival! What do you do when you crash-land somewhere? Even worse what do you do when you lose all your Mages? Your first order is to find out! I¡¯ll send you a set of coordinates in a minute. You then have one week to reach them as a group. You may enter the building behind me and go through the storage rooms to get some supplies. Everything you might need, and more is there. But there is a twist. For every 100 kilograms of supplies you are taking as a group, you have to face one random challenge along the way. This doesn¡¯t include the things you already carry with you. Now, are there any questions or shall we start?¡± There are of course, and Lieutenant Dexter answers some of them. The cadets learn that someone will supervise them at all times, but they only take action if someone is about to die. Otherwise, the cadets are on their own. Unfortunately, the Lieutenant ignores every question about the random challenges they might face, and he also doesn¡¯t tell them what supplies they might need. Once all the questions are answered or ignored in most cases, the Lieutenant sends them a set of coordinates and a map of the planet. Then he leaves them on their own devices. Maja looks around and sees a lot of uncertainty on the others¡¯ faces. This isn¡¯t what I expected of boot camp¡­ The others probably didn¡¯t either. Ellie nudges her side and Maja looks at her. ¡°Yeah?¡± ¡°Look at Steven. He¡¯s still confident. Do you think he already knew of all this? I mean his backpack almost bursts at the seams and the Lieutenant said what we already have with us doesn¡¯t count to the 100 kilograms per challenge.¡± She¡¯s right. He looks like he¡¯s ready to wander off toward our destination. ¡°You¡¯re right, let¡¯s go over and ask him. We do need a plan after all if we want to succeed.¡± Maja and Ellie walk over to cadet Chen. He looks up when he notices them approaching. Maja waves. ¡°Hi there, I¡¯m Maja, this is Ellie. You¡¯re Steven, right?¡± ¡°Yeah, Steven Chen. How can I help you?¡± This time it¡¯s Ellie who speaks. ¡°You look like you know what¡¯s going on¡­ How come? And what should we do now?¡± He grins back at the two girls. ¡°Yeah, you could say that. You see, I grew up with Bernd Schmidt¡­ So I had a bit of an in on all the processes here. My knowledge pretty much ends here now, so for the survival mission we¡¯re on our own.¡± Ellie takes in a sharp breath and stares at cadet Chen. Maja immediately notices why but doesn¡¯t show much of a reaction. Schmidt. That¡¯s Armortec. Bernd must be one of their children then. If he¡¯s as old as Cadet Chen ¨C I guess I can call him Steven now ¨C he should be as old as Sara¡­ Now it makes sense why Steven is so confident and seems to know so much. ¡°Hey, I¡¯m just a normal bloke. So please chill. My connection to Armortec doesn¡¯t matter. We¡¯re all together here no matter our origin.¡± Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. Ellie still struggles a bit. Then she takes another breath. ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll try my best. It¡¯s crazy I never imagined meeting someone so close to a Ducal family.¡± Oh my, if only she knew. I¡¯m practically part of a Ducal family. Good thing my body is artificial. I don¡¯t think I could have suppressed a reaction to her comment otherwise. ¡°Yeah, don¡¯t worry Steven,¡± Maja replies. ¡°We¡¯re good. Now do you have an idea what we should do now?¡± Steven shrugs. ¡°I¡¯d say we take a look at the supplies and go from there. Well, we could take stock of the things we already have before that¡­ Hey, you¡¯re the one who called out in the shuttle,¡± He looks at Maja. ¡°Can you do that again and call everyone over?¡± ¡°Yeah, sure.¡± Maja mimes taking a deep breath and lets out a shout. ¡°Guys, can you all come over, please?! Steven and I think we should take a look at the things we have in our backpacks before we look at the supplies!¡± Every single head turns to them, but almost everyone immediately follows her call and comes over. The stragglers quickly fall to peer pressure and join as well. Then Steven starts unpacking his backpack and the others quickly follow. At least those who have one with them. Most people just have their normal clothes and some toiletries. A few others have a tablet or in one case even a paperback book. Steven is the only one who has a bit more stuff. His bursting backpack includes a small tent, a first aid kit, bottles of water, and some dried food bars. How did all of this even fit into his backpack? Overall, besides the things Steven brought, they don¡¯t really have things of use for a trip through the desert. ¡°Let¡¯s take a look at what they might give us for supplies,¡± Maja calls out and turns toward the warehouse. ¡°But remember, we have to keep our total weight as low as possible. Who knows what those random challenges are about,¡± Steven adds before he follows Maja. Ellie is the next one before all the others walk toward the warehouse as well. When they arrive at the warehouse, the doors open automatically, and everyone besides Maja lets out a sigh of relief. Maja adds her own quickly after. The warehouse is climatized and a welcome change to the hot desert out there. ¡°We definitely need a lot of water!¡± One of the other cadets calls out after discovering a pallet of water bottles. ¡°Wasn¡¯t there a tap just outside the door? That could save us a lot of weight if we just use empty canteens,¡± another one cuts in. Steven raises his hand and snaps his fingers to get everyone¡¯s attention. ¡°Good ideas, guys. Why don¡¯t we split up into small groups and just collect a few things? We can always leave things behind afterward¡­ We need Food, water, tents, first aid stuff, and probably weapons. Go for it, we meet back here in fifteen minutes.¡± To everyone¡¯s surprise, small groups form without issue, and every group sets out to look for one of the things Steven just mentioned. Maja and Ellie decide to stay back and organize things with Steven. A few others stay as well, but they quickly swarm out once Ellie points out that they need backpacks for those who forgot to bring theirs from the space station. It takes a bit longer than fifteen minutes until everyone is back. Someone even checked outside for the tap, so they went with the plan to only bring empty canteens. Other than that, the cadets found everything Steven said and went especially wild with the weapons. It now looks like they blundered a whole arsenal of them. That¡¯s definitely too much stuff. That gets us a challenge every hour or something. And who should carry all that? Steven and Ellie seem to agree, as both of them wear thoughtful expressions. ¡°It¡¯s too much,¡± Maja speaks up once everyone is back. That earns her a lot of grumbles but also agreement. Besides the challenges, no one wants to carry 50 kilograms on their back through a desert. Maja stands next to Steven and calls out again. ¡°Okay, first of all, grab a backpack if you haven¡¯t already. Then line up, we start with food and water, as those are the most important things.¡± ¡°Who made you two our leaders?¡± Calls out an annoyed voice from the back, while everyone else follows Maja¡¯s orders. Ellie comes to the rescue and immediately calls back. ¡°You¡¯ve got a better idea? ¡­ No? Then shut up!¡± Maja stifles a laugh and starts handing out survival rations. They have to pack for seven days at least. Better plan for one day extra¡­ Who knows what happens along the way? Steven follows her with the empty water bottles. He hands everyone two of them, which should easily bring a person through a day as they are quite big. Maja and Steven studied the map while the others were getting supplies and noticed that there are several locations where they can get fresh water along the way which means that they don¡¯t have to carry water for seven days, which would be way too much to carry. Ellie follows after Steven and hands out first aid kits. After that, they divide the rest of the supplies. Every other person gets a small tent that fits two people. The tents have an inflatable floor, which allows them to leave out the bedrolls. Next, everyone gets a few toiletries and a hat. They also include a few shovels and other tools among the group, just in case. Now there¡¯s only one thing that¡¯s missing: Weapons. Well, practice weapons, technically, but that doesn¡¯t matter. The other cadets collected a wide variety of them, and now the hard part is to decide which ones to take. Maja insists on getting a standard knife for everyone. Alone the utility a knife brings is invaluable in her opinion. Others, including Steven, disagree with her. ¡°We should take energy blades instead¡­ They are just better in everything while weighing the same,¡± he says, and Maja shakes her head. ¡°They are, but I think we should still take the knives. What if the batteries run out? Or if one of the challenges is an EMP or something? Knives are reliable.¡± The argument goes back and forth until Ellie has enough and steps in. ¡°Stop it, you two! You are both right, so why don¡¯t we take both? Or do a fifty-fifty split?¡± Oh! Maja and Steven look at each other, then they burst out laughing. They were both too stubborn to find an easy solution. Ellie''s proposal is quickly implemented, and now the group carries a mixture of knives and energy blades. Maja looks at Steven a second time and they nod in understanding. ¡°Hey Ellie, why don¡¯t you take care of the remaining weapons?¡± Maja asks and she and Steven both take a step back. Ellie shoots them a short glare but quickly steps into her role and expertly hands out the remaining weapons. People with some experience get the bigger rifles, while the rest of the cadets get a simple laser gun. This also finishes their preparations, and the group exits the warehouse. Outside, Lieutenant Dexter is already waiting right beside a giant scale. ¡°Alright, cadets, line up and we do a quick round of weighing your things. Don¡¯t worry, we have already weighed the things you had with you on the way down. It will be subtracted from the total.¡± Turns out everyone carries around 20 kilograms with them which totals just over 1000 kilos. This means the group has to face ten random challenges during the next seven days. The Lieutenant wishes them good luck, then all the cadets fill up their bottles and set out into the desert. Maja, Steven, and Ellie are in the lead and set a brisk pace. The others follow behind and their survival boot camp begins for real. Let¡¯s see what the desert and the Peacekeepers have in mind for us. Chapter 94: Imperial Nights Chapter 94: Imperial Nights Location: Magicon Empire; Magicon System; Terra; Imperia We all step into the shuttle. It¡¯s nothing fancy, but it does smooth out our short trip to the city center a lot. Our destination is the central towers, and we reach them about twenty minutes later. The shuttle aims for a landing platform about halfway up at one of the centermost towers. The shuttle sets down and we disembark. ¡°Where to now?¡± Lucy asks and looks around in wonder. Before us, the tower is like one big open space. There is a big opening right in the middle reaching from the bottom to the very top. Every floor circles this opening and features all kinds of bars, nightclubs, restaurants, and who knows what else next to each other. It¡¯s a lot to take in, and I have to work hard not to lose focus. Luckily, Tim seems rather indifferent about the overwhelming stuff around us. Looks like he¡¯s been to more places like this? ¡°It doesn¡¯t really matter¡­ Depends on what you want to do. We could go up toward the top and enjoy the view, though it¡¯s more expensive the higher you go. Or we could go to a dive bar at the bottom and drink until our brains short out.¡± He shrugs. ¡°It¡¯s your choice.¡± He looks at me, his gaze seems to search for a reaction? I wonder why¡­ Lydia opens and closes her mouth a few times. ¡°All this, the whole tower is just for bars and stuff?¡± Alina nods. ¡°Yeah, is this your first big city? Pretty much every one big enough has a tower like this. Concentrating all such establishments helps to keep the noise in check, as they can simply soundproof the whole tower which is more efficient and makes happier residents.¡± Hmmm, her explanation makes sense but there wasn¡¯t a tower like this in Alburgh¡­ Everything was just at random locations throughout the city. Maybe the Valterions aren¡¯t so keen on uniformity? I guess that¡¯s a question for my parents. ¡°Crazy¡­¡± Lydia replies and looks at me with a raised eyebrow. ¡°So, like Tim said¡­ Where do you want to go?¡± Dave, his friends, and Nick all keep their gazes toward the lower levels where the cheaper things are according to Tim. Lucy on the other hand looks upward with stars in her eyes. Tim still has that weird look and stares at me. In the end, I shrug. Sara Green should be rich enough. ¡°Let¡¯s head a few levels up to start things. I really could use something to eat.¡± The others agree, some more reluctantly than others. I decide that something like the beginning of the top third of the tower is good enough. We step into an elevator, and I press a random button in the top third. Apparently, I picked something a little bit too high, as Nick blanches. ¡°You want to go that high?¡± I nod. ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s my first time here, I want to enjoy the view for a bit as long as I¡¯m still sober. But don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s my treat.¡± Nick¡¯s eyes widen, and Tim¡¯s eyebrow twitches before he controls himself. Just what is with him today? ¡°I¡­ No, I can¡¯t¡­¡± Nick starts before I interrupt him. ¡°Stop, I insist. If it makes you feel better, you can pay for our drinks once we¡¯re at lower levels.¡± He breathes a silent sigh of relief. ¡°Okay, fine. But I¡¯m just taking a snack!¡± Before I can say anything else as a reply, the elevator stops with a ding, and the door opens. What I can see in my limited field of view, screams expensive. There is actual carpet on the floor and the lights look like they are straight out of an old castle. There is even a butler standing opposite the elevator entrance. ¡°Good evening, my name is Wesley, what can I do for you?¡± His voice is pleasant, and he smooths out his dark suit after he stops speaking. Tim was the first one out, so he greets the butler. ¡°Good evening, Wesley, we¡¯re looking for a place to eat but unfortunately, we¡¯re very spontaneous, so we don¡¯t have a reservation.¡± He acts like he does this every day¡­ And there is another weird glance over his shoulder in my direction. Just why? That¡¯s it, I¡¯ll ask Grandma Amelia about him the next time. I see her! Luckily, Wesley takes it in stride. ¡°That¡¯s no problem at all, do you have preferences in which kind of food you would like?¡± I step up next to Tim. ¡°No, not really. We¡¯d like a place with a nice view though.¡± Wesley nods. ¡°One moment please, let me check.¡± He starts to stare into open air and taps a few invisible buttons. Then he smiles and looks back at me. ¡°Good news, I¡¯ve found something for you. How does Chinese food sound? The restaurant even offers the best view at this level.¡± I look at the others and see only smiles and small nods. ¡°Sounds lovely, Wesley. Please lead the way.¡± He nods and turns around. We quickly follow him when he leads us along the open hallway. When I lean over the edge and take a look, I can still see the very bottom of the tower. Wesley stops after we¡¯re about halfway around the tower and points at a sliding glass door to his right. ¡°Here you go. This is the Golden Tiger. I¡¯ve already told them about your arrival, so just go in and enjoy your meal. If you need anything, just give me a call. I¡¯m right out here.¡± A notification appears on my interface. Wesley just sent us his contact details. ¡°Thanks, Wesley,¡± I call out. ¡°See you later.¡± Tim leads the way and walks toward the sliding glass door. It opens once he¡¯s close and we all follow him through. When I cross the threshold, I feel a weak magical pulse. Did they scan us? A smiling Chinese woman greets us. ¡°Hi there, and welcome to the Golden Tiger. Let me lead you to¡­¡± Suddenly she frowns and trails off. ¡°Excuse me, one moment, please. I¡¯ll be right back.¡± I glance at Tim as he is probably the most experienced one. He notices my glance, but he just shrugs. Dave on the other hand looks rather uncomfortable. I look at him with a raised eyebrow. ¡°What is it?¡± He sighs. ¡°I was hoping this wouldn¡¯t happen, but I guess Mr. Junbun still has it out for me¡­¡± He turns to his friends who share his resigned expression. ¡°I guess we¡¯ll just leave so that you can enjoy your evening.¡± Without waiting for my response, they all turn around and leave. What the hell? Why would they leave? And what has it to do with that Charles dude? ¡°Clara, call Dave please.¡± Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. ¡°Done, waiting for him to pick up¡­ Rude! He just ignored my call.¡± Dammit, why does Dave give up like this? Grandma Amelia said they are in the process of giving his parents their company back. I¡¯m about to go after him when Tim¡¯s hand on my shoulder stops me. He looks at me with a curious expression. I sigh as well. ¡°He¡¯s got a problem with one of the Nobles in our year¡­ It¡¯s a long story, but the Baron messed up and screwed over Dave¡¯s family. They went to court and the Baron lost, now the grandson, Charles Junbun hates him with a passion.¡± I stop for a moment and watch Tim¡¯s face. It goes through various expressions of anger. Then I continue. ¡°Uh, and I might have interfered a bit when I joined Dave¡¯s team as a Space Mage and pretty much insulted that Charles guy¡­¡± Tim takes a deep breath. ¡°Well, shit¡­¡± Before he can continue, the woman comes back. Followed by two very big men with angry scowls on their faces. They look directly at me though. The woman clears her throat and looks at me as well. ¡°Unfortunately, you got flagged by our security scan. You are not welcome here, I¡¯m sorry. Please leave, or my friends here have to help you out.¡± One of them shows us a cruel smile and cracks his knuckles. I gulp and Tim scowls right back at them. ¡°May I ask why?¡± He asks and the woman nods. ¡°That is your right, yes. Your friend,¡± she points at me, ¡°has been issued a city-wide ban due to immoral behavior. Now leave please.¡± Tim seems to be on the verge of saying something else, but then he just sighs. ¡°Fine¡­¡± he turns around. ¡°Let¡¯s go guys. We¡¯ll try our luck somewhere else.¡± We follow him outside, just before the door closes, I hear one of the two big men chuckling. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t be so optimistic if I were you.¡± Now back outside I have time to sort my thoughts. I¡¯ve got a city-wide ban? The hell? And immoral behavior, really? Tim looks at me again. ¡°Just what have you done?¡± I shrug. ¡°Well¡­ I think I insulted him as I didn¡¯t use his title. Then I called him pretty much a moron and teleported him out of the room when he threatened me...¡± Tim facepalms and groans. ¡°Oh my god. That¡¯s basically the worst you could have done.¡± I shrug again. ¡°Can¡¯t help if it was true. That guy is an idiot and who cares about third-class Barons?¡± I catch another glimpse of Tim¡¯s weird expression before he¡¯s back to normal. ¡°Well, if it¡¯s true what the woman in the restaurant said, then we¡¯re pretty much banned from every establishment in the tower except for the bottom-floor dive bars. They don¡¯t care about anything.¡± He¡¯s silent for a short moment. ¡°I could make a few calls and try to get us cleared.¡± Another moment of silence, then he clears his throat. ¡°Err, at least for the normal restaurants and bars. Nothing upper class like this here, but at least better than bottom floor.¡± That does sound good. Though now I wonder even more if he¡¯s more than he pretends to be. Also, his weird looks all the time. Yeah, I¡¯ll definitely ask Grandma Amelia about him! That also reminds me of what she meant with I have to face the consequences of my actions. But she also said I could call Chris¡­ ¡°Good idea, please do so. I¡¯m also going to make a few calls.¡± I turn to the others who stayed silent so far. ¡°Can one of you try to call Dave again and tell him it isn¡¯t his fault? Maybe try his friends if he doesn¡¯t pick up. Oh, and maybe Wesley as well and see If he can catch Dave or something?¡± Lucy nods. ¡°Yeah, we¡¯ve got you. Make your calls and if nothing works out, we can still take your ship and jump somewhere?¡± She grins after her suggestion. And Tim¡¯s eyebrow twitches again. Then he steps to the side to make his calls. I also take a few steps away from the others, then I cast a normal Communication spell and aim for my brother. The spell finds him here in the city and connects quickly. ¡°Sara? Nice to hear from you. Do you need anything at college?¡± Hi Chris,¡± I start, then I remember that I can also communicate without speaking. ¡°I need your help, actually. Probably¡­ Not at college though. More like in the city. You see, I messed up a bit and Grandma Amelia said you could help me.¡± I hear a soft chuckle over the connection. ¡°What would you need my help for? I don¡¯t have a connection to FBC, and even if, what about your disguise?¡± Ugh, now I have to tell him. That¡¯s so embarrassing. ¡°Well¡­ I pretty much insulted the grandson of some random Baron, and now I¡¯m banned from everything in the city.¡± ¡°The hell?¡± Chris replies. ¡°Give me a second¡­ Huh, you really are. Sara Green, to be kicked out of every establishment upon entry because of immoral behavior¡­ But that¡¯s not something a grandson of a mere Baron should be able to do... I¡¯ll look into it. You good with a reply tomorrow? I¡¯m actually out eating at the moment.¡± ¡°Yeah, no problem. And say hi to Aria from me.¡± He makes a weird sound. Almost like he just spit out his drink. ¡°How do you? Fuck! They know¡­ Ugh¡­ I call you tomorrow. See you, Sara.¡± I almost burst out laughing. Just what is it with my brothers trying to hide their girlfriends? ¡°Bye, Chris!¡± I cut the spell and start walking back to the others. Tim has already finished his call and looks at me expectantly. ¡°What¡¯s so funny?¡± Nick asks when I¡¯m back in earshot. ¡°Nothing really¡­ I just embarrassed my contact.¡± I clear my throat. ¡°But I don¡¯t have much news¡­ They can only look into it tomorrow, so for today I guess it is dive bars. Or did your thing work out, Tim?¡± He grins. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ve got good and bad news. First, I did manage to get you off the list for pretty much all the normal restaurants or bars here in the tower. The rest of the city is another story, but everything in the lower third here should be fine. Bad news is, that your ban really is city-wide, so we¡¯re stuck here in the tower.¡± I sigh. ¡°Yeah, I figured¡­ My contact told me as much. I wonder how Charles managed all this¡­ His family should be in trouble right now after their idiotic stunt with Dave¡¯s parents¡¯ company. How can he issue such a ban?¡± He shrugs. ¡°Don¡¯t know yet¡­ Nothing we can do right now anyway. Let¡¯s head down a few levels and try again.¡± We all agree and start walking back to the elevator. Lucy nudged me. ¡°I got a hold of Lena and explained the situation. She said she¡¯d talk with Dave and call me back. That should be any minute now.¡± I nod and thank her. Two minutes later we arrive at the elevator. Wesley wears an apologetic expression. ¡°I¡¯m really sorry that this didn¡¯t work out. If I knew about the ban, I wouldn¡¯t have let you to the Golden Tiger.¡± I wave him off. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Wesley, we didn¡¯t know about it either. But we¡¯re working on clearing my name, so maybe we¡¯ll see you again next week.¡± He smiles. ¡°I look forward to it. Take care!¡± We step into the elevator and Tim presses a button at the lower third. The elevator starts moving and Lucy taps the air. That must be her call. A minute later she¡¯s finished. ¡°That was Lena, she managed to calm Dave down and they¡¯ll meet us at the lower levels.¡± ¡°That¡¯s great, thanks, Lucy.¡± When the elevator arrives, there is a stark difference. All the luxurious decorations are gone, and there is no trace of a butler like Wesley, just the normal walkway around the open middle of the tower. We meet up with Dave and his friends shortly after, then Tim leads us to a restaurant. This time it¡¯s a barbecue, as we all don¡¯t want to have Chinese food anymore after our experience at the Golden Tiger. So, when we enter Peter¡¯s BBQ, there is another faint magical pulse, but this time no bouncers appear. Looks like Tim¡¯s call was effective. I wonder what kind of connections he has. I mean sure, Chris was occupied with his date, but I don¡¯t think he would have fixed it by snapping his fingers. So who does Tim know? Anyway, we all enjoy our food and talk quite a lot. Especially Nick and Fabio seem to hit it off, as they¡¯re both big fans of the same Gravity Ball team. I talk a bit with everyone, and the others do the same. A few hours later, we exit the restaurant with full bellies. Then we move down another few levels and enter one of the nightclubs there. This is even more fun and we laugh and drink a lot. After a while, Lucy has enough of Nick discussing sports with Fabio. She grabs him and pulls him out on the dance floor. Nick grins and is suddenly in his element. He twirls Lucy around and dances like a real pro. Tim looks at me, and I nod, then we both join them on the dance floor. It doesn¡¯t take long until everyone else joins as well. We are all a lot worse at dancing than Nick though. When we¡¯re finally finished, it¡¯s almost morning, and I¡¯m completely wasted. I can¡¯t even walk in a straight line anymore. I don¡¯t even know when I drank that much¡­ Alina and Lydia look like they are about to pass out. We gather close to one of the elevators. ¡°Ugh, how do we get home?¡± Kylie manages to half speak half slur. ¡°Clara?¡± I ask in desperation. She sighs. ¡°Just this one time¡­ Here you go.¡± Coordinates lock in, and I don¡¯t even check where they are. I somehow manage to throw the spell together with a LOT of assistance from Clara, but it works. I trigger the spell and we arrive in the living room of my dorm. That¡¯s also where we all just lie down and pass out. What a night, despite all that Noble bullshit in the beginning¡­ Maja’s Adventures 4 Maja¡¯s Adventures 4 Location: Magicon Empire; Armortec Duchy; Cintman System; Cintman 3; Peacekeeper Academy Day 1¡­ The group of elite cadets sets out into the desert. Steven has found a mostly straight path that lets them avoid any major dunes, and so he naturally takes the lead. Maja and Ellie join him at the front, and all the others follow. The hours pass by, and nothing happens. A few of the cadets start to get nervous as they expect one of the ten challenges to happen at any time. The sun steadily climbs higher and higher, and sweat starts to appear on the cadets¡¯ foreheads. A few of them start struggling. When Steven doesn¡¯t seem to notice, Maja taps his shoulder. ¡°Hey Steven, I think we should take a break.¡± He turns to look at her. ¡°Huh, why should we¡­?¡± His gaze follows to where Maja points at the others. ¡°Oh¡­ Yeah, you¡¯re right.¡± He didn¡¯t even break a sweat. What kind of monster is that guy? I mean I have an excuse at least, but him? Steven calls for a stop, and everyone sighs in relief. ¡°About time!¡± Someone calls out, which earns her a lot of agreement. Steven looks a bit sheepish. ¡°Sorry guys, I did a lot of walking in the past and well, held you to my standards¡­ I guess it¡¯s better if someone else sets the pace in the future.¡± That earns him a few chuckles until Ellie speaks up. ¡°But you¡¯re not innocent either! Why did not one of you speak up? What if we¡¯re ambushed right now? If you¡¯re exhausted, tell someone. We¡¯re a team!¡± She¡¯s right. An ambush right now could be ruinous. Luckily, no ambush happens, and after eating a bit and drinking a lot, they return to their march through the desert. Maja catches a few comments that while it¡¯s hot out there, it¡¯s not as hot as one would expect from a desert. I wonder if that¡¯s intentional¡­ A few hours later, they arrive at their first destination. It looks just like an oasis with palm trees and a small lake in the middle. The group rushes the final meters and collapses in the shade of the palms. While everyone just wants to lie there for a while, Steven calls out again after being silent for most of the walking. ¡°We should set up camp before we all relax.¡± Someone else calls out from the group. ¡°I agree. And we also should set up a watch schedule. Maybe they try to ambush us at night or something. But even if they don¡¯t, it¡¯s always important to have a watch.¡± That causes some grumbles, but also a lot of agreement. Then everyone gets up again and they start setting up their tents. They take up quite a lot of space, but the group manages to place them all on one side of the small lake. As she doesn¡¯t need to sleep, Maja offers to take the watch halfway through the night, but she¡¯s quickly overruled by the group. ¡°No, you¡¯ve done so much already, you deserve some rest!¡± Ugh, now I wish I could tell them that I was an AI¡­ It¡¯s not that I need to sleep after all. ¡°Fine,¡± Maja answers and joins Ellie in the tent after dinner. Besides the five cadets that take first watch, everyone else goes to sleep as well. ¡°EVERYONE, WAKE UP!¡± It happens in the middle of the night. First watch has just finished ten minutes ago when someone on second watch notices something strange moving across the sand in the light of their campfire. This little something turns out to be a robotic spider, and it doesn¡¯t come alone. There are dozens of them, and they aim for the cadets¡¯ tents and try to destroy them. The first challenge has arrived! Maja is the first one up and immediately exits the tent. She takes stock of the situation and immediately barks out orders for the cadets after they exit their tents. Everyone grabs their guns or rifles and opens fire at the spiders. Maja absently notices, that the weapons only fire stun bolts without the option to switch fire modes. Probably to avoid friendly fire. The spiders drop nonetheless, and after five minutes of shooting spiders, the last one drops. Unfortunately, five tents got destroyed as well, and the former occupants groan. That¡¯s going to be fun on the following nights¡­ At least the tents should fit three people, even if it gets a bit cuddly¡­ Suddenly, Steven starts cursing. ¡°Dammit, I knew we forgot something¡­ How could I be so shortsighted? Did anyone think of a flashlight?¡± Before anyone can reply, they are interrupted by a notification on their interfaces. Challenge 1 completed! Day 2¡­ The next day starts with a very exhausted group. After the night ambush, everyone had a hard time sleeping, and it shows on everyone¡¯s faces. Maja does her best to blend in, but her best isn¡¯t enough for Ellie. ¡°How the hell did you sleep last night? I feel like I didn¡¯t get a second of sleep and you just laid there like a dead body.¡± Maja can just shrug. ¡°I don¡¯t know, I guess the exhaustion caught up to me?¡± Ellie laughs. ¡°Good thing the others denied you the night watch. Who knows what the spiders would have done if you slept on the job.¡± She punches Maja¡¯s shoulder in a friendly manner but rubs her fist afterward. ¡°Oww, what are you made of?¡± Maja just laughs it off and winks at her. ¡°I¡¯m just strong¡­¡± Following breakfast, the group sets out again. This time they go at a slower pace, as today¡¯s distance is way shorter. Still, Steven predicts that they have to walk till early afternoon until they reach the next oasis. ¡°Hey Maja, do you see this?¡± Ellie points toward a darker speck a good distance to their right. Maja looks over and focuses. Her eyes widen when she notices just what Ellie is pointing at. That¡¯s gotta be the second challenge. ¡°Hey guys, wait up, please. Ellie found something. I think there¡¯s a person over there!¡± Maja calls the group to a halt and points. ¡°You¡¯re right!¡± ¡°We have to help them!¡± ¡°Agreed,¡± Ellie replies. ¡°Who¡¯s with me?¡± The group decides to stay together, and so all the cadets walk over to where Ellie discovered the person. It¡¯s a young man, a little older than the cadets. He just lies there and winks at them. Suddenly, there is another notification on their interfaces telling them that this is challenge 2 and that the man¡¯s leg is broken and he¡¯s unconscious. The hell? He just winked at us, and his leg looks fine. Others call out the same things Maja just thought while Steven goes a step further and asks the guy directly. He just shrugs, points at his right leg, and mimes it being broken. Oh, so it¡¯s just a game for him. Interesting. I wonder if this is a punishment for older cadets. Steven nods in understanding. ¡°I guess we have to help our survivor here. Can someone take care of his leg, please? And bring me our shovels and the destroyed tents.¡± Ellie takes care of the leg, while Steven starts building a makeshift stretcher out of shovels and tents. Fascinating. They continue along their way and rotate who carries the stretcher every thirty minutes. The guy is still marked as unconscious, so he stays silent. Suddenly, there is another flash on Maja¡¯s interface, saying challenge 3 begins now. Then nothing happens. ¡°Fuck!¡± Steven calls out and stops. Throughout the group, others curse as well. What¡¯s wrong? This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. ¡°How can we find the oasis now?¡± Someone cries in desperation. Maja looks at Ellie. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°What do you mean what¡¯s wrong? Our interfaces are gone!¡± ¡°Uhh, no?¡± Now everyone who heard looks at Maja. ¡°Yours is not gone?¡± Oh, probably because I technically don¡¯t have an interface. There must have been a signal of interference or something. ¡°No, everything¡¯s fine here. I did get an upgrade to protect me from interfering signals a few years back. Maybe that¡¯s why?¡± Ellie raises an eyebrow but everyone else seems to accept her explanation. ¡°I guess you¡¯re leading the way then,¡± Steven says. They continue walking. Ellie catches up with Maja shortly after. ¡°An upgrade, huh?¡± Maja suppresses a grimace. ¡°Yeah¡­ I¡¯ve got good sponsors.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re like Steven.¡± Maja winces. I guess I have to tell her a little bit. Everything else would be cruel. I don¡¯t want to hurt her. ¡°Something like that, yeah.¡± ¡°No way! Who is it?¡± Ellie asks with wide eyes. ¡°I caught the eye of someone from the Valterion family, and they sponsored me ever since. That¡¯s also how I landed here in the command track.¡± Ellie just shakes her head. ¡°Crazy¡­¡± Day 3¡­ Luckily, everyone¡®s interfaces started working again after a few hours yesterday, so they found the second oasis without issues. Now, the cadets are about to set out for their third day. The first surprise comes when they hear an unfamiliar voice calling out for food. It¡¯s the injured man they picked up yesterday. Oh, so now he¡¯s awake it seems. Maja is quick to hand him her ration, as she doesn¡¯t have to waste a food eliminator stripe that way. ¡°Finally awake, huh?¡± She asks. ¡°Yeah, this is the worst punishment ever¡­¡± So I was right! Ellie joins them. ¡°What did you do? Oh and who are you? I¡¯m Ellie, this is Maja.¡± He laughs. ¡°I¡¯m Ben, a second-year cadet, and well¡­ I pranked one of the instructors and it backfired¡­¡± Oh my¡­ Everyone knows that pranking a military instructor is like the dumbest thing ever. Maja and Ellie both start laughing and Ben groans. ¡°Yeah, I get it now too. It was dumb and I don¡¯t want to talk about it anymore. Just don¡¯t drop me, please.¡± ¡°Sure,¡± Maja tells him with a wink. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t think of dropping you¡­ But maybe there¡¯s room for a small dropping prank?¡± ¡°Please don¡¯t¡­¡± The walk through the desert continues without further issues. Ben¡¯s complaints get ignored by everyone after his story spreads through the group. Right after lunch, something happens though. Suddenly, there are dark clouds in the sky, and it starts raining. Huh, where did they come from? Magic? ¡°Fuck!¡± Steven cries out again. ¡°We don¡¯t have raincoats!¡± ¡°Use the tents,¡± Ben calls out and for the first time, he isn¡¯t ignored. Steven even thanks him for this great idea. Hours later they arrive at the next oasis, and the rain immediately cuts off. A notification tells them that they have completed challenge 4. That was definitely magic! Day 4¡­ Day 4 starts with bad news. Three cadets are at their limit and tell the others that they can¡¯t get any further. Steven tries to cheer them up, but they say they are done. Ten minutes later, Lieutenant Dexter lands with a small shuttle and collects them. They ask him if that¡¯s it, but he reassures them that they can retake the survival exam at a later date. Then they enter the shuttle, and it lifts off. Because of this, the group heads out late and the sun is already high up in the sky. Luckily today¡¯s route leads them along a half-destroyed road that has a row of trees next to it. Everyone is thankful for the shade. That¡¯s when the fifth challenge begins in the form of a mechanical wolf pack that appears on top of a nearby dune and lets out loud howls. The group sets down Ben and forms a protective circle around him. That¡¯s all that happens until Maja takes charge. ¡°Everyone with a rifle to the front. Take down the wolves! If you have a gun, protect the ones next to you and wait for an opportunity.¡± With that, Maja grabs her own rifle and lines up with the others. Her aim is of course perfect, and she takes the first shot. It takes the leftmost wolf between the eyes, and it sinks to the ground and shows as defeated in her holographic overlay. Her shot shakes the wolves out of it, and they start charging. The other cadets start shooting as well. More and more wolves get down until the cadets with pistols join in as well. Suddenly, there is only a single wolf remaining. It¡¯s the biggest one. Shit, the Alpha! It charges straight for Steven. Everyone concentrates their fire on the final wolf, but it isn¡¯t enough. It jumps. Ellie jumps as well and tackles Steven out of the way. Still, the wolf grazes her leg. Then it goes down to the cadets¡¯ fire. Surprisingly, Ellie doesn¡¯t cry out despite clearly being hit by the wolf. ¡°Are you alright?¡± Maja asks her. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m fine, but my interface tells me that I¡¯m injured and am losing a lot of blood, so please help me?¡± Oh, it¡¯s just like Ben¡¯s injury! ¡°I need a first aid kit!¡± Someone quickly hands one over, and Maja starts to take care of Ellie¡¯s injured leg. A dose of fake nanites finishes everything off, and Ellie¡¯s interface tells her that she¡¯s able to walk in another thirty minutes. The notification that they have completed challenges 5 and 6 appears as soon as Ellie is allowed to walk again. Then they continue their journey until they arrive at their destination ¨C Just to find nothing! What the hell? Does it ever stop today? Another notification: Challenge 7: Find the oasis! Everyone starts complaining. The group¡¯s mood drops even further. The week can¡¯t end soon enough. Most of the cadets have almost reached their limit. Someone has the idea to split up and search for the oasis while connecting their interfaces together to enable communication among the groups. No one has a better idea, and so they head out in groups of ten. Maja subtlety enhances the range of the communication network and offers to stay with Ben. It takes just fifteen minutes until one group is successful. Everyone else joins them, and they barely manage to set up their tents before they collapse. Maja happily takes the watch and this time no one argues against it. Day 5¡­ Luckily, nothing happened during the night, and thanks to Maja everyone had a full night¡¯s sleep. Nobody comments on it though, which comes as a relief for Maja, as she has no clue how to explain how she is still fully awake. The group heads out after breakfast. Everyone is nervous, as the last day was very heavy on challenges. Only three left¡­ Surprisingly, nothing happens during the day, and everyone starts believing that they caught a break on their fifth day. That is until the cadets arrive at the oasis and find murky brown water instead of the clear lakes, they had the days before. As it was a rather hot day, the group drank most of their water. Some cry out in despair. ¡°How are we supposed to drink this?¡± ¡°There¡¯s no way I make it through tomorrow with the amount of water I have left.¡± Luckily, someone has an idea. ¡°Hey, I¡¯ve watched a nature documentary a few weeks back. There they boiled the water and filtered it through sand. How about we try this?¡± As no one has a better idea, the group builds a campfire and uses one of the metal canteens to boil the water over the open fire. They sacrifice another canteen, fill it with sand, and cut a few holes in the bottom. Then they use it as a makeshift filter and collect the filtered water with a third canteen. That¡¯s when the notification arrives and tells them that they¡¯ve mastered challenge 8. Everyone cheers, and they continue to fill the remaining canteens. Maja takes the moment to subtly put her hand into her backpack and recharge her body with the hidden battery. The constant walking through the desert increased her power draw by quite a margin. Day 6¡­ The day starts like every other with one noticeable exception: Ben starts cursing out loud. ¡°Ah, for fuck¡¯s sake! Why not two more days?¡± Everyone who heard him looks at him curiously. ¡°What is it?¡± Maja asks him, but he just shakes his head. ¡°Err, nothing, nothing. Everything is just fine. Carry on.¡± That earns him even more suspicious looks until Ellie calls out. ¡°You¡¯re not injured anymore!¡± His carriers immediately set the stretcher down and scowl at him. ¡°Seriously?¡± One of them asks with a slight growl. Ben sighs and stands up. ¡°You guys are no fun¡­¡± Steven just shakes his head. ¡°And you want to call yourself a Peacekeeper? With that attitude?¡± He doesn¡¯t say it, but Maja can almost see the word pathetic on Steven¡¯s lips. He¡¯s right¡­ Ben is just a lazy asshole. It¡¯s now almost lunchtime, and nothing has happened so far. The cadets start to get nervous again, as there are still two challenges they have to face. As if they challenged fate, challenge 9 arrives right after lunch break in the form of a massive sandstorm. Steven is the first one to notice. ¡°Shit, there¡¯s a sandstorm behind us! We have to find shelter!¡± Maja turns around and takes a look. It¡¯s still on the horizon, but the sand clouds steadily come closer. We definitely don¡¯t want to be inside that storm! ¡°Where can we find shelter?¡± Someone cries out. ¡°We¡¯re in the middle of a dessert.¡± ¡°Caves maybe.¡± Someone else throws in an idea. Maja immediately catches on and opens her map. Analyzing everything in close proximity to the group, Maja quickly finds something promising. ¡°I think I¡¯ve got something. Half a kilometer straight ahead should be a cave. We must hurry though.¡± The others agree, and the group takes off in a fast jog. They reach the destination some ten minutes later, only to find disappointment. ¡°There¡¯s nothing here,¡± Steven points out the obvious. This can¡¯t be. They won¡¯t make the challenges impossible. Maybe it¡¯s hidden? Maja starts circling the location, looking for clues. It takes another five minutes until she finds something. ¡°Guys, I need a shovel. I think I found something!¡± Ellie comes rushing over with two additional cadets. They all carry the shovels that are now freed from Ben¡¯s stretcher. Maja points at a ledge at the base of a dune. ¡°I think the entrance is below that. We should be able to shovel the sand away in time.¡± Ellie leans closer, then smiles. ¡°You are right, there¡¯s a slight draft of air. Let¡¯s go.¡± Maja grabs an additional shovel, and they start moving sand. The opening quickly becomes visible, and other cadets start helping with their bare hands. The storm comes closer and closer. But they make it in time. As soon as the opening is big enough, everyone enters the cave. Inside, they find a natural tunnel of stone, that leads further into the cave. The challenge 9 completion message arrives soon after and everyone cheers. The group decides to take another short break as they can still hear the storm raging outside. Half an hour later, the storm still hasn¡¯t stopped, and the cadets start to worry. ¡°Guys, our maps have been updated!¡± Someone calls out. That shakes everyone out of it, and Maja immediately opens her own map. She¡¯s right¡­ It now shows the tunnel system. Wait, is that another oasis at the end? ¡°Steven speaks up. ¡°Thanks, Sofia. It looks like we¡¯ve got a new destination. Are you ready to head out?¡± He grabs his energy blade and activates only a short length of it. Still, the yellow blade works as a weak makeshift flashlight and illuminates the cave. Especially, when the others start copying his idea. Then the group heads out and walks further down the cave. They are now at the final stretch of their route to the underground oasis when someone at the back cries out. ¡°The spider robots are back, watch out!¡± They come from both sides. When Steven activates the full length of his blade, the brighter light now shows about a dozen of the spiders coming from the front as well. The cadets start forming a line at the front and back of the group and fend off the spiders with their blades. After they disabled a few, something else happens. A strange pulse emanates from one of the spiders, and every blade it crosses dies off. It¡¯s an EMP. Maja¡¯s body locks up for a moment, and she falls on her knees. Her systems reboot, and she manages to get back shortly after. Ellie sends her a concerned look, but Maja waves her off. ¡°Quick, take your normal knives!¡± Ellie calls out instead, and steps forward to disable one of the spiders. The others quickly follow her example, and soon after all the spiders are gone. There are a few simulated injuries among the cadets, but nothing their first aid kits can¡¯t fix. The best thing of the day happens soon after. Challenge 10 completed! Finally! Day 7¡­ The underground route cut quite a distance from their remaining route, so they only have five kilometers to go on their final day. Everyone agrees to take it slow, and so the whole group can sleep in for the first time in what feels like months. They set out after a big breakfast where they eat their remaining supplies and arrive at a cave exit shortly after. From there on, it¡¯s just a two-kilometer walk until Steven spots a military complex in the distance. They¡¯ve made it! When they arrive, Lieutenant Dexter greets and congratulates them all. ¡°Good work, cadets! Now go in and relax. Your real training begins the day after tomorrow!¡± Real training? What was the past week then? Chapter 95: Interlude 9 – Tim Chapter 95: Interlude 9 ¨C Tim Location: Magicon Empire; Magicon System; Terra; Imperia; FBC ¡°Ughhh,¡± Tim wakes up with a groan. Dammit, how much did I drink last night? And where am I? He sits up and looks around. His view is still a bit blurry, and he has to blink a few times. There are other people around him. He¡¯s inside a living room, just barely on one of the sofas. Most of the others are just lying on the floor. Oh! It¡¯s Sara¡¯s dorm room! Right, she teleported us there last night. Where is she though? All the girls are missing¡­ Even the twins. Hmm, probably with the others in their rooms. Tim notices Fabio stirring and stands up to talk to him without waking the others. Fabio starts a bit when Tim puts a hand on his shoulder but relaxes when he sees who it is. ¡°Morning, Tim¡­ You know what happened?¡± He manages to groan out. ¡°Yeah, more or less¡­ We¡¯re in the girls¡¯ dorm. Looks like we drank way too much last night. I have to leave though¡­ Can you tell the others when they wake up?¡± Fabio holds his head. ¡°Yeah, I can do that,¡± he looks at Tim with a hopeful expression. ¡°You don¡¯t have something against a hangover, do you?¡± Holy shit, I must¡¯ve been even more out of it than I thought¡­ How could I forget that? Tim manages a grin. ¡°Actually, I do have something. Hold on.¡± The spell comes to him easily, and he quickly casts it on himself, then on Fabio. The hangover is gone, and Tim feels refreshed. Now I just need a shower, then I¡¯m good. ¡°Ohh, thanks man, that¡¯s great!¡± Fabio is all smiles and finally manages to sit up. ¡°You¡¯re welcome, see you.¡± Tim concentrates and a bit later he vanishes in a purple flash. He reappears in the jump room of his own dorm building and quickly walks to the elevator. Man, I can¡¯t wait to advance my Space core. Why is Dad insisting on keeping me at Junior for so long? Sara¡¯s teleportations are so smooth. A frown enters his face when he thinks of Sara. Dammit, not again¡­ I just can¡¯t. Why do I like her so much? I can¡¯t have a no-name girlfriend. My parents are going to kill me. I¡¯m already on the thinnest ice with refusing to go to RMA¡­ Luckily, the elevator is empty, or other occupants would have fled in fear of Tim¡¯s facial expression. Finally, he arrives on his floor and steps out of the elevator. A few steps later, his dorm door closes behind him. He looks around, finding no one. His roommates are already gone. He lets out a longer sigh and his thoughts circle back to Sara. She¡¯s so strong though¡­ Teleporting with her feels so smooth. Maybe even too smooth. But that can¡¯t be¡­ She can¡¯t be an Archmage¡­ That would have been announced in my family''s circles. Just what is it? ¡°Aaargh,¡± he screams into the empty room. ¡°Just why can¡¯t I stop thinking of her?¡± Tim gets rid of his smelly clothes and steps into the shower. Turning the water ice-cold, he just stands there, rinsing all traces from last night away. For fuck¡¯s sake¡­ She¡¯s just a country bumpkin. This is just¡­ No! I can¡¯t. She already messed up with one Noble faction. Just like she doesn¡¯t even know what she¡¯s doing? Just who would call a Noble a moron to the face? My parents will disown me if I introduce them to someone like that¡­ But still, why is she so damn powerful? This just doesn¡¯t add up. He finishes showering and puts on a fresh set of clothes. Then he throws himself onto his bed. ¡°Carl, can you do another background check on Sara Green?¡± ¡°I can, but I don¡¯t think this will change anything¡­ My checks all come back completely clean¡­ There is nothing suspicious about Sara Green.¡± ¡°Dammit, do it anyway, please.¡± Suddenly, he remembers something. She said she¡¯d make some calls as well after we learned of her ban. What was it? Right, she called someone named Chris. ¡°Carl, add a filter and look for connections between her and people named Chris. Maybe you find something this way.¡± ¡°Probably not, but I¡¯ll try. I¡¯m not that powerful. You could always ask your parents though. The Marquess and Marchioness should have access to more information. ¡°No, I can¡¯t¡­ I¡¯m not supposed to have a non-Noble girlfriend. They¡¯ve made my job quite clear. I¡¯m the first one in our family who¡¯s Talented enough to reach Archmage possibly. As the heir, I have to marry for standing, or we can never push for the sixth Duchy¡­¡± ¡°Very well, I¡¯ll try my best.¡± ¡°Thanks, Carl.¡± Tim gets back up. I can¡¯t lie here around all day¡­ I¡¯ve got things to do! With those thoughts, he stands back up and leaves his room. A few minutes later, he¡¯s out of building 12 and takes a deep breath. Time to get productive¡­ There is a reason why I didn¡¯t want to go to RMA and deal with the Nobles. With renewed purpose, he starts walking toward the one building where he can learn without any distractions, be it of Noble nature or whatever else: The library! The building looks artificially old. Just like an old cathedral. Tim loves the sight of it. Like a temple for books. He chuckles at the thought. His parents never understood his love for books. They always brought him new tutors when all he wanted was to learn and experience things on his own. He steps through the door and takes in the scent of books ¨C real books made out of paper. Some even thousands of years old. Of course, most of them are behind glass cases and magically preserved. Most of the books can only be accessed digitally, but the whole atmosphere of the library is something else. Tim loves every second of it and a deep smile finds its way on his face. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. He walks up to the counter and smiles at the elderly librarian. ¡°Good morning,¡± he says in a low voice, not wanting to disturb the others in here. ¡°Morning, is there anything I can help you with?¡± Tim is about to shake his head, as he already knows where to find books about Space magic ¨C the topic he is here for today ¨C when a black-haired girl enters his mind again. ¡°Actually, yeah you can. I¡¯m currently looking into strong Mage families, who aren¡¯t Nobles. Is there a book about them?¡± The librarian gets a distant look and checks her interface. ¡°There is, but I¡¯d say you have more luck when you browse the net. It¡¯s a pretty old book, so it¡¯s probably not up to date anymore. It¡¯s not even completely digitized, so you have to go to the actual aisle and use a projection.¡± ¡°That¡¯s fine, thank you. I like books better, so I¡¯ll give it a try,¡± Tim replies with a smile. ¡°Oh, interesting. I thought you young ones lost all respect for books,¡± the older woman chuckles and waves her hand. ¡°Here, so that you find your way.¡± A ping appears on his interface, and he happily accepts. A map of the library appears in his vision with one aisle marked. ¡°Thanks again.¡± Tim walks deeper into the library, his original research topic already forgotten. If Carl can¡¯t find you digitally, maybe I¡¯ll find more about you in the analog records, Miss Green. Speaking of Carl, he suddenly comes back with the results of his new research. ¡°I¡¯ve finished my research, Tim. Would you like to hear my results?¡± Tim just nods, counting on Carl to catch his intention. Even if he isn¡¯t the smartest, he should still get it. That¡¯s another thing¡­ Sara¡¯s AI seems to be completely sapient. And as an AI she should know proper conduct and stop Sara from messing up, just why aren¡¯t they? Aargh, frustrating! Before he drifts deeper into his thoughts, Carl catches on. ¡°As I thought, I didn¡¯t find anything new. Sara Green is the sole daughter of the two leaders of Green Industries, a larger company that is a direct supplier for Magicon. There isn¡¯t much about what they actually produce due to proprietary stuff and all, and her parents are rather reclusive, but it is all solid. If it were a disguise, it would be like ten times better than yours and you know what that would mean¡­¡± He''s right¡­ That would mean direct intervention from the royal family or at least the Duchies. And there is no one at my age. At least no one unaccounted for¡­ Lisa Song and Bernd Schmidt both joined RMA last year. I¡¯m the only one under the radar currently. Well, there are still the branch children, but they wouldn¡¯t warrant such a disguise¡­ It must be something else¡­ Carl continues. ¡°I do at least have a partial result for the name Chris, but it is far-fetched, and I don¡¯t think it¡¯s even worth considering. While I didn¡¯t find anyone worth mentioning in her parents¡¯ company¡¯s vicinity, there is one Chris with a significant pull here in the city¡­ Christopher Valterion, but like I said, it¡¯s very unlikely.¡± Tim has to suppress a snort. ¡°Ha, you¡¯re right. As if that picture-perfect Noble had anything to do with a girl who calls out insults to random Nobles without thinking of the consequences.¡± She has a VHI ship though¡­ No, that¡¯s ridiculous. Besides, the youngest from the main family graduated from RMA more than half a century ago and is also a guy. And all the side branches are accounted for¡­ Still deep in his thoughts, Tim reaches his destination. An enormous bookshelf stands before him and is covered by a translucent magical shield. At the end of the aisle stands a piece of Magitech in the form of a lectern. Tim makes his way over to it and touches the start button. A projection comes to life, asking him which book he wants to read. Tim flips his hand and sends the title over from his interface. The lectern sucks in magic from the power grid, and a single book on the shelf lights up shortly. Tim feels a scanning pulse, and seconds later, a hologram of said book appears before him on the lectern. Tim smiles, flips it open, and starts reading. It¡¯s a thick one, but rather interesting. Hours later, Tim has learned a lot about magical families in The Empire but is still no step closer to solving the riddle that is Sara Green. Speaking of her, he suddenly hears a familiar voice. Tim stops reading and looks up. The person he¡¯s researching just stepped into his aisle. Her dark hair frames her beautiful face, and the pink tips form a nice contrast with her white hoodie. Tim feels himself blushing and quickly looks away. Why is she here? She can¡¯t know I¡¯m researching her, right?¡± He looks back up and she waves. ¡°Hi Tim,¡± she says in a lower voice, clearly trying not to disturb others as well. At least she knows the rules of a library¡­ ¡°Hi Sara, what are you doing here?¡± She looks to the side and blushes a bit in embarrassment. ¡°Well, I was looking for you¡­ I wanted to thank you for helping me with the ban last night, but you weren¡¯t accepting my calls, so I¡­¡± She blushes even more. ¡°Well, I had Clara looking for you which isn¡¯t completely legal¡­ But she found you here in the library, so I thought I¡¯d just head over as I wanted to learn a bit about that Noble stuff anyway.¡± She raises an eyebrow at Tim. ¡°So here I am¡­ How do you know so much about all this anyway?¡± Tim is completely taken aback. He had expected a lot of responses, but not this. Huh, I didn¡¯t do much¡­ I just called Paula and she handled it. But I can¡¯t tell her that, dammit. Also, she wants to learn about Noble stuff? Why didn¡¯t she do so earlier? That would have made things so much easier¡­ At least she¡¯s willing to learn, I guess? Maybe she¡¯s not a lost cause after all? ¡°I¡­ err, you¡¯re welcome¡­ I didn¡¯t do much anyway, it was just a call. As for my knowledge¡­¡± Tim shrugs, taking in Sara¡¯s deep blue eyes. ¡°I grew up with all this, so it¡¯s not hard at all for me.¡± Fuck, what did I just say? Why do I always slip up in her presence? ¡°You¡¯re a Noble?¡± She asks with a raised eyebrow. Tim blushes deeply. ¡°No, no not at all.¡± He chuckles weakly. ¡°I would never pretend to be. No, my parents¡¯ company was bought by Nobles when I was little, and I was the same age as one of their sons. As I turned out to be quite good at magic, they took me under their wing and introduced me to a lot of Noble things. I dunno if you know this, considering your lack of knowledge,¡± he flashes her a short smile, ¡°but I wasn¡¯t allowed to attend RMA together with my friend, so I¡¯m here now.¡± Pfew, that was a close one, but I think I nailed it. Sara¡¯s expression brightens. ¡°Ahh, that makes sense. Is he the friend you called last night to clean up my mess?¡± Tim gives himself an internal high-five. Yep, nailed it! ¡°Yes, exactly. His parents are Count and Countess, so they¡¯re a bit above a mere Baron.¡± ¡°Thank you,¡± she grins. ¡°And yeah, I know at least that much. With Baron being the lowest and that Charles dude being an ass, I just lost my cool¡­ But I¡¯m trying to change that, that¡¯s why I¡¯m here, so if you¡¯ll excuse me? I see you on Monday for Space lessons.¡± After giving Tim a quick hug, Sara turns around and leaves for another aisle. Tim sighs in relief and continues reading. In the end, he doesn¡¯t find anything that points to the Green family, but his thoughts are firmly back on Sara. He just can¡¯t get her out of his head. With another sigh, he finally leaves the library. It¡¯s way past noon already, and Tim heads back to his building. On his way, frustration overwhelms him, and he stops at a nearby bench. Dammit, I can¡¯t continue like this! He casts a Communication spell and aims for his sister at RMA. Paula is just a few years older than him and didn¡¯t try to hide her identity. The spell connects and his sister¡¯s face appears before him. Other than his current looks, she looks like a splitting image of their mother. Paula Silvani grins at him before asking. ¡°So you finally came to your senses and ask for help?¡± Tim can hear the amusement in her voice. He grimaces. ¡°Well, hello to you too. But yeah, I don¡¯t know what to do. I just can¡¯t get her out of my head.¡± ¡°Then stop trying to. I mean who cares? Even if our parents disagree, who says you can¡¯t have some fun? I mean you¡¯re not even here as Timothy Silvani. You¡¯re Tim Skadi. Who the fuck cares if he has some no-name as a girlfriend? And when you come out someday, who knows maybe she wants to stay your secret lover? I mean you¡¯ll be Marquess one day, maybe even Duke if everything works out. That¡¯s a powerful position I¡¯m sure most can¡¯t resist.¡± She stops with a wink and Tim blushes a bit. She¡¯s right! Who the hell cares what Tim Skadi does?¡± ¡°Thanks, Sis, I needed this.¡± ¡°You''re welcome. Just try not to mess up too often, okay?¡± Tim splutters. ¡°How do you know¡­?¡± She suddenly starts laughing. ¡°You messed up again? Oh my god. You¡¯re lucky she¡¯s completely clueless considering Noble things.¡± They continue talking for a bit until Tim returns to his room. For the first time, he feels a bit better. I¡¯ll just take things as they come. No one forbids Tim Skadi to have some fun and who knows, maybe Sara Green is a disguise of someone high up the ladder? He snorts at the thought. Yeah, no¡­ I¡¯m not that lucky. Chapter 96: Confusion Chapter 96: Confusion Magicon Empire; Magicon System; Terra; Imperia; FBC That was¡­ weird. I didn¡¯t think Tim as a bookworm. Well, you learn something new every day. But I don¡¯t really buy his excuse of growing up with a Noble best friend. I mean this sounded like he tried to recover another slip-up¡­ He does them quite often. And all those weird looks yesterday and the days before. I truly wonder if he¡¯s also someone from an important family and undercover at FBC just like me. I shrug inwardly. That¡¯s nothing I can find out here in the library. Asking Grandma Amelia is the way. I can¡¯t wait for the next weekend. Anyway, this library is quite something, and I can understand why Tim likes it here. I mean real books made out of actual paper. And some of them look so ancient. I think if they¡¯d remove the magical preservation, some of them would immediately crumble to dust. But enough of that. I need to learn more about Nobles! I can¡¯t afford another stunt like with that Charles dude, even if it was justified and he would have pissed his pants if he knew who I really am. I wonder if my parents expected something like this and are now laughing their ass off. Given their funny personalities, I can¡¯t exclude that option¡­ Amelia let me experience it as well. I guess they are all afraid of me turning into a detached hippie like my mom¡¯s parents? That doesn¡¯t make it easier. Ugh! They could have at least taught me a few things¡­ Something like simple interactions. I mean I already messed up with my first words when I called him just Charles. That isn¡¯t too much to ask, right? Also, I wonder why Nobles even care about that proper decorum stuff. My parents and the other Dukes and Duchesses sure didn¡¯t care about that. Isn¡¯t something like that completely obsolete? Time to find out! I walk down another few aisles until I arrive at the one the librarian marked on my interface. It¡¯s quite a distance further into the building than where I met Tim. ¡°Clara, you probably have the catalog already before you. Can you please highlight relevant books for me?¡± ¡°Sure, take this one first. That¡¯s perfect for you.¡± A book halfway up the shelf and a few meters to my right is highlighted. Why do I hear a smirk in Clara¡¯s voice though? I walk over to the indicated book, and to my surprise, there is no magical protection around it. Is this one I can actually read? Seems so. With a shrug, I pull it out and barely refrain from cursing out loud. ¡°Are you kidding me, Clara?¡± I whisper in annoyance. She just snorts in my ear, and I sigh. It¡¯s a children¡¯s book, titled ¡®The Nobles in our glorious Empire¡¯ I walk over to a nearby table and flip it open. The first page shows a picture of happy children meeting the Emperor. How do I know this? Well, the Emperor in the picture is a splitting image of Ferdinand Benson and Grandpa John. But it¡¯s also neither of them, as a few things on his face are a bit different. ¡®Emperor Regulus Benson¡¯ stands below the picture. Ah, there we have it. I think that was Grandpa John¡¯s grandfather but I¡¯m not entirely sure. Could be one generation older as well. Anyway, I flip to the next page and find the first passage of text. It shows something I¡¯ve already managed to learn: There are five, well six different kinds of Nobles. It starts with Baron and Baroness at the lowest level, which makes my beef with that Charles dude even more ridiculous. Above them are the Viscount and Viscountess, followed by Count and Countess. After that, we reach the upper echelons of Noble society with Marquess and Marchioness. That¡¯s the level the Silvanis are at. As this is the level below Duke and Duchess, it makes sense that Mom sees them as a potential sixth Duchy in the future. Lastly, there is the Emperor and Empress. Grandpa John and Grandma Amelia. Technically it¡¯s the sixth level, but in practice, it''s only a title they wear. Important decisions are made among the Duchies and the Royal family. The Big Five rule together! The next few pages don¡¯t show anything new either, so I quickly put the book back on the shelf and take the next one Clara highlights. Well, I try to take it but notice this one isn¡¯t available as a physical copy, so I walk over to a nearby desk and open up a projection. This one is much more interesting as it dives into the dynamics between Nobles and normal people in The Empire. The first thing doesn¡¯t come as a surprise to me, but I guess most Nobles would disagree quite strongly. There is pretty much no difference between Nobles and normal people. The separation is a relic from past days when they founded The Empire and tried to structure a system-spanning nation. Sure, Nobles own land, but that doesn¡¯t mean they decide everything for the people living there. It has been that way in the past, but the Big Five quickly noticed that democracy was important, so now every planet has an elected government with a president at the top. But the Nobles who ¡°own¡± the planet have a veto right, meaning they can stop the government from making decisions they don¡¯t like. That¡¯s quite eye-opening, as this pretty much places most Nobles as just figureheads. The only exception is the Big Five, who would have guessed differently? They have command over the Peacekeepers and take care of foreign affairs. Just when I begin to wonder how my actions had such consequences as most Nobles are without real political powers, I notice the next big chapter in the book: Companies. That¡¯s where the juicy stuff is hidden and what also makes all the Noble things very confusing and difficult¡­ While reading this, I silently curse out the founders of The Empire, namely Ferdinand Benson, Conor Valterion, Li-Ming Song, Magnus Schmidt, and Maria Axtendus. Just what were they thinking back then? It starts with the Big Five up top. They each own the biggest companies in The Empire and are the leaders of said nation at the same time. Below that, other Nobles often own multiple companies. The more important they are, the more influence they have over people, directly undermining the established democracy¡­ If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. The book continues to show a few examples of various constellations, which I mostly skip, as my head is already starting to hurt. This is all so confusing. In the end, I think the important fact is that the Big Five are the rulers and other Nobles pretty much try to get as much influence as they can by using their companies and other things they own. The author criticizes the founders heavily, and I¡¯m inclined to agree with him. All that stuff is just complicating everything¡­ But I guess the author was a heavy critic of the system and might have written everything in a negative light¡­ Maybe the history lessons are more enlightening. In the end, it¡¯s the company connections which bite me in the ass. Legally, I¡¯m completely fine, but that Charles dude must have leveraged his various company connections to get me banned by all the establishments in the city. Tim¡¯s friend or whoever he called must have leveraged other connections that were more important or whatever to the restaurants and bars so that they ignored the earlier ban. I guess this resulted in quite a few changes in suppliers throughout the city. With a lot of thoughts in my head, I close the projection of the book and leave the library. Somehow, I¡¯m now even more confused than before I started my research¡­ While I walk back over the campus grounds, I feel a magical connection form. It¡¯s Chris making a call! I happily accept and sit down on a nearby bench. ¡°Hi, Sara!¡± He greets me. ¡°Hey Chris, what¡¯s up?¡± I ask him right back. ¡°I¡¯ve got a few things to discuss with you¡­ Are you free?¡± Hmm, that¡¯s probably about my call last night. But Tim already took care of it¡­ Well, maybe I can ask him about all that confusing stuff. He¡¯s the one having fun with all the Noble things according to Mom. So he should know a lot. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m good. You¡¯ve got some coordinates?¡± ¡°Of course, here you go.¡± He sends a set of coordinates along the spell, and I quickly redirect them to Clara. ¡°It¡¯s here in the city, one of the central towers.¡± ¡°Thanks, Clara!¡± I focus back on the spell, as it¡¯s all mental communication, I can talk freely. ¡°Uhh, do I have to come as Sara Green or Sara Valterion? Clara told me you¡¯re in one of the central towers of the city¡­¡± ¡°Sara Green would be better. We¡¯re meeting at a restaurant, as I really need something to eat right now,¡± he replies with a chuckle. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about the ban, I took care of it. Oh, and the table is reserved for Randolf Green. Grandma Amelia made me an identity as your cousin, so we can meet up in public places as well.¡± He almost chokes at the word grandma, and I have to suppress a laugh. He¡¯s trying though. As he said when I last met him¡­ His habits are deeply ingrained. ¡°Randolf, huh?¡± ¡°Ugh, please stop. It sounds so old! Anyway, let¡¯s meet in half an hour. Just walk straight from the jump room I sent you the coordinates to, and you find the restaurant.¡± ¡°Alright, that¡¯s perfect. See you soon!¡± I cut the spell and get back up. Half an hour is enough time for a quick shower! Almost exactly half an hour later, my Teleportation spell transports me to the jump room Chris sent me the coordinates to. I quickly step outside and keep on walking straight ahead, just like he said. A hundred meters later, I arrive at the entrance of a rather fancy-looking restaurant. A tall, dark-haired man is currently talking to the waiter manning the entrance. Besides them, there is no one close. The man gets highlighted on my interface. ¡°That¡¯s Christopher,¡± Clara chimes in. I grin broadly and call out. ¡°Randolf! Good to see you.¡± He turns around, mirroring my grin. ¡°Sara, you¡¯re right on time. I was just asking the nice waiter here if you¡¯ve already arrived, but I see you haven¡¯t.¡± ¡°Nope, took me a bit longer to get ready,¡± I wiggle my freshly painted nails. They are purple, of course! ¡°Well, that¡¯s good, I guess¡­¡± he turns back to the waiter. ¡°Could you lead us to our table, please?¡± ¡°Of course, sir, right this way.¡± He turns around and walks into the restaurant. We both follow him, and he leads us to a table for two right next to a big window, overlooking the city. ¡°As requested, this table features a privacy barrier. Just press this button right here to activate it. If you need anything, press the second button, and a waiter will see you shortly. Please enjoy your stay. I¡¯ll be right back with the menus.¡± He turns around and leaves. ¡°Menus?¡± I ask Chris and he smirks. ¡°Yep, paper and all. They¡¯re old-school, but I really like it here. If you look at the wall to your right, you¡¯ll notice a picture of me. I did an advertisement for them a few years back. That brought them a lot of customers and lifetime free meals for me. Unfortunately, only for my real identity¡­¡± I glance to my right and see a picture of Chris Valterion with the biggest smile ever looking at a gigantic burger. That makes me laugh a bit, as Chris is normally way more stoic in his expressions. ¡°That¡¯s nice¡­ But you wanted to talk to me?¡± He clears his throat. ¡°Yeah, but let¡¯s wait until we¡¯ve ordered. It¡¯s better if we discuss this under the privacy curtain. Say, how¡¯s college so far?¡± That gets me talking about the things, I¡¯ve learned so far. We also order our food, and it arrives shortly after. Finally, Chris presses the privacy button, and a piece of Magitech in the table activates and covers our table in a translucent sphere. Chris swallows down his piece of burger ¨C the same one he has in the picture ¨C and starts talking. ¡°Alright, first of all, I took care of your ban. You¡¯re now cleared to enter every establishment in Imperia.¡± I grin at him. ¡°Thanks, Chris! You¡¯re the best.¡± ¡°No problem, it was quite fun, actually.¡± I frown a bit. ¡°I guess so¡­ Though I can¡¯t imagine this being fun¡­ All those Noble things are so confusing! It¡¯s just frustrating. I read a book earlier, and now I¡¯m even more confused.¡± Chris chuckles a bit, then coughs as a piece of food goes down the wrong hatch. ¡°I get it, believe me, I get it. It is confusing. But when you know a bit more details and rules, it becomes much simpler. If you want, I can explain it to you after dinner? Who knows, maybe you¡¯ll see the fun in it too?¡± ¡°Yeah, I¡¯d like that very much,¡± I find myself nodding eagerly. ¡°But I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll change into the stiff Noble Chris overnight.¡± We both laugh. ¡°True, being like me is an acquired taste,¡± Chris snorts. ¡°Anyway, we¡¯re off-topic again. I wanted to ask you about your friend¡­ Something doesn¡¯t add up here. I know you don¡¯t know about the Noble Game yet, but what your friend did should be way above his weight class. Especially as fast as he had your name cleared.¡± I nod slowly. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m glad you noticed as well. It¡¯s frustrating. There is something¡­ I don¡¯t want to call it wrong with him, but that¡¯s how I feel. I think he¡¯s not who he pretends to be¡­ Just like me, but not as good? There are also things I¡¯d call slip-ups when we¡¯re talking. Like he says something and then remembers he¡¯s not supposed to say it mid-sentence.¡± ¡°I can understand that. Pretending to be someone else isn¡¯t easy. I have to say, I¡¯m shocked at how well you¡¯re pulling off your Sara Green identity. Grandma Amelia has me keeping an eye on you, but I didn¡¯t have to step in at all.¡± Huh, I didn¡¯t know that, but it makes sense¡­ Not sure I like it though. They could have said something. ¡°Why thank you¡­ I pretty much had the whole trip to The Empire to practice as I was falsely seen as a Valterion Envoy. But please tell me next time you do surveillance on me. Anyway, I plan to ask Grandma Amelia about him the next time I see her, but could you take a look into things as well?¡± ¡°Yeah, sure, and sorry. I¡¯ll tell you if there is a next time.¡± ¡°Thanks, let¡¯s finish eating and then you can give me a primer on your Noble Game.¡± He nods, and we finish our burgers. Chapter 97: Clarity Chapter 97: Clarity Location: Magicon Empire; Magicon System; Terra; Imperia Once we¡¯re finished with our food, we leave the restaurant together. We take just a few steps along the hallway when Chris turns back to me. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s take this somewhere quieter. Is my apartment good, or do you have something else in mind?¡± The only other quiet place I can think of is the Stargazer, but seeing my brother¡¯s apartment sounds more interesting¡­ ¡°No, that¡¯s fine. Let¡¯s head over there.¡± ¡°Perfect, I¡¯m going to take you with me, as the warding spells wouldn¡¯t let you in otherwise. Ready?¡± I nod. ¡°Yeah, go ahead.¡± He casts the Teleportation spell, and the magic envelopes me. We disappear from the hallway and arrive at the penthouse of another tower in the city. ¡°Be right back,¡± Chris calls out and vanishes again. I take in the room I¡¯m standing inside right now. It looks industrial. Pieces of metal are everywhere, and everything is in a dark color scheme. Lots of glass as well. Curiously, I step through one of the doors and arrive in Chris¡¯s living room. A gigantic window covers one wall and offers a nice view of the city. We¡¯re a bit higher up than the nearby towers are tall, so the view isn¡¯t even blocked very much. The interior design stays the same though, and a black leather couch is the prominent piece in the middle of the room. It faces the window which I guess can be also used as a screen. Along the left wall is a big cabinet made out of glass and brass. It¡¯s filled with tens of different bottles of liquor. All in all, it¡¯s a bit unexpected. I thought Chris would prefer red velvet and other things that are associated with Nobles and Royals. I sit down on the couch and kick off my heels, then I just rest and wait for him to arrive. Fortunately, it doesn¡¯t take long. Just five minutes later, he steps into the living room as well. This time he looks like Christopher Valterion again. He grins and sits down at the other end of the couch. A flick of his wrist has a bottle with amber liquid and two glasses floating over. ¡°Whiskey?¡± He asks, already filling up his glass. I shrug and agree. ¡°Sure.¡± A few seconds later, I have my own glass floating beside me. We both raise our glasses, then drink a sip. Chris sighs. ¡°Just what I needed right now¡­ Now, please tell me what¡¯s so confusing for you.¡± I take a deep breath. ¡°Alright, it¡¯s pretty much everything. I completely messed up my first encounter with a Noble. And now I¡¯m starting to think that our parents did this on purpose, just for their amusement. I¡¯m just waiting for them to jump out of a bush and shout ¡®Surprise!¡¯ After the mess last night, I decided to learn more about all those Noble things and went to the library. There I read a book and am now more confused than ever¡­ I¡¯m now at the point where I¡¯m even questioning the whole system¡­ Wouldn¡¯t it be better to just cast it all aside?¡± Chris is silent for a moment. ¡°Hmm, to answer your last question, I¡¯d say no. Especially at the time of The Empire¡¯s founding, a clear structure was necessary. The people just came out of a massive war, and everyone was looking to the Big Five for guidance. They couldn¡¯t handle everything alone, so they came up with the Noble class inside The Empire. People who did extraordinary things during the war of after were awarded a Noble title and a few privileges. In return, they had to keep up their good work and help the other people settle in the new nation. Today it¡¯s not much different. The Emperor still gives out Noble titles for extraordinary deeds in The Empire. Take the Silvanis for example. They started as a normal family, and now they are at the cusp of becoming the sixth Ducal family. In return, they provide the biggest shopping experience in the galaxy and help the people get the things they need and provide countless jobs for all the citizens.¡± He smiles. ¡°That¡¯s it pretty much. Nobles enjoy a higher status among the population and should be something like role models for the people. Only at the highest levels, Nobles start to gain political power and shape the landscape of The Empire. That¡¯s also the reason why all Nobles try to push for greatness. Again, the Silvanis are the most successful at this time. There are rules though¡­ Nobles are required to keep the population out of their power plays. It¡¯s called the Noble Game and is quite regulated. I can explain a bit later on if you want. This is the part I like so much about all this.¡± A frown enters his face. ¡°Of course, not everything is roses and sunshine¡­ There are always people who don¡¯t play by the rules. An example would be the family of your friend Charles. They messed with companies they owned which resulted in a lot of people losing their jobs. That¡¯s where people like me step in and try to fix things. In the worst cases, the Emperor even confiscates their titles. The other thing that doesn¡¯t work that well is influence. It¡¯s something we¡¯re basically unable to stop, as there are always people who look up to Nobles and if they want something, there are always people who do it for them in the hope of getting recognized or even taken into the family. It¡¯s not bad per se, but sometimes it¡¯s misused, like in your case. But that rarely happens, as most things are heavily regulated as well. Including what Charles did. I¡¯m already working on that one by the way.¡± Finally, he stops, and I stare at him in silence. It¡¯s a lot! And quite different from what I¡¯ve read so far. Also, with Dave and his parents¡¯ company. Where do the free lawsuits come in if people like Chris are already dealing with things? ¡°Uhh, so you¡¯re saying that being a Noble is nothing special? That¡¯s so different from what I¡¯ve read earlier. And Grandma Amelia already told me about the mess with the company. It belonged to the parents of a friend¡­ She said something like free lawsuits, as The Empire can¡¯t have its eyes everywhere?¡± ¡°Exactly, others and I try to step in when we can, but we can¡¯t be everywhere at once. That¡¯s where the lawsuits come in. People can fight for their rights without worrying about the costs.¡± His face suddenly brightens. ¡°Ahh, now I get it. You heard our parents¡¯ complaints about Nobles, right?¡± You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. I stare at him a bit blankly, not having expected that question at all. I nod slowly. ¡°That explains a lot,¡± he chuckles. ¡°Our parents don¡¯t want to deal with many things besides taking care of our family. Minor annoyances like Nobles playing the Game don¡¯t go along with them at all. That¡¯s why you probably only heard negative things from them.¡± ¡°Yeah, I can¡¯t say, they said anything nice about Nobles, but from what you told me so far, I¡¯m not exactly sure, what is nice about them¡­¡± ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m not the best at explaining things¡­ What¡¯s great about the Noble system is also part of the Game. I guess, now is a good time to explain a bit¡­ As I said, the biggest rule about the Noble Game is that it can¡¯t affect normal citizens of The Empire negatively. If it happens, there are exactly two warnings together with heavy fines. If a Noble family breaks the rules again after that, the Emperor steps in and either confiscates their title or everything they own in assets in less severe cases. The Junbuns are on their last leg by the way, and I guess Charles will be scolded quite heavily by the Baron.¡± Hmm, now he explained the rules, but I still don¡¯t see what¡¯s good at all this. At least I now know where the Junbuns messed up exactly. Their dealings affected Dave¡¯s parents negatively, which means they broke the rules of the Game. Chris smiles warmly. ¡°I see, you¡¯re still a bit confused. Don¡¯t worry now comes the interesting part. The goal of the Game is essentially to reach Ducal rank. There was a sixth Duchy a few thousand years back by the way, but unfortunately, they messed up badly and had to be stripped of their rank. Anyway, to reach a higher rank the Noble families have to offer extraordinary services to The Empire. Can you guess how they do it?¡± Wow, the fact that there once was a sixth Duchy is already a lot, and now I have to guess how Nobles advance their titles? How should I know this? Wait¡­ That¡¯s it! Oh wow, now it¡¯s obvious and the book completely ignored that fact. I look back up and notice the twinkle in my brother¡¯s eyes. ¡°It¡¯s the companies, right? If they are successful, they not only offer a lot of available jobs, but they also help the economy, bettering The Empire on every level. That¡¯s¡­ That¡¯s genius!¡± Absolutely genius and I mean it. The prize of possibly reaching Ducal rank and gaining so much political power with it drives up competition like crazy. This on the other hand either leads to extremely good products or extremely low prices. A win-win situation. Chris grins broadly. ¡°I knew you had it in you! Absolutely right. The benefits far outweigh the downsides, that¡¯s why the Noble system is still part of The Empire, even if the Noble titles don¡¯t mean much anymore.¡± ¡°The downsides are all the things with influence, right? What¡¯s with all the name-calling and revering for Nobles though? If they don¡¯t have actual power, who cares if we call them lord or whatever?¡± Chris¡¯s eyes twinkle with amusement. ¡°Think about your questions again. You basically answered your second one with the first.¡± Oh! Right, influence. He continues. ¡°To give you a very simple example. Imagine a baker. He needs flour to make bread. Let¡¯s say his supplier is a Baron who owns a mill. If the baker wants to receive his flour continuously or at the same price, he can¡¯t call the Baron or his relatives a moron in their face. Don¡¯t you agree? On the other hand, imagine our baker being nice to the Baron, maybe even offering him free things from time to time. Maybe the Baron is inclined to take the baker¡¯s kids under his wing or even marry them to his own kids. Then the baker is suddenly part of the Baron¡¯s family and starts benefiting a lot.¡± Did he just insult me? He specifically mentioned the calling someone a moron to the face part¡­ But I guess, I can see the point. I now also understand the offer Charles made me right before that. It¡¯s probably a life¡¯s dream for most people. The distant chance of someday being part of a Ducal family¡­ And if you¡¯re young and see so many people sucking up to you, I can now also see how someone can become so arrogant like Charles. My face must have shown my realization, as Chris just nods. ¡°That¡¯s exactly what happened with you. You insulted the grandson of a Baron, and as you outperformed him magically, he pulled on the influence his rank brings and managed to issue a city-wide ban for you. Actually, he called in favors, as he himself didn¡¯t have the pull to pull it off himself. But that¡¯s none of your concern as long as you¡¯re in college. I¡¯ll take care of it. Aria and I quite enjoy cleaning up such messes. And as your genius cousin Randolf filed an official report about the unjust behavior, your case even landed on my desk officially, as Aria and I oversee such things on Terra.¡± So I was right earlier. Charles really used his influence to ban me, and Tim somehow used more influence to counter him. ¡°Thanks for the explanation, Chris. This helped a lot. But I have one more question. Are you something like the Noble police?¡± He laughs so hard, that he spits out his whiskey. ¡°Oh my god! You¡¯re the first one to frame it like this¡­ But yes, that¡¯s basically my current job. It¡¯s one of the political powers the Big Five have: keeping an eye on the other Nobles and ensuring they play by the rules. Now I do have a question as well. Just what book did you read earlier?¡± ¡°Uhhhh, it was called ¡®A Primer on all things Nobility¡¯ by Richard Zwendi.¡± My brother¡¯s eyes widen slightly. ¡°Really? Why? That¡¯s a book written by an ex-Baron who lost his title by breaking the rules constantly. He wrote a book to vent his frustration on the, in his opinion, unjust actions of The Empire. Clara, why didn¡¯t you stop her, you should know better?¡± I frown. He¡¯s right. Clara did recommend the book to me. Why would she? ¡°Uhh, the book I recommended was ¡®A Primer on Nobility¡¯ by Lars Minge, as you know those titles are similar on purpose¡­ Sara mixed them up when she accessed the digital copy. And well, can we just say, I didn¡¯t notice?¡± ¡°No, we can¡¯t? Don¡¯t tell me you have another stupid bet running with my parents?¡± For all things they hate the Noble Game, they sure like to mess with me¡­ ¡°Thank you for asking. No, it has nothing to do with your parents. It¡¯s kinda stupid actually. Remember the fact that you aren¡¯t allowed to cheat during your studies at FBC? Apparently, helping you find a book in the library is fine, but helping you fix your own mistake isn¡¯t¡­ I got the notification when I was about to tell you.¡± ¡°That¡¯s even more stupid!¡± ¡°I agree, now that I was directly questioned, I was finally able to tell you without repercussions.¡± There¡¯s probably a hidden loophole in such a dumb rule, but I don¡¯t have the energy to explore that right now. Maybe later¡­ For now, let¡¯s just be angry at the college staff for making such a stupid rule. ¡°Sorry, Clara, I didn¡¯t mean to doubt you.¡± ¡°No problem.¡± Chris claps his hands. ¡°Alright, do you have any further questions? Not to kick you out or anything, but Aria¡¯s dropping by soon, and well, she doesn¡¯t know about Sara Green, and I¡¯d like to keep it that way for now.¡± ¡°Nah, I¡¯m good. Thank you so much. I really needed this! Any last words of advice?¡± ¡°You¡¯re welcome, and no. Just keep going as you are. Well¡­ Maybe try to be a bit more respectful to the next Noble you meet. I don¡¯t think they like being called a moron,¡± he winks at me and I groan. ¡°I didn¡¯t even call him a moron! It was just easier to explain that way as it was basically what I meant.¡± Chris bursts out laughing and I just shake my head. At least I should now be ready for my next Noble encounter. Chapter 98: Simple Space Lessons Chapter 98: Simple Space Lessons Location: Magicon Empire; Magicon System; Terra; Imperia; FBC On Sunday, I finally have time to relax. No Nobles, no Tim or other guys, just me, myself, and my roommates. We all decide to take it slow, as it¡¯s our last day before the real lessons start. It¡¯s Beginner Space Magic for me, meaning, I¡¯m without the other girls tomorrow morning. On an exciting note, we¡¯ve got our first get-together for the Exploration course on Monday afternoon. Anyway, we stroll a bit over campus and grab a few bites to eat here and there. Later, we¡¯re back in our dorm room and play a few board games, Alina brought with her. I don¡¯t know them, and Lucy and Lydia don¡¯t know them either, so it¡¯s no surprise, that Alina wipes the floor with us. We still have fun and play until it¡¯s evening. There is one more surprise though today. Clara informs me that I¡¯ve got a few messages in my inbox. When I open them, I grin. It¡¯s a bunch of apology letters from different restaurants and bars throughout the tower we were on Friday night. A lot of coupons as well. I grin and flip a hand to send the message to the room¡¯s holographic projectors. ¡°Looks like we¡¯ve got a lot of options for the next weekend, girls!¡± Alina looks at me wide-eyed. ¡°How?¡± She asks. ¡°You were banned and now they all send you apologies? That¡¯s ridiculous. Who are you?¡± Oops, that went more out of hand than I imagined. I shrug. ¡°I¡¯m just a normal girl¡­ Our friend Charles on the other hand messed up and broke some rules of the Noble Game, so we¡¯re going to benefit now.¡± Alina shakes her head. ¡°You acted like a total fool when dealing with Mr. Junbun, knowing nothing about proper demeanor concerning Nobles, and now you talk about the Noble Game like it¡¯s an old friend of yours? Wait, did you know all along and just wanted to get that reaction to profit from his mistakes? That¡¯s devious! Holy shit, you read him like a book, and completely outmaneuvered him.¡± Uhh, now she¡¯s coming to a lot of crazy conclusions¡­ I don¡¯t think she would believe me if I told her the truth right now, as stupid as that may sound. ¡°Ehhh, let¡¯s just say that might have been the case, okay? It was a one-time thing anyway.¡± ¡°Okay but promise me to teach me about this later on. This sounds like an interesting way to gain power without marrying into a Noble family¡­ I want to marry someone I love someday, and not just for status, as my parents probably demand of me soonish. We¡¯re an important supplier for Armortec after all¡­¡± Oh, so there¡¯s more behind this¡­ From what I¡¯ve learned from Chris, this makes even a bit of sense. Like the baker giving free stuff to the Noble to secure a better future for their children, Alina is the magical prodigy, who can cement the standing of a lower-end Noble family and lift her family at the same time. Crazy, now that I think of it. All those hidden dynamics. Everything sure is a complex system. And Chris navigates it like a pro. No wonder he says, it¡¯s fun. One thing crystallizes in my head though: I¡¯m not going to let Alina down! ¡°Sara, are you alright? You¡¯ve been silent for a while¡­¡± Alina looks at me in concern. That shakes me out of it. ¡°Sorry, I spaced out for a moment. I can¡¯t promise to teach you, unfortunately, as what happened pretty much was completely random, even if you don¡¯t believe me. What I can promise you though, is that you don¡¯t have to worry about marrying some random Noble. I¡¯ll make sure of it!¡± Alina nods and wipes a single tear away, then she hugs me. ¡°Thank you, Sara!¡± The next day, it¡¯s finally Monday. We all wake up early, and Lucy surprises us with a homemade breakfast in our room. We all thank her profoundly and eat our fill. It¡¯s really good, I didn¡¯t know Lucy could cook actually. After that, we say our goodbyes and go our respective ways. My Space Magic course is in building 03, this time above ground, as there should be way fewer people. Space Mages are a rare breed after all. As this course aims at Novice and Junior Space Mages, I should share it with Tim. It should be mostly Juniors though, as I¡¯ve learned that Novices are normally immediately advanced to Junior. With a shrug, I decide to give Tim a call while walking toward building 03. A quick flex of Utility magic later, a connection forms, and Tim is quick to pick up. ¡°Yo, Sara, what¡¯s up?¡± Huh, that¡¯s new. He sounds more relaxed? ¡°Hi Tim, I was wondering if we¡¯re in the same Beginner Space Magic course, as I¡¯m heading there right now?¡± I can almost hear him shrug. ¡°We should be¡­ Building 03, right? I still find it weird that you are bothering with the beginner course. You¡¯re a Master after all. This should all be old news for you.¡± I send the impression of a shrug right back. ¡°I didn¡¯t have that broad of a magical education¡­ I¡¯m just trying to fill some holes. Who knows, maybe I¡¯m missing an important spell? Anyway, wait for me at the entrance please, I¡¯m about five minutes out.¡± ¡°Sure, see you.¡± He kills the connection, and I continue walking. Maybe I¡¯m even walking a bit faster, but that¡¯s certainly my imagination speaking. Less than five minutes later, I spot building 03 after I turn the final corner. Right next to the entrance is Tim, sitting on a boulder while tapping a few things in the air before him. He hasn¡¯t noticed me yet, so I continue walking until I stand right before him and clear my throat. He jumps a little, then blushes. ¡°Hi there,¡± I say, chuckling. He gets up and hugs me while saying his greeting. That¡¯s also new. ¡°Shall we?¡± I nod, and we walk inside. A few other people are lingering in the entrance lobby, and a few others are walking purposefully toward the elevators in the back. I bring up my lesson plan real quick and check for our room. Looks like we have to ascend a bit. Our lesson is on level 21. We join the small crowd waiting for the elevators and exchange a few words with them. A few of them are even Space Mages and are about to join us in class. A bit later, there is a ringing sound, and the far-right elevator door slides open. Luckily, it¡¯s big, and we all fit inside, even if it gets a bit crowded. We only do one stop at level 15, and a few people leave. Then we reach level 21, and the majority leaves with us. The Space Gang. I suppress a snort. Just a few meters further down the hallway is our classroom, and we are quick to enter. It¡¯s bigger than I thought. About 500 seats, arranged in a semicircle around a lectern in the middle. The seats in the back are slightly raised, so that everyone has an unobscured view. From the looks of it, the room is already three-quarters filled, and we are immediately assaulted by the sound of excited conversations throughout the classroom. Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. Tim jerks his head to the left, and I notice a few empty seats in the front third of the seat rows. I nod, and we walk over there to sit down. I nod politely to my neighbor on the right, while Tim takes the seat to the left. We talk a bit about the weekend, and I tell him, that I managed to get the ban completely lifted. He looks a bit surprised. ¡°Huh, how¡¯d you manage that so fast?¡± I shrug. ¡°Well, after you started the process, I called my cousin and he managed to get the attention of some people further up the ladder. Apparently, Charles violated the rules of the Noble Game. Then everything took a quick turn. I now have coupons from almost every establishment in the city.¡± Tim nods sagely. ¡°Well, that makes sense. The Noble Game is sacred. I¡¯m a bit surprised though that you know of it¡­ You acted so clueless back then.¡± I feel my cheeks heat a bit. ¡°Well, I¡¯m a fast learner,¡± I manage to wink at him, and he rolls his eyes. ¡°Fine, keep your secrets¡­¡± Before I can respond and tell him I don¡¯t have secrets, the doors of the room snap shut, and I feel Space magic gathering behind the lectern. My head turns quickly, and I catch the sight of a rather young-looking man appearing. All the others in the room continue talking, and even Tim didn¡¯t bother to turn his head to the front. The young man, who is probably our instructor looks me right in the eye. There is a glint of curiosity there. Then he clears his throat and the sound echoes through the classroom. Over the next thirty seconds, the conversations slowly stop, and all heads turn toward the instructor. He chuckles. ¡°Good morning students, my name is Quentin Renner and I¡¯m your instructor for Beginner Space Magic.¡± Instructor Renner steps in front of the lectern and indicates himself. ¡°A few words about myself. I¡¯m a Grandmaster with cores in Space and Utility and an FBC graduate as well. Afterward, I did a lot of work on various starships, until I finally decided to retire and take on a teaching role. That was almost 200 years ago, and I¡¯ve been an instructor for Space magic ever since.¡± He does a little twirl, then teleports back behind the lectern. Showoff! ¡°That¡¯s one of the things you are here for. Personal Teleportation. Either learning the spell or refining it until you are ready for the real Teleportation spell. Other than that, the first half of the course is all about showing you the basics of Space magic, to bring you all on the same level so that we can take a step beyond the basics for the second half. There will be a practical test midterm where you have to qualify for those more advanced lessons. This is necessary, as without mastering the basics the more advanced spells would be useless for you.¡± He stops and I look around. Most of the others nod slightly at the instructor¡¯s words, but there are also a few with various expressions of unease. Tim on the other hand looks confident, as do a few of the others. They probably know the Personal Teleportation spell already. Instructor Renner starts speaking again. ¡°Good, now with the boring stuff out of the way, let¡¯s start with something more interesting. Who of you already know the Personal Teleportation spell?¡± About a hundred hands go up, Tim¡¯s and mine included. That¡¯s more than I thought considering the expressions they showed earlier. But it makes sense. I mean I learned the spell at sixteen in a Mage-hating nation of all things. ¡°Fantastic! That¡¯s almost a fifth,¡± his next words are barely a whisper, I don¡¯t think he intended them for us to hear. ¡°I wonder how the other classes are doing¡­¡± Some other students must have heard him as well, as a young woman in the front row lifts her hand. Instructor Renner blinks a few times, then focuses on the girl. ¡°Yes, Miss Tsuki?¡± Miss Tsuki lowers her hand. ¡°Uh, I thought I heard you saying other classes, are there more than ours?¡± ¡°Ah, yes, of course. While Space Mages are rare, we aren¡¯t that rare,¡± he stops for a short chuckle. ¡°There are six Beginner Space Magic courses running in parallel right now, each with about 500 students, so we have about 3.000 Junior Space Mages and a few Novices in total this year.¡± Miss Tsuki nods and asks another question. ¡°Thank you for clarifying, instructor Renner. May I ask why we are split into six classes? Wouldn¡¯t it be more convenient to teach us all at once?¡± ¡°It would, yes, but 3.000 students for one or two instructors is a bit much. The other reason is with the rooms. You see, we¡¯re currently inside an anti-gravity-capable classroom so that the few Novices among you can use their spells as well. Training without gravity also makes it easier for most Juniors in the beginning.¡± He indicates the classroom. ¡°This is about as big as we can make them, so our classes can¡¯t be bigger than 500 people.¡± Ohh! I didn¡¯t expect that. Miss Tsuki nods her thanks, and the guy to my right lets out a breath of relief. Probably one of the few Novices then. I wonder why he didn¡¯t get his advancement. Is it someone like Adrian? I give him a reassuring nod. No one knows the struggles as a Novice better than me! The first lesson goes on with very basic information. Power levels and possible jump distances, the recovery process after expending a lot of power, and ship sizes. I already know the normal size limitations from my time at the republic¡¯s Mage Academy, but what¡¯s new is the enhancement with Magitech. Lydia already told us about it, but now instructor Renner gives us concrete information. Unfortunately, the Novices are the worst off, again. This power level is really unfair, and I see why they are immediately advanced normally. While starships can go over the 350-meter length limit with the help of Magitech, it¡¯s only up to 500 meters. Junior Mages already enjoy a factor two multiplication in ship length and Seniors up to factor five, enabling them to navigate truly enormous ships like the Maxima. Master rank is exempt from size limitations. After explaining all that, instructor Renner calls for a half an hour break and most students step outside to catch a breath of fresh air. A few even teleport to the next jump room after asking the instructor. I¡¯m about to do the same, but when I turn to instructor Renner to ask him, he¡¯s already looking at me. ¡°Miss Green, may I have a word with you?¡± Huh, what¡¯s that about? I nod. Suddenly, a Space spell starts enveloping me, and I naturally resist with Space Sense. A frown enters Renner¡¯s face, and he waves me over. He waits for me at the bottommost seat, close to the lectern. When I arrive, he waves a hand, and a blurred bubble surrounds us. The noise of the classroom drops to a minimum. ¡°Miss Green, why are you here? I thought some AI had messed up with your power level, but when you resisted me just now, I had confirmation. You are overqualified for this course. I can¡¯t grade you like this. This also doesn¡¯t count as an exploit; It leans more into the direction of cheating.¡± Oh shoot, I didn¡¯t think of it like this. But I obviously have an enormous advantage compared to all the others in this course¡­ ¡°Uhh, I¡¯m sorry instructor Renner, I honestly didn¡¯t even think about my grades. You see, I don¡¯t know that much about Space magic¡­ My parents pretty much stuffed me full of power enhancements, bringing me all the way up to Master. I¡¯m missing pretty much everything in between. That¡¯s why I thought it would be a good idea to take the beginner course as well.¡± Instructor Renner stares at me wide-eyed. ¡°That¡¯s reckless of your parents!¡± Channeling my inner actress again, I jump onto his train of thought. ¡°Yeah, I know, the Doctor said the same, but they wouldn¡¯t listen. I also didn¡¯t want to disappoint them, so I accepted. They want me as a figurehead. A Master Space Mage, maybe even Grandmaster of the Green family.¡± Instructor Renner shakes his head. ¡°Greedy bastards¡­¡± Then his eyes fly wide open and he backtracks. ¡°No offense! I¡¯m sorry.¡± I grin back at him. ¡°None taken, but can I please stay in your course? I could really use a solid foundation.¡± He scratches his chin, deep in thought. Finally, he has an answer. ¡°You can, but I still can¡¯t grade you, meaning you¡¯re pretty much wasting your time, at least academically speaking. If you¡¯re really missing all the basics, it¡¯s still a valuable life lesson. Would that be okay with you?¡± I nod. ¡°Yeah, while I would have loved to get a grade as well, I can understand why that¡¯s not possible. At least I can stay in the course, thank you.¡± ¡°Good, do you need me to talk to the faculty to get you into another course or do you have enough?¡± I shake my head. ¡°No, it¡¯s fine, I¡¯ve got my full eight, and I¡¯m playing taxi for a few other courses.¡± He barks a short laugh. ¡°Hah, I see, you¡¯ve got a busy year ahead. Anyway, I won¡¯t hold you any longer. Have fun, and I¡¯ll see you probably in advanced Space magic on Thursday?¡± ¡°Yeah, if you¡¯re our instructor there as well. Thank you again!¡± ¡°I am, now off you go, the break is almost over!¡± Chapter 99: Exploration (1) Chapter 99: Exploration (1) Location: Magicon Empire; Magicon System; Terra; Imperia; FBC The remainder of my first Space magic course went by way too quickly. I already knew most of the things instructor Renner taught us in the second half of the lesson, but it was still exciting to see the others¡¯ reactions when he switched off gravity toward the end of the lesson and everything started floating. The instructor stayed on the ground though, and I sensed a bit of Space magic anchored at his feet. An advanced spell? Must have been, as he looked at me curiously, as I started floating just like all the others. That probably reassured him of my cluelessness? Anyway, now that my first official lesson is over, I grab Tim¡¯s hand and ask him if we should take the quick way out. He happily agrees, and after a quick conversation with Clara, she supplies me with coordinates for the jump room in building 07 ¨C the closest jump room to a restaurant with a name that sounds interesting to both Tim and myself: The Singing Beef. I do the jump, and we are quick to leave the building afterward. On our way to the restaurant, I ask Tim to start a Group Call with the others. He obliges, and I quickly ask Lucy, Lydia, Alina, and Nick if they want to join us before we head to the Exploration course. They agree, and we decide to wait for them in front of the restaurant. ¡°Hey Tim, do you know if I can learn the Group Call spell as well?¡± He shakes his head. ¡°No, unfortunately not yet¡­ You need to be at least a Senior to cast it. But it¡¯s something you can look forward to. It¡¯s really cool! Like with all the other Communication spells, the recipients don¡¯t need to be Mages, but if they are, it gets easier for the caster.¡± Huh, that¡¯s interesting. I didn¡¯t know about the last part. But I have the feeling I should know. Better not show him then. ¡°Thanks, I guess it¡¯s your job to cast that spell then when we¡¯re exploring things, as I¡¯m still stuck at Junior.¡± ¡°Ahh, don¡¯t worry, you¡¯ll be a Senior soon enough. But I can certainly take over as our communication specialist,¡± he answers with a big grin. Not long after, the others arrive, and we enter the restaurant. As the name says, it serves various cuts of beef, grilled to our preferences. They offer fries as a side dish. Luckily, none of us is vegan, and so we all order to our heart''s content. It tastes heavenly! I mean, it¡¯s just sooo good. Worth every single credit. And even better, they were one of the restaurants to send me apology coupons. I have Clara mark it as one of my favorite spots on campus so that I¡¯ll never forget it. My steak vanishes way too fast, but unfortunately, I can¡¯t order a second one, as I¡¯m completely full. Also, it¡¯s almost time to head back to building 07 where the first lesson for the Exploration course will be held. The others finish eating soon after, and after paying, we walk back over to building 07. The elevator takes us up to our classroom. It¡¯s all the way to the top this time. When we exit the elevator, there is even a sign saying landing pad to our right. Hmm, it is a course about exploration, and it includes a practical part with starships¡­ Are we going up to a space station for our first lesson? Nah, that would be way too early. They probably tell us the rules and form groups today. Whatever, we ignore the rooftop access and step through another door into a rather small classroom. There are fewer people inside compared to the space lesson in the morning, maybe a hundred? Something like that. The instructor, a tall woman with brown hair, is already there as well, and immediately waves us to her table. We comply, and she greets us as soon as we are in earshot. ¡°Hello there, welcome to the Exploration course. First things first, this will be different from your other lessons. I¡¯m not one to stand before a class and give you long lectures and all. We¡¯re taking a rather practical approach. Therefore, we¡¯ll just make a short introduction today, then we¡¯re going up to the ships, so you can familiarize yourselves. It¡¯s where you¡¯ll spend the most time during this course after all.¡± Huh, so I was wrong! We¡¯re going up today. Crazy. I think this course will be a good one. ¡°Oh, and before I forget, my name is Samantha Xyderion, but you can all just call me Sam, or instructor Sam if you are keen on formalities. Anyway, can you tell me your names so that I can check you on the list? We only have a limited number of starships for this course after all.¡± Her brown eyes twitch a little at the end but her face smoothes out soon after. She¡¯s quite pretty, I have to say, with wavy hair, and full lips. She also looks quite young, but who knows a person¡¯s real age with Song Medical¡¯s age treatments these days¡­ While I¡¯m lost in my thoughts, Tim steps forward to address Sam. He clears his throat, which shakes me out of it. I blush a little, as he¡¯s taking over my part. Normally it¡¯s my job to explain our situation. Anyway, Tim doesn¡¯t seem to care. ¡°We¡¯re a bit of a special case, I suppose,¡± he starts, and Sam raises an eyebrow. ¡°You see, my name¡¯s Tim Skadi, and I should be on the list. The others aren¡¯t, though, and that¡¯s where our special situation arises. We, or rather Sara here,¡± he points at me, ¡°have our own ship, and so we¡¯d like to join as extras.¡± This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. Sam smiles broadly. ¡°That¡¯s perfect! I always love it when our class gets bigger. This also means I can include one person from the waiting list, as you won¡¯t need your original spot.¡± She stops to tap a few buttons on her interface, then she looks back at us. ¡°You can step over to the others, only a few are missing, then we can start.¡± We start walking toward the others when she calls out to me. ¡°Sara?¡± I stop and turn around. My friends continue walking. ¡°Yeah?¡± ¡°Your ship¡­ It does fill the requirements, right? It¡¯s not just a small shuttle or something?¡± I grin back at her. ¡°I think it¡¯s good, don¡¯t worry.¡± ¡°Good, I trust you at this. If you lie, I have to kick your group off the course though¡­ I can¡¯t magic a new ship out of my hat. Anyway, does it have an AI capable of flying the ship? If yes, I can send you the coordinates so that you can bring it over to our space station. Then we can take a look at it together with all the other ships for this course.¡± Hmm, the Stargazer doesn¡¯t have a separate AI, but Clara should be able to do it, right? I lift my finger. ¡°One second¡­ Clara, can you?¡± ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s no problem. I have a very stable connection to the Stargazer. Just tell her to send you the coordinates.¡± ¡°Okay Sam, I¡¯m good, can you send me the coordinates? Then the AI can take care of it.¡± ¡°Yeah, sure, here you go.¡± I nod in thanks and return to the others. Meanwhile, another group of students enters the room, and Sam immediately calls them to her. They talk a bit, and a few minutes later, they join all the others. The process repeats itself another time, then I suddenly catch Sam snapping her fingers. The sound magically carries throughout the room, and all chatter dies down. I focus on Sam, and she grins. ¡°That¡¯s everyone. Our course is now complete. I am happy to announce that we managed to fill out all fifteen team slots, and we have an additional 6 teams with their own ships joining us.¡± She pauses as if waiting for us to clap. Someone to my left does exactly that, and all the others quickly join in. When the clapping dies down, Sam continues to speak. ¡°With that out of the way, let¡¯s continue with forming teams. I¡¯m sure a few of you already did so.¡± She looks around and winks at a few students, our team included. ¡°Those of you with complete teams, please move to the right and wait a bit. As for the others, I¡¯ll send you a link to a document where you can put in your abilities, qualifications, or whatever you want to share. This should help you find your optimal teams. The document will be projected behind me shortly. Oh, and please remember that you can hire a seventh team member if you don¡¯t have your own Space Mage.¡± Her words cause quite a lot of activity, as about half of the students move to the right, while all the others look at each other with a bit of uncertainty in their eyes. A few shrug, sit down and start tapping on their interfaces. Soon after, the first names appear behind Sam in the air. There are lots of Utility Mages, some even mentioning abilities like cleaning or healing. Some even mention ship-related spells like Engine Enhancement or Remote Control. One catches my eye. She says in her profile that she specializes in Navigation. That¡¯s interesting and I whisper to Clara to save her name and ability. Who knows when a good navigator will be handy? When a Space Mage appears on the list, everyone almost jumps at them to try to get into their team. I have to suppress a chuckle, and Tim wears an amused smile as well. If they knew that we have not one but two Space Mages in our team. There are also a few A&D Mages on the list. While no one is at Lucy¡¯s power level, they all have something we don¡¯t have yet: Attack spells. When I ask Lucy, she tells me that she¡¯s working on it. She actually has the first one almost ready. That¡¯s great to hear. Finally, the list stops expanding and now features 60 names. That¡¯s ten teams! Sam nods and joins those 60 people. First, she singles out the Space Mages, there are seven of them, and makes them provisional team captains. Then she asks for three more who quickly step forward. Now with the ten captains ready, they start forming their teams. It happens without any cries of outrage and doesn¡¯t take longer than fifteen minutes. The newly formed teams with Space Mages quickly join us while Sam talks a bit more to the remaining three teams. When she finishes, they all wear big grins and come over to join us as well. One of them stands pretty close to me, and I lean over to tap his shoulder. He looks at me with a questioning gaze. ¡°What did Sam say to you guys at the end?¡± He grins broadly. ¡°She sent us a list of Senior and above Space Mages who are looking for employment. That¡¯s better than we all expected. I mean travel without wormholes¡­ That¡¯s huge for exploration!¡± Huh, he¡¯s right. How can you explore new places when you have to rely on wormholes? I wonder if the others can hire stronger Space Mages as well. There wasn¡¯t any Senior on the list just now. Sam clears her throat, and we all look at her again. ¡°That was the easiest team building I¡¯ve ever had. Thank you all for that. Therefore, I¡¯ll give you all a free hint. Even if you already have a Space Mage on your team, I strongly recommend looking for a second one. That will allow you to speed things up by a lot. It¡¯s best if you find a Senior or stronger Space Mage, as they aren¡¯t confined to wormholes.¡± That causes another round of chatter while I grin in satisfaction. Nick nudges my arm. ¡°Why are you grinning?¡± ¡°Oh, just that we already have everything we need and the fact that I figured out Sam¡¯s reasoning before she told us.¡± Nick rolls his eyes while Lydia face-palms, the others all start chuckling. Tim starts with a joking tone. ¡°Yeah, who knows, maybe we manage to find the ruins of the destroyed Earth.¡± Nick and Alina start laughing with Tim while Lucy, Lydia, and I all have to suppress a wince. We manage a weak laugh with a small delay. The others don¡¯t seem to notice. That was close¡­ Actually, when Dad manages to open the vault, Tim¡¯s idea doesn¡¯t even sound too far off¡­ Meanwhile, Sam starts talking again. ¡°Alright, now that we¡¯re done with all the organizational stuff, how about we head upstairs and take a look at our beautiful starships? That¡¯s also where I¡¯ll be explaining the rules and what you have to do to pass this course. We¡¯re a practical course after all. It¡¯s best to explain everything at the place of action.¡± With that, she turns around and walks toward the exit. ¡°Come on, our shuttle is waiting.¡± Chapter 100: Exploration (2) Chapter 100: Exploration (2) Location: Magicon Empire; Magicon System; FBC Station Our group makes quick work with the single set of stairs, and we quickly arrive on the rooftop of building 07. A big shuttle is already waiting for us. It¡¯s ugly, just straight pieces of tristanium welded together. There aren¡¯t even any other windows besides a single one at the front. One of the sides slides open and invites us inside. ¡°It¡¯s not pretty, but we¡¯ll have to take the cargo shuttle if we want to make it in a single trip. We¡¯re over a hundred people after all,¡± Sam says with a light voice and steps inside. A few courageous students follow her. Then after a bit of hesitation, all the others go inside as well. The door closes behind us, and the shuttle comes alive. There is a slight whine of the gravity generator coming online, but that¡¯s it. I don¡¯t feel a single thing, but I see the outside moving through the front window. That¡¯s a high-quality grav generator at least. Sam¡¯s voice reaches us. It carries on a slight current of magic throughout the shuttle. ¡°I know it¡¯s not the most comfortable ride, but we reach our destination in just fifteen minutes, so please hang on. I try to get you cleared for teleportation to the station as soon as possible. If everything goes well, this should be our only flight with that blocky shuttle.¡± There are sighs of relief all around. While we don¡¯t feel anything due to the grav generator, the shuttle is still crowded, and we all have to stand. Lucy whispers into my ear. ¡°I wish we could just have jumped to the Stargazer.¡± I whisper right back. ¡°True enough, but I¡¯m trying not to annoy too many people right now after the stunt with Charles¡­¡± Tim snorts, he must have heard me. ¡°What?¡± I ask him with faked annoyance. ¡°Nothing,¡± he replies innocently, ¡°there must be something in the air.¡± I just shake my head. ¡°Where is the Stargazer anyway?¡± Lucy asks again. Before I can answer that I only know that Clara has moved her over to the station right now, Clara¡¯s voice sounds in my ear. ¡°I¡¯ve just arrived at FBC Station, the ship will be waiting for you once you arrive.¡± ¡°Clara just told me she docked at FBC Station. Thanks, Clara by the way. So, everything should be ready for our arrival. It¡¯s just surviving the remainder of our trip up there.¡± Luckily, it doesn¡¯t take too long. Just ten minutes later, the door suddenly slides open again and reveals the view of a mostly empty hangar bay. A flicker of Space magic, and suddenly Sam stands outside right in the middle of the hangar bay. ¡°Welcome to FBC Station. Come on out, don¡¯t be shy. I¡¯ve got something special for you.¡± It must be the starships, otherwise, we wouldn¡¯t be up here¡­ I wonder how everyone reacts to the Stargazer. I listen to the whispers around me. ¡°It¡¯s the starships, right?¡± ¡°Yeah, my brother told me they are amazing, but not what kind of ships they are¡­¡± ¡°Probably Ether Tech Exploration vessels. That would make the most sense.¡± ¡°Nah, I bet we¡¯re getting VHI ships, FBC is the premier college besides RMA after all.¡± The last comment earns the speaker a few chuckles and the girl next to him pats his shoulder. ¡°Keep dreaming¡­ Those ships are way out of our league.¡± I find myself lost in my thoughts again. I don¡¯t think it¡¯s too far-fetched. Why wouldn¡¯t my parents sponsor a few ships to FBC? Not that it would hurt them, and it would show the next generation of Mages that the Big Five care about them¡­ Once everyone has left the shuttle, Sam turns around and beckons us to follow her. We exit the hangar bay through a sliding door and enter a hallway. It looks like it circles the station, as I¡¯m constantly seeing a slight bend in the hallway before me while we¡¯re walking. A few minutes later, Sam opens another door to our left and enters. We all quickly follow. It¡¯s a classroom, but something¡¯s special. The walls and ceiling look like darkened glass. Sam waits at the front of the room with a knowing smirk on her face. Everyone else quickly finds their seat. My group sits somewhere in the middle of the room, the guy who guessed for VHI ships sits next to me. He wears a foolish grin, still holding onto his hope. I can feel the building excitement in the room and once the final student sits, Sam starts to speak. ¡°Okay, now is the time where I tell you to write a 50-page essay about exploration. This will be your grade for the course.¡± I stare back at her with a deadpan expression. She¡¯s still grinning. Yeah, she can¡¯t be serious. Still, there are a few shouts of outrage and I even see a few people¡¯s expressions turn sad. Sam waits for a few more seconds before she starts laughing. ¡°Just kidding, just kidding. You should see your faces. Priceless!¡± That earns her a few glares, but she just continues. ¡°Anyway, now onto the real thing. Behold your ships for the course!¡± She waves her hand, and all the glass walls clear up. Beyond we can see a lot of docking arms. At each of them parks a single ship. There are fifteen in total, and they are all identical, about 70 meters in length. The design is unmistakable, and if someone doesn¡¯t recognize it, the big ¡®V¡¯ logo at the side of the ships is a dead giveaway. They are VHI ships! The classroom is dead silent before someone starts cheering. Everyone else quickly joins in. I turn to the guy to my right and bump his shoulder. ¡°Dude, you were right!¡± He grins back at me. ¡°This is amazing, I can¡¯t believe it.¡± Sam waits, grinning, until the noise dies down a bit. ¡°There you have it. Sponsored by the Valterion family, I present you the Scout class starships. We named them all after animals, which will also be your group¡¯s callsign later on. Are you ready to see the inside?¡± Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. There are more cheers, and others nod their agreement. Sam nods and waves her hand again. There is a small rumble, then our room starts moving! We fly closer to the outermost starship. Holy smokes, I didn¡¯t know our room could do this. The closer we get, the more details become visible. The first thing I notice is that there aren¡¯t any Armortec guns. That doesn¡¯t mean there aren¡¯t any weapons at all, just no special Magitech guns. Finally, the name of the ship gets visible. It¡¯s the BCS Lion ¨C Benson College Ship. Luckily, it¡¯s not the Tiger, as that would have called up unpleasant memories. The guys who kidnapped me were the Black Tigress Mercenary Company after all. Our classroom, class-ship? Docks at the airlock, and once the pressure is equalized, the doors open with a slight hiss of air. ¡°Follow me,¡± Sam calls out. ¡°Those ships were designed with our needs in mind, so every one features a small classroom aboard. It will be a bit crowded, but we all should fit just fine. I¡¯ll give you a tour on the way.¡± With that, we follow her through the airlock. This time we¡¯re almost at the front with only a few people and Sam before us. Lydia taps my shoulder. ¡°Looks like we would have been fine without the Stargazer, huh?¡± ¡°Yeah, but without her, we would have missed the course as it was already full.¡± ¡°True.¡± While we talk, we get a short look at the crew cabins, which are ten in total, and a small common area to relax. One deck higher is the bridge, and right behind it, we reach our destination: the classroom. Sam was right, it is a bit on the smaller side, but we all still fit quite comfortably. She then steps to a lectern in the front and turns back to us. ¡°Alright, listen up. Every ship comes with its own AI that will take care of controlling the actual ship. If you do have piloting skills, you can show me your license after the lesson. If everything checks out you will be allowed to control the ship yourself, otherwise the controls will be locked down. That is non-negotiable.¡± A few people look a bit sad at the news, as they probably wanted to fly a VHI ship themselves. Meanwhile, Lucy and I share a shocked look. Are there piloting licenses? I whisper to my own AI. ¡°Clara, do we have such a license? I¡¯ve never heard of it before.¡± ¡°Yeah, we¡¯re good. Sara Green has her piloting license. Your real identity on the other hand lacks one. This shouldn¡¯t be a problem though. Your parents can take care of it once it becomes necessary.¡± ¡°Thanks, Clara,¡± I reply and nod at Lucy at the same time. ¡°We¡¯re good,¡± I whisper to her. Lucy sighs in relief. I missed a few words from Sam, as when I start paying attention again, she is right in the process of calling out the Lion¡¯s AI. ¡°¡­share the same name. Lion, care to say hello?¡± ¡°Certainly Miss Xyderion. Hello class, my name is Lion, it¡¯s a pleasure meeting you.¡± The AI has a soft male voice and comes out of the speakers overhead. ¡°Good, now with that out of the way, I have to tell you a few more things about the actual Exploration course. First of all, over the next few weeks, we will be doing test flights and test jumps with the starships so you can get to know them. We will mostly jump around the neighboring systems and back. During breaks, we will either meet up in one of the ships for short lessons, or we will do video conferences,¡± Sam shrugs. ¡°I¡¯m not sure yet, as we are a lot of people this year.¡± She waves her hand, and a projection of the galaxy appears before her. It slowly zooms in until it more or less only shows the star systems that belong to The Empire. It¡¯s gigantic, seeing it like this. There are so many star systems belonging to our nation. It''s way bigger than the Estriduros Republic. ¡°Now, let me give you a short overview of what you¡¯ll have to do to get your grade. As you can see, this is The Empire. We¡¯re currently right here in the center.¡± A star system lights up, and I recognize it as the Magicon System. Sam continues. ¡°All around us are so many star systems. Some of them aren¡¯t even populated at all. Others aren¡¯t fully developed yet. This will be your job. Each group can select one star system and will visit it during the practical phase of the course. There you will explore the system and write a report about what you find there. This report can include resources you find there, rare plants, recommendations for or against terraforming, or whatever you find relevant.¡± Sam stops speaking as a girl in the front row lifts her hand. She nods at her. ¡°Sorry for interrupting you, but I¡¯m a bit confused. I mean The Empire already exists for 11,000 years¡­ How can there still be so many undeveloped systems?¡± Sam nods. ¡°There are two answers to your question, actually. The first one is necessity. While The Empire is big, it is not that big to fill up every single system within our borders. So, there are bound to be a few empty star systems that just weren¡¯t needed yet. I¡¯ll be honest with you. Pretty much every system you guys will be visiting has already been explored before. But as the results aren¡¯t publicly available, this doesn¡¯t matter at all. The second answer is that lots of systems are just duds. There aren¡¯t many resources, or the planets are so trashy that it isn¡¯t worth terraforming them. You may explore such a system. Your report will then clarify why this system isn¡¯t worth developing.¡± Oh, that¡¯s genius! That way they can show us students how to explore things in a relatively safe environment while still being out in the real world. Also, this cuts the distances we have to travel by a lot. I mean if we had to explore something completely new, I¡¯m guessing, we had to move very far away. ¡°Are there any further questions?¡± Sam asks. ¡°If not, we¡¯re finished for today. You guys can all jump back to a jump room on campus if you want. Otherwise, the shuttle is available as well. Oh, and can the groups with their own starships wait here with me for a moment? I want to inspect them real quick.¡± There are a few questions to clarify some things. They ask about how long the report has to be and if we¡¯re allowed to change the star system if it is a dud. The answers aren¡¯t surprising: There isn¡¯t a required number of pages. But the report must reflect our findings. Also, we aren¡¯t allowed to change systems because in real situations we have to work with what we are given as well. After that, most of the Space Mages grab a few students, and they all teleport away. Not a single one wanted to take the shuttle. Sam looks quite amused by that reaction and turns back to the six teams with their own ships. ¡°Alright, have you all managed to bring your ships here to the station?¡± When she gets a nod from everyone, she smiles even broader. ¡°Perfect, then let¡¯s see what we have.¡± We walk back to the flying classroom and disconnect from the Lion. Then we start flying away from the fifteen VHI ships until we arrive at a starship that is a little smaller than the Scout class ships, we were just on. The classroom docks again, and Sam asks us to wait while she goes with the owner and their group for a short tour. The outside of the ship looks quite different. It¡¯s clearly not a Valterion ship. When I ask Clara, she tells me this is an Ether Tech Exploration ship. I grin when I hear the name. It¡¯s the ship some people thought we¡¯d fly before Sam revealed the VHI ships. Speaking of Sam, they return ten minutes later, and we fly over to the next ship. There the process repeats itself. This time it¡¯s a Karls Inc. Scavenger class ship. It¡¯s about the size of the Stargazer but looks like a square block of metal. There aren¡¯t any sleek lines I know from the Valterion ships. But hey, we¡¯re out in space. Who cares about aerodynamics? The third and fourth ships are another two Ether Tech ships, and the fifth one comes as a surprise. It¡¯s a freighter. Not a big one, about 200 meters long, but still. It¡¯s a freaking freighter and it immediately reminds me of the Solano before the pirates retrofitted her. Sam first looks like she is about to reject the ship, but after the short visit, she tells the owner''s group that it is okay ¨C much to their relief. Now it¡¯s our turn, and I¡¯m very curious about Sam¡¯s reaction. We fly over to the Stargazer, and once the others recognize the design, there are a few shouts of surprise. Some are even more direct, and I hear a few calls of ¡°Holy shit!¡± Even Sam¡¯s eyes widen slightly. Then we dock, and I give her a short tour. She has to pick up her jaw from the ground a few times and obviously gives our ship the go-ahead. She¡¯s not the only one who walks through the vessel with wide eyes. Tim, Nick, and Alina are shell-shocked as well. I promise them all to give them a proper tour right after Sam releases us for the day. We return to the flying classroom, and Sam tells us a few more things we have to take care of. As we are students, we¡¯re only allowed to use our guns in emergencies. Not that I planned to blow up every ship we see during our exploration¡­ The second thing is that we have to change our callsign to an FBC one so that we can be recognized as students while we do our exploring. After that, Sam wishes us a nice week, and everyone teleports away. I grab my friends and we teleport to the living room aboard the Stargazer. Time for a proper tour! Chapter 101: News Chapter 101: News Location: Magicon Empire; Magicon System; Terra; Imperia; FBC I can¡¯t stop grinning when I give Tim, Nick, and Alina a proper tour through the Stargazer. It¡¯s amazing how a simple ship can cause such a reaction from them. Well, at least from Nick and Alina. They both walk through the ship with open mouths and take in every single detail. Lucy and Lydia hide their grins well, but I know they are just as amused as I am. Tim on the other hand is a mystery¡­ Again! He does show his amazement, but somehow it feels faked or forced, I don¡¯t know. Like the ship is nothing special for him. Now I¡¯m the one giving him weird looks¡­ The tour takes an hour, and we end up back on the bridge in the end. Suddenly, I find myself in a big hug and Alina whispers in my ear. ¡°This is amazing. I¡¯m so glad that I asked you about the Exploration course.¡± ¡°I know, right? With the Stargazer, nothing can stop us!¡± Tim grunts his agreement. ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s probably the most overqualified exploration vessel ever. Didn¡¯t you say it¡¯s an old ship? This looks brand new¡­¡± He turns back to me with a raised eyebrow. ¡°Where did you get that ship anyway?¡± Nick turns around the grav chair he¡¯s sitting in to face us. ¡°Yeah, what he¡¯s saying. VHI ships are extremely expensive.¡± I just shrug in reply. ¡°Well, we found it in a scrapyard and the dealer made us an irresistible deal. Actually, my parents found it, I was a little girl back then. But I always loved that ship. My parents must have restored it in secret, as it came as a complete surprise when they gifted it to me for my twentieth birthday. That was the best day ever.¡± I manage to say all this without stumbling at all. I trained for that moment for over a month after all. Grandma Amelia created this line for line, as everything else would be completely unbelievable. Especially the truth. ¡°Wow, I wish my parents had a gift like this for my birthday. You¡¯re really lucky, Sara,¡± Alina replies. Nick just shakes his head and leans back in his chair, while Tim tilts his head in consideration. In the end, he stays silent though. Anyway, after all this, we finish up, and I teleport us all back down to the planet. We appear in our girl''s dorm¡¯s living room, as I don¡¯t want to walk across campus. It¡¯s been a long day, and I want to rest my legs a bit. The boys ask if we want to go out to eat, but Alina is the only one who accepts. This leaves me alone with Lucy and Lydia, which is perfect. I sit on the sofa with my legs up and call out to both of them. ¡°Hey, Lucy and Lydia, do you have a moment?¡± They both come over and sit on the other sofa and an armchair respectively. ¡°Sure, what is it?¡± Lydia asks while Lucy just nods. I take a deep breath. ¡°Okay, I¡¯ve been thinking¡­ What if Dad manages to open the family¡¯s vault and finds the coordinates for Earth? Do you think we could take Earth as our destination for the Exploration course?¡± ¡°Hmmm,¡± Lucy scratches her chin. ¡°He would have to find the coordinates pretty fast. I guess we have to decide which system we want to explore soonish. But technically¡­ Yeah, I think it would be possible.¡± Lydia agrees as well. ¡°Yeah, that should definitely work out. I mean all the possibilities¡­ We could focus in our report on why it would be good to resettle the Solar System and all. There is so much to discover on the planet. You¡¯ve only seen a fraction of the planet and came away with Maja¡¯s body and the location of the Stargazer. Just imagine what else we could find there.¡± ¡°Wait!¡± Lucy suddenly shouts. ¡°What you¡¯re describing is practically archeology. What if we could make a tag team with Dave¡¯s group? I mean, Sara, you¡¯re their taxi anyway. How cool would that be?¡± I find myself nodding. ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re right! That would be amazing. Maybe we can even get credit for both courses? And who knows if this will even count as an exploit that comes with benefits¡­¡± ¡°Right, I can totally see the college staff rewarding something like that,¡± Lydia agrees. ¡°If we use the Stargazer for everything, this even frees up one of the starships in the Archeology course.¡± We all agree to that and continue to discuss the possibilities a bit more. In the end, it¡¯s Lucy who brings us back down from the hype train. ¡°It all stands and falls with your dad and the vault though¡­ Do you have any news yet?¡± I slump down on my pillow. ¡°No, nothing at all, unfortunately.¡± Lucy shrugs. ¡°Then I guess, we have to keep waiting.¡± ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re right.¡± Now we sit there and look at each other in silence. A minute later, Lydia¡¯s stomach suddenly makes a rumbling noise. I look at her, and she chuckles. ¡°I guess, I should have taken the boys¡¯ offer after all¡­ Now I¡¯m hungry and they¡¯re already gone.¡± Lucy agrees. ¡°Yeah, in hindsight, we should have gone with them¡­ I could make us some eggs?¡± Lydia makes a face, then shrugs. ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s better than nothing,¡± she turns to me. ¡°Or do you want to get us something?¡± I shake my head. ¡°Not really, no. I think I¡¯m going to sleep now. I¡¯m quite exhausted¡­¡± ¡°Alright, no problem. Eggs it is then, thanks, Lucy, and goodnight, Sara.¡± I stand up and say goodnight to them as well, then I go to the bathroom to get ready for the night. Half an hour later, I hear the door opening and closing, probably Alina coming back. I don¡¯t care though, as I¡¯m already half asleep. When I wake up the next morning, I¡¯m greeted by a big red announcement on my interface: ¡®Citizens of the Magicon Empire. Today at 3 p.m. our Emperor will speak to you with important news. Therefore, today will be a national holiday. We wish you a wonderful day!¡¯ I do a double-take. What? A nationwide holiday just for a speech from Grandpa John? What would be so important¡­? Oh! Could it be? I have to call Dad! Suddenly, my stomach rumbles. Right, breakfast first. When I exit my room, Alina almost jumps into me. ¡°Sara!! Have you seen the news?!¡± I take a step back. ¡°Whoa, hold on. Yeah, I¡¯ve seen it. Not that I could have missed it, as the message filled my whole vision.¡± Alina chuckles awkwardly. ¡°Right, sorry. But that¡¯s still amazing. I¡¯ve never seen something like that¡­ Cancelling a whole day just for a speech. This must be very important. Do you have a guess what it could be about?¡± I shake my head. ¡°No, I¡¯ve got no clue. Do you know If something like that has ever happened before?¡± Alina tilts her head in thought. ¡°Dunno, but I¡¯d guess yes. I mean It¡¯s been 11.000 years since The Empire was founded¡­¡± ¡°Yeah, I agree. Still crazy.¡± Just now, I hear another door opening and Lucy comes running out, still in her sleeping clothes. ¡°Have you seen this?¡± She almost shouts when she catches sight of us. Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. I nod and Alina replies. ¡°Yeah, we have. We were just discussing it. Do you have a guess what this could be about?¡± Lucy glances at me and I give a slight shake of my head. She must have thought the same thing. The timing of this is crazy. We were just talking about it yesterday. ¡°Nope, but I¡¯d say it¡¯s either a war or a groundbreaking discovery¡­ Hmm, maybe someone advanced beyond Archmage?¡± Huh, would that even be possible? But good thought by Lucy. Alina barks a short laugh. ¡°That would be something, but I don¡¯t think that¡¯s possible. I guess we¡¯ll have to wait. At least we¡¯ve got time for a nice breakfast now.¡± She¡¯s right! We won¡¯t have any courses today because of it. Bit of a bummer, as it would have been my first joined class with RMA students. But the timing is pretty good, as it would have been the History of The Empire course. If I¡¯m right, and Grandpa John really announces Earth, then the curriculum in that course has to change. ¡°Yeah, let¡¯s make the most out of the day and go to the city,¡± I reply. ¡°Maybe breakfast at Nick¡¯s place? His grandma makes the best food.¡± Lucy nods eagerly. ¡°Great idea! I¡¯m going to give him a call. Oh, can one of you wake Lydia?¡± ¡°Yes, go ahead. I¡¯ll wake her up,¡± Alina answers. They both do their things, and I stay where I am. With a shrug, I cast the Communication spell and give Tim a call. I don¡¯t want to keep him out of our group breakfast. The spell connects. ¡°Morning Tim! I guess you saw the news?¡± ¡°Hi, Sara. Hell yeah, I have. This is¡­ I don¡¯t know what to say? No one in my family has seen something like that before.¡± ¡°Crazy, right? But I wanted to ask you if you¡¯d be down going out for breakfast with us in half an hour or something?¡± ¡°Uh, sure¡­ But what about the holiday? Are the breakfast places even open today?¡± He¡¯s got a point here¡­ ¡°Err, one moment.¡± I call out to Lucy. ¡°Lucy, can you ask Nick if his grandma opened her caf¨¦ today?¡± She lifts a finger and nods in acknowledgment. A few seconds later she nods. ¡°He said yes, so we¡¯re good.¡± ¡°Perfect, thanks!¡± I focus back on my communication with Tim. ¡°Nick¡¯s grandma¡¯s place is open today, so all is good. Just come over as soon as you are able, okay?¡± ¡°Perfect, I¡¯ll be right over. Just a quick shower. See you!¡± We both cut the spell, and I tell the others the news. Then I follow Tim¡¯s example and take a quick shower as well. I hear the knocks at our door when I finish drying my hair. I still have to use a dryer¡­ Can¡¯t wait to learn some useful spells for all those things in the Utility magic lessons. Anyway, I leave my room and join the others in the living room. Someone has already opened the front door, and Tim and Nick stand ready. I wave at them ¡°Hey there! Shall we?¡± Then I whisper to Clara. ¡°Can you get me the coordinates to a jump room close to Nick¡¯s caf¨¦?¡± Before Clara can reply, Nick speaks up. ¡°Actually, I¡¯ve got a better idea. You¡¯ve got Space Sense as a Master, right?¡± When I nod, he continues. ¡°Perfect, then how about we use the coordinates of the caf¨¦, and you tweak the spell with Space Sense that we land in my room one floor above? That way we can save us a lot of walking as the closest jump room is at the spaceport a few blocks away.¡± I nod slowly. ¡°Yeah, that should be possible, I think. Right, Clara?¡± ¡°Yes, he¡¯s right. He¡¯s pretty well-informed. That¡¯s not common knowledge after all.¡± I give Nick a thumbs-up. Clara says we¡¯re good. Are you all ready then?¡± When I get a nod from everyone, I cast the Teleportation spell and grab onto all my friends. Clara provides the caf¨¦¡¯s coordinates, then I trigger the spell. Before arriving right in the middle of the caf¨¦, I clamp down hard with Space Sense and stop the teleportation. I suddenly have a weird feeling of stopped time and focusing on the surroundings with Space Sense. I see the empty room above and set it as our new destination, then I take a mental step back and let the spell finish. We reappear in what I guess is Nick¡¯s old bedroom. His face flushes in embarrassment, and he quickly ushers us out of the room. Of course, I noticed his child-like starship linens, and keep them in my head for later teasing. We step down a set of stairs and are greeted by an older-looking lady on the ground floor. She is quick to hug Nick, which makes him blush even more. We do quick introductions, then Nick¡¯s grandma shows us to an empty table. She takes our orders, and less than ten minutes later, everyone has a steaming cup and a large breakfast before them. It was just as good as last time! After breakfast, we go all our separate ways. Before that though, I invite everyone to watch the Emperor¡¯s speech up on the Stargazer. They all agree of course. Once I¡¯m walking alone through the city, I spin up a Communication spell and aim for Dad. It¡¯s one of the first times I¡¯m using the long-distance version. Voice only, of course. I didn¡¯t even start practicing the Video Call one. The spell takes a while to connect. Dad¡¯s either very far away, or he¡¯s busy. Maybe even both? Anyway, he finally picks up. ¡°Sara! Nice to hear from you. I didn¡¯t expect your call at all¡­ Don¡¯t you have lessons today?¡± Yeah, I don¡¯t hear the irony at all¡­ Not a single bit of it. ¡°Nice try, Dad. You know exactly why I¡¯m calling you. Did you finally manage to open it?¡± Dad bursts out laughing. ¡°Guilty as charged. The vault is open, and I¡¯ve got Earth¡¯s location. Oh, and I also found Conor¡¯s initial message. It¡¯s exactly like we thought and sends the current head of the Valterion family on a trip to Earth to get the evidence.¡± ¡°That¡¯s amazing! I wish I was there when you opened the vault though.¡± ¡°Ah, don¡¯t worry. It wasn¡¯t that spectacular. You should be more excited about John¡¯s speech later on.¡± ¡°Huh, he¡¯s talking about Earth, right? Or is there more to it?¡± I can almost feel Dad¡¯s amusement through our connection. ¡°Oh, I won¡¯t tell you that. Your Grandfather wants to surprise you. I¡¯m sure you will like it.¡± Dang it, I should¡¯ve called later. Now I have to wait hours in anticipation. ¡°Come on, Dad. At least give me a clue, pretty please.¡± ¡°Nope, sorry, I have to go. See you around.¡± The spell disconnects. Somehow, I have the feeling this was on purpose so that he could have the last word in¡­ This spells hours of waiting now. It¡¯s probably the best to try practicing my spells. Otherwise, I¡¯ll die of boredom. With that, I return to my dorm room and sit down on my bed cross-legged. I fall into a trance while practicing my spells and before I know it, it¡¯s almost time for Grandpa John¡¯s speech. The others are already waiting in the living room, and a quick jump later, we¡¯re up on the Stargazer. We sit down on the armchair and sofas in the onboard living room, and I flip on the holographic projectors in the room. Punctually, at 3 p.m., a life-size hologram of Grandpa John appears before us. I actually have to do a double take, as I almost don¡¯t recognize him. He looks just so different! Gone are his normal clothes and kind smiles. He now wears a stern expression and the clothes he wears are what you would expect of a ruler. He holds something resembling a scepter in his left hand and there is a crown full of gemstones on his head. He¡¯s silent at the moment, but his green gaze seems to look directly into our eyes, even through the hologram. Then he starts speaking. Even his voice sounds a bit different. I don¡¯t know how to describe it. The closest approximation would be more regal? Yeah, I decide at that moment to tease him about all this when I see him next time. ¡°Citizens of the Magicon Empire, it is a rare occurrence that an Emperor speaks to you like this. In fact, this is only the 121st time in the history of our Empire. The reasons for such speeches were various, but they always carried a certain weight. Today is no different. Arguably, today''s news is the greatest we¡¯ve had in the past 2.000 years, maybe even longer. Therefore, I¡¯m announcing a week-long holiday for celebration, beginning tomorrow.¡± After a short pause, then Grandpa John stares even more intensely into the camera. ¡°Recently, a member of the Big Five families managed to find a place which we thought lost forever.¡± Lucy and Lydia look at me with a knowing smirk. All the others stare at Grandpa John¡¯s hologram with wide eyes. ¡°They managed to bring their discovery back home to us, and after checking the evidence, I can now proudly present you the rediscovery of planet Earth in the Solar System!¡± Next to him appears another hologram. This time it¡¯s a short video, consisting of various pictures. There are gasps all around me, and I can¡¯t help myself and gasp as well. Those are my pictures that are now shown to every single person within The Empire and who knows where else! Of course, Grandpa John only shows the pictures where I¡¯m not visible, but still¡­ Nick, Tim, and Alina talk over each other, and I don¡¯t understand a single word. Before I can comprehend anything, Grandpa John continues speaking and everyone quiets down again. ¡°But this is not all. Not only have we found Earth, but we¡¯ve also managed to confirm that all the radiation caused by the Worldender Ship is gone.¡± Another short pause, to let the fact sink in. Tim manages to voice his thoughts. ¡°That¡­ That means¡­ Holy shit, that means someone can get there!¡± ¡°Yes, you heard right. This means that we can now return to the Solar System. Now, our nation wouldn¡¯t be as it is today if we made it easy and convenient for everyone. Therefore, access to Earth will be heavily restricted during the next ten years. Earth and the Solar System will be used for our brilliant youth to fulfill their potential and go even a step beyond. ¡°Top performing students at our prime universities and Peacekeeper academies will be assigned to various teams that explore Earth and the Solar System. Those teams compete with each other, fighting for the grand prize: The Noble title of Count and oversight of the Solar System, which will be integrated into The Empire as a new County.¡± I let out a loud laugh after hearing this. Everything just comes bursting out. When I get some questioning glances, I compose myself a bit. ¡°You guys know what this means, right? We¡¯re so going to join that competition!¡± This causes a short discussion, but in the end, everyone agrees. Surprisingly, Grandpa John was silent during our conversation as if he was waiting for us to finish. Hmm, maybe that¡¯s even true¡­ ¡°The competition starts after the current college year ends and will last for the full following year. So, to our students, I wish you good luck, and may the best and brightest of you win. John Benson out!¡± ¡°Fuuuuuuck!¡± Tim calls out again. ¡°I can¡¯t believe it. This is crazy. I¡­ Sorry guys, but I have to go¡­¡± He suddenly teleports out with a purple flash. I just stare at where he¡¯s just been. What the hell? Maja’s Adventures 5 Maja¡¯s Adventures 5 Location: Magicon Empire; Armortec Duchy; Cintman System; PAS Andala Maja stands on the bridge of the Andala in shock. Sure, she expected it to happen sometime, but not so fast, and certainly not like this. The hologram of Emperor John Benson is still frozen right in front of the consoles. Of course, it has to happen in the first week I¡¯m taking command of a training ship¡­ Maja turns to Ellie who is her second in command during this exercise. It¡¯s their first exercise on a real starship, and Maja worked hard during the past months to earn the position of captain. The group started their real Peacekeeper training immediately after the survival camp. First, down on Cintman 3 with basic drills, then back up on one of the space stations where they learned what it means to be a Peacekeeper. After that, training drifted more and more into the actual command track, and the fifty cadets learned about leadership, and most importantly about the different departments on a starship. All this led to the climax, where the cadets take on real roles aboard a starship, during a practice mission. This includes a full crew consisting of other academy tacks, including a full contingent of Mages. Now, the whole mission of rescuing the crew of a stranded starship ¨C all part of the exercise ¨C is merely a thought in the back of everyone¡¯s head. The Emperor¡¯s speech was too shocking. Especially the revelation that Peacekeeper cadets will be allowed to visit Earth as well. Maja finally catches Ellie¡®s attention. ¡°Hey Ellie, can you ask command what we¡¯re supposed to do now?¡± I mean the Emperor announced a week-long holiday¡­ Sure, we ignored it so far, but maybe now is different? Ellie looks back at Maja with wide eyes. She¡¯s still shocked by the speech. ¡°What?¡± She shakes her head, and a bit of clarity returns to her eyes. ¡°Oh, right. Yeah, I can do that. One moment, please.¡± She starts tapping on her interface, and Maja sits down. She takes a moment to look around on the bridge. There are familiar faces all around. Maja wonders if Sara¡¯s mom played a role in this. Simon is one of her Space Mages, Thomas is the tactical officer, and Shay is part of the boarding forces. The remaining officers are all people from her command course. She catches Thomas¡¯s gaze, there is an unspoken question in it. No, Maja didn¡¯t know about this before. She shakes her head, and Thomas nods. She continues to send him a message asking him to meet her in her office in a few minutes. She sends the same one to Simon and Shay. Meanwhile, Ellie calls for her attention again, this time using the proper form of address. ¡°Captain, I¡¯ve got a reply from command. We are to continue with our mission despite the holiday.¡± Makes sense, the military has to be available at all times¡­ ¡°Thanks, commander. Please inform the crew. I¡¯ll be in my office.¡± Ellie nods and Maja gets up. She nods at Thomas and Simon, and they both start to follow her. Inside her office, she slumps down on her chair. The others sit down opposite her, and Shay arrives soon after. They stare at each other in silence until Thomas clears his throat. ¡°Wow, did anyone of you expect this?¡± Everyone shakes their heads. ¡°No, not at all. I mean sure, Sara¡¯s dad worked on the vault, but I didn¡¯t expect it to happen so fast,¡± Maja replies. ¡°I certainly didn¡¯t expect the competition.¡° Simon is nodding eagerly. ¡°I know, right? And did I hear this right? We might be able to join!¡± ¡°You did. I¡¯m wondering if this is intentional, though.¡± ¡°What do you mean, Shay?¡± Thomas asks. ¡°Well, the competition is for students at the colleges¡­ That has to be a cover for Sara so that she can join. And now the military cadets can join too. And well, here we are. We¡¯re all friends of Sara.¡± She might be right. A bummer that our communications are still blocked. Thomas leans back in his chair. ¡°Huh, I didn¡¯t think of that before, but now¡­ Yeah, you¡¯re probably right. What does that mean for us, though?¡± Maja clears her throat. ¡°It means that we have to be the best! We have to pass this mission with flying colors. You have to get your departments in line, we can¡¯t slack off now!¡± That earns her nods all around. ¡°Aye, captain.¡± Maja returns to the bridge and calls everyone to attention. There she repeats what she just said in private. The bridge crew is silent but soon starts nodding. Then she gets another chorus of ¡°Aye, captain.¡± Alright, let¡¯s get started! A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
A few hours of flight later, normalcy more or less returned to the bridge of the Andala. The ship is steadily closing to its destination. First scans show a stranded freighter, just like the mission briefing said. Maja currently sits in the captain¡¯s chair and watches the scanners. Thomas and his assistant at the tactical console do the same, while the helmsman coordinates with Dina, the Andala¡¯s AI. Said AI is actually an alter ego of Maja, which runs in the background. Maja is more than capable of filling out two roles aboard the ship. The scanner refreshes and now shows a clearer picture of the freighter. Maja frowns. Is that debris around the ship? And a hole in their hull? Am I paranoid or does it look unnatural? She looks at Ellie. ¡°Commander Zekic, do you have a moment?¡± ¡°Sure, captain, what do you need?¡± ¡°Take a look at this¡­ What do you think?¡± A mental command has the scan of the freighter appear as a hologram between the two women. Ellie steps closer and looks. She starts frowning as well. ¡°I¡¯m not sure, but it looks like they were attacked¡­ We should proceed with caution. I¡¯ll inform tactical and do some planning with them.¡± Maja nods to dismiss her. ¡°Thank you, keep me informed.¡± She sends a ping to lieutenant Fraser at the helm through her Dina disguise. He finishes making some adjustments, then gets up and walks over to Maja and salutes. ¡°Captain, Dina informed me you wanted to talk to me?¡± ¡°At ease, lieutenant, And yes, we¡¯ve had some uncertain developments at our target. We need to approach more cautiously. Can you adjust our course so that we¡¯ll approach on an angle and slow us down a bit until we know more?¡± He nods once. ¡°Certainly, I¡¯ll do so immediately!¡± He returns to his console and Maja leans back in her chair. She closes her eyes for a moment to think. The most probable reason for their damage is pirates¡­ But they didn¡¯t say so in their distress call. It could be an ambush, but who in their right mind would attack a military ship? Hmm, Sara certainly met such an idiot. But I can¡¯t count on it. There must be another reason¡­ The Andala continues to approach the freighter with caution. Once they¡¯re close enough, Maja orders the communication officer to try to contact them. The young woman at the console does so and manages to form a connection. After a quick conversation with Maja, the officer puts the call on the main screen. A projection of a middle-aged man appears, and Maja steps forward. ¡°Good day, sir, this is captain Yarin of the Andala. We¡¯re responding to your distress call, can you give us a rundown on the situation, please?¡± The man stays silent for a few seconds of light speed lag, then he responds. ¡°Hello, captain, and thanks for responding so quickly. We¡¯ve had a run-in with a nasty asteroid floating around. It went by our sensors, unnoticed, and damaged our ship quite badly on impact¡­ There is extensive damage to our engines¡­ We¡¯re unable to move, and the whole ship is unstable. We have to evacuate as soon as possible.¡± Maja frowns a bit but mentally alters the video feed to show her with a normal expression. That sounds wrong¡­ Now that we¡¯re closer it looks more like the explosion came from inside the ship. What game is he playing? I should play along for now. ¡°We¡¯re happy to assist. What do you need from us? And why didn¡¯t you use the escape pods if the situation is critical?¡± The man¡¯s smile slips a little. ¡°Unfortunately, that¡¯s not possible¡­ You see, we¡¯re carrying special cargo for Franklin Industries, I just forwarded you the bill of lading for it. We¡¯re obligated to take the cargo with us if we ever had to evacuate the ship. Unfortunately, our sole shuttle was destroyed by the asteroid¡¯s impact. This would have freed us from the contract, of course, but at this point, you¡¯ve already responded to our distress call and our engineers deemed it safe enough to wait for your arrival and fulfill the contract. What I¡¯m trying to say is that we¡¯d very much appreciate it if you¡¯d send us a shuttle.¡± Maja nods. ¡°We can do that. Hold tight, we¡¯ll send you a shuttle as soon as we¡¯re closer.¡± A mental command cuts the connection, and the video cuts off. ¡°Commander Zekic, lieutenant Nelson, please join me in my office. Lieutenant Fraser, you have the conn.¡± Thomas and Ellie both nod in acknowledgment and Maja sends a message to Shay as well. Lieutenant Fraser gets up and takes over the captain¡¯s chair. Maja enters her office, and the others follow her. Shay arrives soon after. Maja quickly tells Shay what the person from the freighter told them, then continues to voice her thoughts. ¡°Something¡¯s off here¡­ The damage can¡¯t be from an asteroid, and well, my gut tells me not to trust that man.¡± Ellie adds her thoughts. ¡°And there is the part with that special cargo as well¡­ Honestly, I think it¡¯s a pirate attack gone wrong, and now they''re trying to escape with their loot right under our noses.¡± She shakes a bit in anger at the end. She¡¯s got a history with pirates, and it would make sense. There is one problem though. Maja shakes her head. ¡°That¡¯s the only thing that¡¯s foolproof in his tale. I checked his bill of lading, and everything he told us about that cargo is true. I¡¯m not saying that it isn¡¯t pirates, but honestly, I wouldn¡¯t bet my money on it.¡± ¡°Hmm,¡± Ellie is deep in thought. ¡°So what can we do? We¡¯re obviously not complying with his request for a shuttle.¡± Maja looks at Thomas. ¡°Can you do another scan? It would be best if you look for life forms. If it¡¯s pirates, the crew has to be somewhere¡­ If they haven¡¯t killed them at least.¡± ¡°I can do that, yes. Give me a minute.¡± He continues under his breath. ¡°Dina, can you connect me to my console, please?¡± Maja smiles to herself and does so. Thomas smiles slightly. A minute later, he looks back up. ¡°I¡¯ve got something, but I¡¯m not sure what to make out of it.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± Shay asks. ¡°There is a big group of people together in what I¡¯ve identified as the mess hall. There are more people standing at the entrances. A few are at engineering, and the remainder is on the bridge.¡± Ellie scowls. ¡°That sounds like pirates have taken the crew hostage.¡± Thomas shakes his head. ¡°One would think so, yes, but the numbers are wrong¡­ The number of people aboard the freighter is almost identical to the number of crew such a ship has. I don¡¯t know what to make of it. If the pirates killed more than half the crew, why even bother with leaving the rest alive?¡± Something clicks in Maja¡¯s head. It¡¯s a mutiny! It has to be. Maja conveys her thoughts, which causes another round of discussion. ¡°That¡¯s certainly a possibility,¡± Shay replies. Ellie frowns. ¡°I still think it¡¯s pirates¡­ But does it even matter? We have to apprehend them no matter what.¡± Maja looks back at Shay. ¡°That¡¯s your job. Can you plan out some scenarios?¡± ¡°Sure, I¡¯ll have them ready for review before we¡¯re close enough to the freighter. I¡¯ll get right to it, if I may.¡± ¡°Yes, go ahead, we¡¯re finished here. Lieutenant Nelson, can you alter our shields to be more stealthy? Best would be if they are undetectable. I don¡¯t want to get closer unprotected but I also don¡¯t want to tip them off.¡± He nods. ¡°Yeah, that shouldn¡¯t be a problem.¡± Maja dismisses him, then invites Ellie to sit down opposite her. ¡°Are you alright?¡± Ellie shakes her head. ¡°I will be¡­ The possibility of there being pirates hit me harder than I thought. Even if I know that this is only a training mission.¡± ¡°I get it¡­ Truly. I¡¯ll be there if you want to talk, anytime.¡± Ellie gets back up. ¡°Thank you, I appreciate it. But not now. We¡¯ve got a mission to complete.¡± Maja follows her out of the room. ¡°True enough, those mutineers or pirates won¡¯t catch themselves.¡± Ellie chuckles darkly, and they return to their consoles. The freighter is now barely visible through the front-facing window. A ping for her Dina persona shows her that both Thomas and Shay are ready. Alright then, let¡¯s get this started! Chapter 102: National Holidays Chapter 102: National Holidays Location: Magicon Empire; Magicon System; VS Stargazer ¡°Uhm, where did he go?¡± Alina asks the question, we¡¯ve all been asking ourselves, out loud. Tim just teleported away after completely losing it. Sure, if you didn¡¯t know about anything before Grandpa John¡¯s speech, it comes as quite a shock I suppose, but still. Why would Tim care so much? He¡¯s just a random dude¡­ Or I¡¯m right and he is in disguise, just like I am! ¡°I don¡¯t know, Alina¡­ It¡¯s weird. What could be more important than discussing the news with us?¡± ¡°Right,¡± Alina replies. ¡°The news¡­ How can you be so calm? This is fucking insane! I mean Earth. Holy shit! Who would¡¯ve thought?¡± I make a bit of a face at her cursing but inwardly I sigh in resignation. If those crazy things keep happening around me, I don¡¯t think I can keep my friends from cursing from time to time¡­ So be it. I don¡¯t even know what to say to Alina just now. For me, Earth is old news¡­ How do I react to this that it¡¯s believable? Luckily Nick comes to the rescue. ¡°You tell me, Alina. I don¡¯t even know what to say. I thought being the first in my family to go to FBC would be big¡­ But this? I don¡¯t have the words for it.¡± Lydia quickly joins in. ¡°Imagine what we could find there. This must be a trove of treasure, right Sara?¡± That¡¯s a question I can work with, thank you, Lydia. ¡°Yeah, all the Big Five had their companies there. In a single star system! All the things left behind are just waiting for us to be found. And I mean for us. Can you believe that the Emperor wants to use it as a training ground for the younger generation?¡± ¡°No, not at all¡­ It¡¯s crazy. Why would he do this?¡± Alina replies. ¡°There are millions of people better qualified than we are.¡± Lucy takes that moment to joke and winks at me without the others noticing. ¡°Maybe he has a, I don¡¯t know how many times granddaughter going to one of the colleges he wants to spoil?¡± Nick snorts. ¡°Haven¡¯t you heard? He just exiled his own son a few weeks back. I don¡¯t think he¡¯s got much love for the family left.¡± Huh, I completely missed that this news got out. ¡°Really?¡± Lydia asks, staring wide-eyed between Nick and me. Yeah, I haven¡¯t told them¡­ But it wasn¡¯t important anyway. ¡°Yeah,¡± Nick replies. ¡°It hasn¡¯t been on the mainstream media, but some tabloid newspapers jumped on it like vipers after Karl Benson cried about his lost fortune.¡± I burst out laughing as I imagine my hippie grandfather crying into the cameras about his lost funding. Alina looks at me. ¡°What¡¯s so funny?¡± I wipe a few tears out of my eyes. ¡°Well, the fact that we jumped from Earth to Benson family drama and Karl Benson crying about being disowned. I mean look at him. He looks like a hippy. Imagine him becoming Emperor in the future.¡± They stare at me in confusion, and I stare back. ¡°Have you never seen a picture of him and his wife?¡± When they shake their heads, a bad feeling starts to rise inside me. Have I messed up? Isn¡¯t this common knowledge? Luckily Clara comes to the rescue and fires up one of the holo projectors. A picture of my hippie grandparents appears, and Clara speaks over the speakers. ¡°Pictures of them aren¡¯t common, but here, take a look, that¡¯s from about 200 years ago when Christopher Valterion was born.¡± Lucy starts laughing. ¡°Oh! Now I know what you mean.¡± That breaks the ice, and the others join in. We talk a bit more about Earth and stuff, but one thing stays in our minds. We want to join the competition next year. Not only join, but we want to win it. A while later I teleport us all back down to the planet and we grab something to eat. Luckily some restaurants are still open even after Grandpa John announced a national holiday. Everywhere we go, Earth is the sole topic people are talking about. People are completely going crazy. Some even start praising various gods for their divine intervention and whatever. A lot of students on campus also have that gleam in their eyes. They all want to join the competition! It¡¯s complete madness. Even the slacking students suddenly start taking things seriously. I noticed a guy being so immersed in his interface that he walked against a lamppost. The funniest thing was that even after falling to the ground, he didn¡¯t stop mumbling complex formulas. The next day isn¡¯t different. Alina locks herself in her room, saying she has to study, and Lydia and Lucy ask if they can use one of the Stargazer¡¯s cargo bays as training rooms, as suddenly all magical training rooms are booked for months. This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. I happily agree and give them a lift upstairs. Luckily, Mom and Dad¡¯s renovation of the ship included some heavy reinforcements, so that the cargo bays should easily withstand a bit of magic. At least as long as Lucy doesn¡¯t throw around Master level attack spells. That leaves me alone down on the planet as Nick has to help his grandmother in the caf¨¦. Tim is still missing. He hasn¡¯t returned a single time since he vanished from the Stargazer right after Grandpa John¡¯s speech. Hmm, that¡¯s a good idea, actually. Why don¡¯t I go for a visit to Benson Moon? I return to my dorm room and knock at Alina¡¯s door. She responds with a slightly muffled ¡°hmmm?¡± ¡°Hi Alina, it¡¯s Sara. I just wanted to let you know that I¡¯ll be out for a while as well. Good luck with your studies!¡± ¡°Alright, see you.¡± Then I have Clara set the coordinates for the jump room with the disguise chamber in my great-grandparents¡¯ mansion and jump there. I enter the chamber and shed my Sara Green disguise. Then I step back outside. This time, no one is waiting for me at the exit, so I just go outside and walk around. Clara shows me a map on my interface, and I decide to check out Grandma Amelia¡¯s office first. It¡¯s a short walk, and surprisingly I don¡¯t meet other people while walking through the hallways. When I knock at the office, a female voice asks me to enter. It¡¯s not Grandma Amelia¡¯s voice, though. I open the door and step inside. A young-looking blonde woman with a dark blue women¡¯s suit and heels, standing beside a desk, looks at me. ¡°You¡¯re not Ben,¡± she states, and I shake my head. ¡°No, I¡¯m not¡­ I¡¯m looking for, uhh, Amelia Benson. Am I wrong here?¡± Suddenly a frown enters her face. ¡°It is the Empress¡¯s office,¡± she emphasizes Grandma Amelia¡¯s title. ¡°But she¡¯s not here right now. I¡¯m her secretary, and a meeting with a young girl like yourself isn¡¯t on today¡¯s schedule. Who are you anyway and how did you get in?¡± Her posture changes completely, and she enters a more aggressive stand. ¡°You¡¯ve got 10 seconds to answer.¡± I take a step back, suddenly feeling very uncertain. ¡°I¡­ uh, I¡¯m Sara¡­¡± She interrupts me with a surprised shout and all her aggression is washed away. ¡°Ohhh! You¡¯re the Sara! It¡¯s so nice to meet you. I¡¯m sorry for not recognizing you earlier. Please sit down. Your grandmother will be right back. Just ignore Ben when he comes in to deliver a few things in a minute.¡± I do just so, and like she said, a few minutes later Ben comes in, delivers something, and leaves again. He looks like a stoic butler out of a story with short hair, and he even wears glasses. The only thing wrong is his age, as he doesn¡¯t look old at all. The secretary whose name is Victoria, or Vic as she insists, meanwhile gets me something to eat and talks a lot about herself. I just nod or make confirming sounds at the right moments. It¡¯s a bit weird. She already knows almost everything about me. She must be very close to Grandma Amelia. And like I said. She. Talks. A. Lot! Finally, I find a moment to interrupt her. ¡°Uh, Vic¡­ Do you know when Grandma Amelia will be back? I¡¯ve got some things to ask her.¡± ¡°Oh, sorry, sorry, I completely forgot. She should be here any moment now¡­ But things aren¡¯t that sure at the moment. The announcement of Earth blew up every expectation we had¡­ Oh, speaking of Earth. You have to tell me everything!¡± She looks at me with pleading eyes from her position in the chair across me. Oh, so she really knows everything, everything about me! I lean back and start telling her a bit about Earth. Mostly about all the destruction and stuff, as I don¡¯t know what exactly I¡¯m allowed to tell her. It doesn¡¯t matter, probably, as she already knows about almost everything anyway, but still¡­ Luckily, I soon hear steps from outside the door, and seconds later Grandma Amelia steps in. She immediately sees me and shows me a big grin. ¡°Sara! Welcome, I hope Vic didn¡¯t bother you too much?¡± She asks with a wink, and I can¡¯t help it and laugh a little when I get up to hug her. ¡°Hi, Grandma Amelia. And no, it was all good.¡± ¡°That¡¯s great. I¡¯m sorry, I couldn¡¯t be here earlier, but things are very busy right now. John¡¯s announcement triggered an avalanche of annoyances, I have to deal with. But that¡¯s nothing to concern you with.¡± She sits down behind her desk and lets out a soft sigh. ¡°Let me guess, you¡¯re here for the competition, right?¡± ¡°Yes, exactly,¡± I reply. ¡°Why did Grandpa John do it this way, basically banning all the more qualified people from exploring Earth for ten years? Is it just for me?¡± There is a short snort from Vic, but she quickly composes herself. Then Grandma Amelia replies. ¡°Believe it or not, while you are important to us, you are not the center of the universe, Sara.¡± She¡¯s still grinning, but I feel my cheeks going red in embarrassment anyway. ¡°The original plan was to announce Earth to The Empire¡¯s 20,000th birthday, as this was the prediction when it will be habitable again. As this is way in the future, nothing has been done for the resettlement yet. This is where the ten-year period comes in. While the youth can train their skills, the remainder of The Empire can prepare for the resettlement process in ten years. You being one of those young people is just a bonus,¡± she winks again. Oh! That makes sense. I laugh awkwardly. ¡°Hehe, okay, sorry for thinking myself that important¡­¡± ¡°None of that! You are important. Why do you think John invited more than just students from RMA to the competition?¡± My eyes widen. Right, this is what all this is about. Nobles get privileges in exchange for great service to The Empire. One such privilege would be the exploration of the Solar System! ¡°Oh¡­¡± That¡¯s all I manage to say. I manage to compose myself a bit later. We¡¯ve gone completely off-topic. I¡¯m here to ask something else. ¡°Can you say thanks to Grandpa John then, please?¡± When she nods, I continue. ¡°What I actually wanted to ask earlier is how do my friends and I get selected as participants for the competition?¡± Grandma Amelia grins broadly. A mischievous glint in her eyes. ¡°By studying hard and being the best in your class, of course.¡± I stare back at her. ¡°Really? Not that I plan to slack in college, but really? Grandpa John does all this and then I¡¯m not even guaranteed a spot?¡± Grandma Amelia doesn¡¯t reply, she just looks back at me in amusement. Next to me, Vic¡¯s composure shatters, and she starts laughing. ¡°You¡¯ve got no clue, right?¡± ¡°What?¡± She can barely keep herself under control, and even Grandma Amelia shakes from suppressing her laughter. What the hell? Vic continues. ¡°We don¡¯t have to pull any strings to get you into the competition. Your teammate is already taking care of it.¡± Who would take care of it? Oh! Right, Tim! I was right. He is more than he told us! Grandma Amelia finally lets her grin show. ¡°Ahh, there you go.¡± ¡°It¡¯s Tim, right? Something¡¯s wrong with him¡­ I¡¯m guessing he¡¯s a Noble, right? Can you tell me who he really is?¡± Grandma Amelia shakes her head. ¡°He is a Noble, yes. I¡¯ll tell you that much because you¡¯ve already found out. Anything else? I¡¯m not going to tell you. That¡¯s good training for your investigative skills.¡± ¡°And it would kill all the fun,¡± Vic chimes in from the side. I glare at her but can¡¯t hold it that long before a grin finds its way onto my face. ¡°Fine, challenge accepted. I¡¯ll find out during my time on Earth. If so, you owe me one.¡± Vic offers her hand. ¡°Deal!¡± We shake. Grandma Amelia claps her hands. ¡°Looks like the two of you go well with each other. Vic, you¡¯re joining Sara during the competition to protect her and guide her a bit.¡± ¡°I am?¡± Vic asks shocked and Grandma Amelia grins back.¡± ¡°You are. This will be good for you, grandniece.¡± Grandniece? Vic¡¯s my cousin?! Chapter 103: Support Staff Chapter 103: Support Staff Location: Magicon Empire; Magicon System; Benson Moon; Amelia Benson¡¯s office I turn to Vic in shock. ¡°You¡¯re my cousin?¡± She shrugs. ¡°Technically not¡­ We¡¯re further apart than cousins, but it sounds nice, so yeah, I guess cousin it is.¡± ¡°Vic is the great-granddaughter of my brother if this helps,¡± Grandma Amelia chimes in. So Vic¡¯s right. I don¡¯t think that even counts as related anymore. But still why not? Cousin has a nice ring to it, and I do like Vic. I shrug. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. I like cousin better than great great grand whatever¡­¡± Vic chuckles. ¡°Yeah, me too.¡± Then she looks at Grandma Amelia. ¡°But back to the actual topic¡­ I¡¯m joining Sara on her expedition to Earth?¡± ¡°You are,¡± Grandma Amelia replies. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you don¡¯t want to see Earth.¡± ¡°Of course, I want to see Earth! But Sara¡¯s going to be all in Sara Green mode¡­ How do I fit in there? And what about Tim? You know I hate to disguise myself.¡± ¡°Well, you won¡¯t join as Sara¡¯s cousin, of course. And you won¡¯t be under a disguise either.¡± Grandma Amelia seems to be enjoying the moment, as she grins broadly at the confusion on Vic¡¯s and my face. ¡°You¡¯ll be joining the expedition as an official from The Empire to look after Sara and her team and ensure that they play by the rules. This means the two of you have to get to know each other again.¡± She makes air quotes when she says the last part. Vic looks completely flabbergasted. ¡°I¡­ I¡¯m going to be there as an official representative of The Empire?! That¡­ But I¡¯m just a secretary?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t sell yourself short, Vic. You¡¯re more than qualified. Why do you think you are my secretary? You¡¯re already doing half of my job most of the time. Combine that with your magic and then tell me again that you aren¡¯t qualified.¡± ¡°Oh!¡± She looks lost for words for a moment. ¡°Thank you, Amelia!¡± Grandma Amelia stands up. ¡°You¡¯re welcome, now come here, both of you.¡± We both stand up and she hugs us. ¡°I¡¯m proud of you both!¡± After that, she also has to say goodbye, as her next appointment is waiting. I talk a bit more with Vic, and we exchange contacts. Then it¡¯s time for me to leave as well, as Vic also has a lot of work to do. Unfortunately, Grandpa John is completely busy for the remainder of the week, so I jump back to the Stargazer and collect Lucy and Lydia. Then we all teleport back down to the planet, after a short stop in the disguise chamber, of course. There, we get some food and get to bed early. Everyone¡¯s pretty exhausted after the day. The next two days pass pretty much the same. There is still no trace of Tim, and I take Lucy and Lydia up to the Stargazer to train their spells. This time, I join them, and get some work done with the Video Call spell. It¡¯s annoying that I can only practice it when no one besides Lucy and Lydia is there as it¡¯s a Master level spell. This makes my progress very slow. At least the weeklong holiday speeds things up considerably. Things get boring after a while though, and so I finally manage to convince Alina to leave her room and join us the day after. Lucy also pulls Nick along, and I teleport the five of us to the ship. As we¡¯re now more people up there, we obviously find more chances to talk with each other, and the training falls short¡­ It¡¯s still fun, so absolutely worth it. On Sunday we take things a bit slower and decide as a group to ask Dave and his friends about the idea Lucy had a few days earlier. We invite them over to our room, and when they arrive, everyone immediately starts talking about Earth. I should have expected it¡­ Especially Toby talks with a level of passion I hadn¡¯t imagined at all from the big and muscled guy. Anyway, when I finally manage to change the discussion to the actual competition, they all just shrug. ¡°We¡¯re not really looking into it,¡± Kylie replies. ¡°Not that we have a chance anyway.¡± I shake my head and grab her shoulder. ¡°None of that, Kylie. Lucy had an idea, and I think this will work out beautifully.¡± Now they all look at me with interest. I point at Lucy. ¡°It¡¯s your idea, go ahead.¡± She lets out a short laugh. ¡°Sure. Well, I was thinking that Earth has to be in ruins, right? So that¡¯s perfect for archeologists. Then why don¡¯t we join our two groups for the competition and compete together? That way we¡¯ll probably have much better chances for the grand prize.¡± Dave grins back at her. ¡°That sounds amazing, but we¡¯re all still facing the issue of even being allowed to join¡­¡± ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± Lena chines in. ¡°Think of all the rich Noble kids from RMA.¡± This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. I nod in reply. ¡°That¡¯s true, but we¡¯re working on it. In the meantime, try to be the best students you can be. Especially in the Archeology course.¡± Fabio looks at me with wide eyes. ¡°How can you be so confident? Do you have connections that high?¡± ¡°No, but apparently Tim has, so we¡¯ll see once he returns.¡± ¡°Oh, okay¡­,¡± Fabio replies, still sounding unsure. Kylie rallies her friends. ¡°Come on guys, we¡¯ve got this. We even have the best Space Mage ever for our Archeology course.¡± She winks at me, and I have to laugh. At least the others now look a bit more confident. They also leave soon after, and I decide to relax for the rest of the day. I take a lift to the rooftop of building 14 and lie down in one of the loungers that stand up there for just that purpose. I close my eyes and doze off. I dunno how much time has passed, but I¡¯m awoken by a spell ringing in my head. I just accept the call without checking who it is. ¡°Hi, Sara!¡± I sit up straight. It¡¯s Jack! ¡°Jack?? Hi! So nice to hear from you! How are you doing?¡± I¡¯m good, thanks. Oh, and the others say hi as well. Anyway, you can probably guess why I¡¯m calling, right? And sorry for not calling earlier but things were kinda busy with us starting a company and all.¡± ¡°Hey, don¡¯t worry, Jack. I understand. I mean I didn¡¯t call you either, right? We¡¯re both shitty friends.¡± I try to say that with a straight voice, but a laugh immediately bursts out. Jack starts chuckling as well. ¡°Oh, we are!¡± He replies between fits of laughter. It takes a while, but we manage to compose ourselves again. ¡°Anyway, I wanted to talk to you about Earth,¡± Jack says and jumps onto the obvious topic. ¡°Who would have guessed?¡± I reply with an amused voice but keep my laughter down this time. ¡°Right¡­ What I wanted to ask is if you¡¯re joining the competition. You are, right? I mean it¡¯s your discovery¡­ Kind of an idiot question now that I think of it.¡± ¡°Hey, it¡¯s not an idiotic question. Spots in the competition are limited. Only the best get to join. But you¡¯re right, I am joining. I asked Grandma Amelia, and she told me that the wheels are turning in the background to get me and my team in. Don¡¯t worry, Lucy is part of my team.¡± ¡°Grandma Amelia?¡± Jack asks. Oh, right, he doesn¡¯t know about her and Grandpa John yet. ¡°Ah, sorry, I forgot you don¡¯t know. It¡¯s the Empress¡­¡± ¡°The hell¡­? Of course, you call the freakin¡¯ Empress Grandma Amelia¡­¡± I get the impression of a head shake over the spell, which causes another few chuckles. ¡°But I¡¯m glad that Lucy gets to join as well. This will be good for her. Now I kinda hate myself for not going to college though.¡± That¡¯s sad. I mean how cool would it be to include Jack, Alex, and Greg on our team? Hell, why not Ronja as well? I mean a doctor is always nice to have. And what about Maja and the others? Man, I wish this would be possible. Actually¡­ Grandpa John said students from the Peacekeeper academies get to join as well. Is it possible to include some support staff from external sources as well? ¡°Sara? You still there?¡± That shakes me out of it. ¡°Sorry, Jack¡­ What you said got me thinking. Maybe it is possible to get you to join as well. Do you know how to group call with the Communication spell?¡± ¡°You think you could? But yeah, I do know how to do it. Why you¡¯re asking?¡± ¡°Yeah, I do. Let me make another call real quick and let¡¯s say you connect to it in five minutes. Just call me again, and I¡¯ll add you in.¡± ¡°That¡¯s amazing! And yes, let¡¯s do it. I¡¯ll call you again in five minutes.¡± He cuts the spell, and I immediately cast my own Communication spell and aim for Vic. She¡¯s gotta know if it¡¯s possible to include Jack and the others on my team. She¡¯s going to be our referee after all. As I don¡¯t know how to group call myself yet, we have to set it up like this. Otherwise, I could have added Vic to the previous call right away. Now I have to start a regular call, and Jack has to jump onto it as a secondary anchor. Luckily, Vic picks up quickly. This would have been embarrassing if she hadn¡¯t. ¡°Hey Sara, what¡¯s up?¡± ¡°Hi Vic, I¡¯ve got some questions about the Earth competition. Do you have a few minutes?¡± ¡°Sure, go ahead.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll add a friend to the call in a few minutes, it¡¯s actually about him, so we¡¯ll have to wait a bit.¡± Vic voices her acknowledgment, and we wait while doing some small talk. Even faster than expected, Jack¡¯s spell knocks at my mind. It¡¯s a bit of a struggle, but I manage to weave the spell together. Then I hear Jack in my head as well. ¡°Looks like it worked. Hi Jack, this is my Cousin Vic. Vic, this is Jack, one of my friends from way back.¡± They both exchange pleasantries, but soon the topic switches back to Earth and the competition. I clear my throat and start to explain my thoughts. ¡°So Grandpa John said that both students from the colleges and Peacekeeper Academy form teams to compete against each other for the grand prize, right?¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s what he said¡­¡± Vic replies with a bit of a confused voice. ¡°Perfect. So, Jack here owns a small transportation company, and he really wants to see Earth as well. Especially after all my talks about the planet during our travels to The Empire. Now here¡¯s my question. Are we allowed to include more people as something like support staff? I mean having Jack to get us some supplies or his ship as additional storage space would be amazing.¡± Vic is silent for a moment, and I can imagine Jack holding his breath in anticipation. ¡°I guess that should be possible,¡± Vic replies. ¡°The only real requirement is that everyone must be of college age, as the competition is only for the current generation. So that we can get some real-life experience in addition to our studies. And even if it wasn¡¯t intended to include external people as support staff before, I¡¯m pretty sure the Emperor will change the rules to accommodate you.¡± Hmm, yeah that sounds like Grandpa John. He¡¯d do anything for me now that I¡¯m finally back. ¡°That¡¯s amazing, thanks Vic!¡± ¡°Yes, thank you,¡± Jack calls out as well. ¡°I¡¯ll take that as a preliminary yes. Alex and Greg will love this!¡± Vic leaves the call soon after and I¡¯m alone with Jack again. ¡°Seriously, thank you, Sara. You didn¡¯t have to do this. I get to see Earth! Can you believe this?¡± ¡°You¡¯re welcome. And I absolutely had to do this. You¡¯re my best friends and from how things are looking, you guys and Ronja would have been the only ones left out.¡± ¡°Right, Ronja. I guess you want to include her as support staff as well?¡± ¡°Yes, could you go ask her? I think it would be easier if she were part of your crew once it¡¯s time to go to Earth.¡± Jack agrees. ¡°I can do that. We¡¯ve got a delivery back to the Valterion System soon anyway. Oh, and by the way, we¡¯ll be in the Magicon System in a few months as well. We should meet up then!¡± ¡°Yes, absolutely! I¡¯m looking forward to it.¡± After that, we talk about a few other things until we finally have to say goodbye, as Jack¡¯s ship arrives at a wormhole. I lean back in my lounger until another thought has me sitting up straight again. All my friends will be united again when we go to Earth! Chapter 104: Improvised Combat (1) Chapter 104: Improvised Combat (1) Location: Magicon Empire; Magicon System; Terra; Imperia; FBC Nothing important happens after my talk with Jack. We all keep doing what we¡¯ve been doing before until the week of holiday winds down. Lucy of course was very happy that I managed to include her brother as our support staff for the trip to Earth. Now we¡¯re only missing the confirmation from Maja and our other friends at Peacekeeper Academy. Unfortunately, they are still in a communication blackout. Anyway, the next week picks up on Wednesday ¨C a day after the last one was interrupted by Grandpa John¡¯s speech. This means it¡¯s now time for the Leadership course. This is also the first course I¡¯m taking without the others. I¡¯m quite nervous. Turns out, I shouldn¡¯t have been worried at all. The course was bog-standard. The professor mostly only did introductions and gave us a few recommendations for books to read. At the end of the lesson, we did a few small exercises for different leadership styles, but that was all. The most interesting thing was that this was a mixed course as I detected a lot of people that didn¡¯t feel magical at all. This brings me to the here and now. After having lunch with the others, it¡¯s time for Lydia and me to go for our Improvised Combat course. This sounds so exciting. I¡¯ve got absolutely no clue what awaits us there. As the course description said we should wear comfortable clothes, we make a quick stop back at our room to change. I grab my gym clothes consisting of a sports bra and leggings and throw over an older shirt to cover up my exposed midriff for now. The outfit is finished with my trusted sneakers, and I put my hair into a bun. This has the advantage that my pink tips are hidden away as well. When I exit my room, I notice that Lydia has the same choice of clothes. She¡¯s got her auburn hair in a ponytail though. We both grin at each other and head out. The classroom isn¡¯t far, just a few buildings over, so we decide to walk there. ¡°Do you have an idea what this will be about?¡± Lydia asks. I just shake my head. ¡°Nope, not a clue. Other than thinking about what I¡¯ve done so far during our times of combat, I¡¯m going in blind. You?¡± ¡°Yeah, same. I haven¡¯t even been in combat besides the one time when we shot down the pirates¡­ But that doesn¡¯t count as I¡¯ve never had to do anything.¡± She¡¯s right. We picked her up after our stunt with Don Fernando, and I¡¯ve been to Earth alone. My most formal combat was probably back in the Estriduros Republic with Adrian. But that was also only me. ¡°I¡¯m sure they¡¯ve got something interesting prepared for us.¡± Lydia agrees. ¡°True, otherwise they¡¯d probably tell everyone to just get an A&D core.¡± We walk for another five minutes until we arrive at building 19. It¡¯s the tallest one I¡¯ve been to so far, stretching over a hundred stories in height. At the same time, it¡¯s also the slimmest. It almost looks like a toothpick. That thought brings a smile to my face, and we step inside. We immediately head for the elevator, as our lesson plan tells us we have to go up to floor 86. Lydia presses the button, and a few seconds later, the elevator opens with a ding. We enter, and just as the doors start to close, someone calls out for us to wait. I put my hand between the doors, and they open up again. A tiny woman in her mid-twenties enters. At least I guess she¡¯s in her mid-twenties as I now know just how much appearances can be misleading. ¡°Thanks, girls,¡± she says breathlessly. You just saved me from being late to my first lesson as an instructor.¡± She looks at the elevator buttons and is about to touch one as well. ¡°Oh, floor 86!¡± She looks back at us with a bright smile and puts some black strands behind her ears. ¡°You¡¯re in my class!¡± Lydia stares back at her, taking in her tiny stature. ¡°You¡¯re teaching Improvised Combat?¡± She asks in disbelief. The woman¡¯s head bobs up and down and she winks at Lydia. ¡°I am. You wouldn¡¯t expect that, right?¡± Lydia blushes. ¡°No¡­ I¡¯m sorry. That was rude of me.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I hear that all the time. And every guy who didn¡¯t believe learned very quickly not to mess with me.¡± She leans close and whispers. ¡°Especially their balls.¡± I can¡¯t help myself and burst out laughing. The others quickly join in. Imagining that tiny woman beating up some big guy just sounds ridiculous, but if she¡¯s our instructor, she must be serious. Now I¡¯m even more curious about that course. The elevator arrives on floor 86 all too soon, and the three of us disembark still laughing. There are about twenty people already waiting in the hallway next to a closed door. The woman, our instructor who I still don¡¯t know the name of as I just realized, stops laughing and starts to move through the small crowd till she arrives at the door. Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. A quick flick of her wrist unlocks the door, and it slides to the side. Beyond is a rather small room with furniture I didn¡¯t expect at all in a classroom: It looks like a coffee shop! With a counter and chairs and tables and all¡­ There is even a real coffee machine in the back, and the tables are laid with cups and plates. The only thing missing is food. ¡°What the¡­?¡± Comes from a student who has already been waiting, and all the others look just as confused. ¡°Come on in,¡± the instructor who has already entered the room calls out from the inside. ¡°I don¡¯t bite. Just step inside and take a seat. I promise to clear up your confusion¡­ Soonish.¡± Oh, she¡¯s still amused by our elevator ride. I can hear the grin in her voice. Lydia clearly thinks the same, and with a shrug, she steps forward and enters the room. ¡°Ahh, we have our first volunteer. Ten points to the fine young lady here.¡± Err, that doesn¡¯t sound like something an instructor would say¡­ Though the ten points reference rings a bell. We¡¯ll see where this leads to. So far, the instructor seemed fun. I enter the room as well, and all the others soon follow. Lydia already sits at one of the tables and I quickly join her. Then I look at the instructor who now stands behind the counter. Steam emanates from the coffee machine. Is she brewing herself a coffee? The machine finishes and the instructor grabs the mug. ¡°Coffee anyone?¡± The others all continue to sit down and look confused. No one answers her. She shrugs. ¡°More for me, I guess.¡± She sets down the mug next to her and waves her hand, which closes the door behind the last student who entered. Then she waits until everyone has found their seats. She claps to get everyone¡¯s attention. ¡°Hi there, I¡¯m Olivia Duarte, I¡¯ll be your instructor for Improvised Combat. Before you ask, this will be different from your other classes. As you might have already noticed, we¡¯re a rather small class. This is intentional. All across campus are currently other instructors like me, telling other classes like you, the same things. Well, not exactly like me, as I¡¯m the best after all, but you get what I mean.¡± She winks at us and her gaze lingers on Lydia for a second longer. Or I might imagine things, who knows? ¡°Anyway, classes are this small, as this is a practical course. We¡¯ll be doing real combat exercises in the coming weeks and if you guys are ready for it, we might start with our first practical lesson today. But before we start with a bit of theoretical stuff, let¡¯s do a round of introductions. We¡¯ll be beating each other up after all. It¡¯s best to know whose nose you¡¯re breaking¡­¡± She shakes her head with a grin. ¡°Just joking! But let¡¯s do the introductions, alright?¡± She looks at my table, or I guess rather at Lydia. ¡°Why don¡¯t you start, you¡¯ve been the first one in after all.¡± Lydia nods. ¡°I can do that, Miss Duarte¡­¡± Before she can continue, she¡¯s interrupted by the tiny instructor. ¡°Ugh, stop,¡± she cringes. ¡°I forgot to tell you. Call me Olivia, or Liv if that¡¯s too long. I¡¯m no real instructor. None of us Improvised Combat guys are. We¡¯re all students just like you. I¡¯m currently in my third year and aced the course when I took it a year ago. That¡¯s how you become an instructor, I guess.¡± Olivia jumps onto the counter and sits down with her legs dangling down the front. ¡°Anyway, what I¡¯m trying to say is that this course will be in a very casual setting. I¡¯m no one special, so don¡¯t bother about using honorifics for me or something. I can promise you one thing though. Once you are finished with this course, no combat situation that you find yourself thrown into in the future will surprise you anymore.¡± Lydia grins broadly upon hearing this. ¡°Alright, I¡¯m Lydia Walton. I¡¯m uh, a rather new Utility Mage, and I¡¯ve never been in any combat situation.¡± Olivia nods. ¡°That¡¯s perfectly normal. Welcome to the course, Lydia. I¡¯d be surprised if anyone here has been in more than one of those situations actually.¡± I almost choke at my spit when she says that, as I¡¯ve definitely been in more than one of those situations. Olivia looks at me. ¡°Why don¡¯t you continue? From what I managed to pick up so far, you girls know each other, right?¡± I swallow and nod. ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s right. Lydia and I have been friends for a long time. My name¡¯s Sara Green. I¡¯m primarily a Master Space Mage, but I have a Junior Utility core as well.¡± I pause and look down at my right wrist, where I wear my newest piece of Magitech. ¡°Oh, and I recently got this as a reward from the College.¡± I hold up said arm and show off the device to Olivia. It¡¯s the upgrade to my old shield watch I got from negotiation from a position of power which resulted in the mess with that Noble idiot Charles. Olivia jumps up and walks over to inspect my device. Her eyes light up. ¡°Hah, that¡¯s perfect, Sara. Welcome to the course! We¡¯ll be covering Magitech devices in later lessons, but we can work with what you have. It¡¯s going to be great.¡± She returns to her place on the counter. ¡°Does anyone else have some Magitech devices with them? Just speak up and introduce yourself at the same time. Even if it¡¯s something you don¡¯t think combat viable. We¡®re a course about improvising after all.¡± Almost half the class raises their hands and Olivia lets them introduce themselves one after another. Then the others without any Magitech devices finish off the round of introductions. Most of the others are Utility Mages just like Lydia. There are a few Space Mages mixed in as well. Even dual-core Mages like me. Surprisingly, there is also a single A&D Mage. Sure, he¡¯s got a Utility core as well, but him announcing his A&D magic earns him a few raised eyebrows. Even Olivia asks him why he¡¯s here, as this is a course specifically for non-A&D Mages. ¡°Well, I thought what I would do if I faced a stronger Mage than myself¡­ The answer was I¡¯d try to improvise. So here I am, looking for methods to bring my Utility core into play as well¡­¡± He stops, his eyes gloss over. Then he grins broadly. ¡°I guess we now have another student with a Magitech device¡­ Just got a coupon for the same thing Sara has over there.¡± He points at my arm with the new shield device. Olivia laughs out loud. ¡°That¡¯s brilliant, congratulations! If the college¡¯s AI rewards you, who am I to kick you out of the course? Welcome aboard, Kevin. Even better, you now can play the A&D Mage attacker in the future, which means we will always have one available instead of hoping for volunteers across campus.¡± That earns her a few chuckles, then she stands up. Her face turns serious. ¡°Now we¡¯re almost halfway through the lesson, which means we¡¯re perfectly on time. I do have one critical piece of advice before we start with a few practical exercises after a short break.¡± She¡¯s silent for a second. ¡°Let me ask you this. What do you do if you ever face a hostile A&D Mage?¡± Her gaze wanders over us, students. What would I do? My thoughts race. I can¡¯t find an answer other than doing what I¡¯ve done in the past, which is improvising. But I don¡¯t think that¡¯s the answer she¡¯s looking for. No one else seems to find an answer either, so Olivia nods once. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you to have an answer, don¡¯t worry. The answer is simple though.¡± Another moment of silence. ¡°If you ever face a hostile A&D Mage, YOU RUN THE FUCK AWAY!¡± Oh! Chapter 105: Improvised Combat (2) Chapter 105: Improvised Combat (2) Location: Magicon Empire; Magicon System; Terra; Imperia; FBC ¡°If you ever face a hostile A&D Mage, YOU RUN THE FUCK AWAY!¡± Silence descends upon the classroom. Everyone stares at the tiny woman before us. Her outburst came completely unexpected. Who would have expected her to let out such a shout? A minute later someone clears his throat. I think he¡¯s called Hector. ¡°Uh, why are we here then¡­?¡± Olivia¡¯s grin is back, and she jumps back onto the counter of the small coffee shop/classroom we¡¯re currently in. ¡°Excellent question. While it¡¯s always best to run away, or in the case of our Space Mages, simply teleport away, there are situations where you can¡¯t do that. For situations like that, we¡¯re here in this course.¡± Her gaze wanders again, and she looks everyone in the eyes ¨C One after the other. ¡°But you guys need to get this into your head. If. You. Ever. Face. A. Hostile. A&D Mage. You. Run. Away!¡± I nod slowly, thinking about what she just said. She¡¯s right of course. The purpose of A&D magic is to attack and defend. How can any other class of magic ever match this in combat? Now looking back, we were fortunate with our pirate encounter. Without Lucy¡¯s A&D magic, the pirates¡¯ A&D Mage would have cut the Stargazer in half! Improvising wouldn¡¯t have helped at all. Understanding dawns on a lot of faces around me, and Olivia nods once. ¡°Good, you get it. Now let me tell you what to do if you are in a situation where you can¡¯t run. Can someone give me an example of such a situation?¡± A few hands go up, and Olivia chooses a brown-haired woman. ¡°If we¡¯re in a group, or with a lot of children or something?¡± That earns her a thumbs-up from Olivia and someone else is quick to speak up. It¡¯s one of the other Space Mages in this course. ¡°Why don¡¯t we simply teleport the attacker away if we¡¯re in a group and can¡¯t run?¡± ¡°Good thought,¡± Olivia replies. ¡°But most of the time, this option isn¡¯t viable. You see, to teleport another Mage against their will, you need to be considerably stronger. At least one level of power higher. So, if the attacker is a Senior, you need to be a Master Space Mage. And you all know how rare high-level Space Mages are outside of Noble circles.¡± Now everyone looks at me, and I blush. ¡°Yes, Sara here could probably go with that option, but this should always be the second option. At her strength, it¡¯s easier to simply grab her own group and teleport away. In the heat of things, you can always misjudge your opponent¡¯s strength which could lead to lethal consequences if you fail to teleport your opponent.¡± A knock on the door interrupts Olivia. Her brow furrows and she waves her hand again. The door opens and shows a massive man with an even bigger beard. He looks young though. ¡°Yo Liv, did you forget the time again?¡± Olivia¡¯s eyes widen slightly. ¡°Shit! Sorry Tony, I got lost in the flow, one second.¡± She turns back to us. ¡°Guys, this is Tony, he¡¯s my fellow instructor and it looks like we overshot the first half of our lesson. Soo, we¡¯ll be continuing in half an hour, see you soon.¡± With that, she stands up and walks to the exit. Then she leaves with Tony. I look at Lydia. ¡°Are you hungry?¡± ¡°No, not really¡­ But we can go if you want.¡± ¡°Nah, I can wait as well.¡± A few others come over to our table, including Kevin the A&D Mage. ¡°So, what do you all think of this class?¡± He asks. Hector, a tall and thin guy shrugs. ¡°I kinda like it. It¡¯s different, you know? Olivia seems nice as well, and competent. I can¡¯t wait for the second half of the course today.¡± I nod my agreement. ¡°Yeah, I really want to see her fight¡­ She¡¯s so tiny.¡± I look at Kevin and raise an eyebrow. ¡°You up for a spar with her later on?¡± He stands up straight, a big grin on his face and lifts his hand. A small flame appears. ¡°I¡¯d be delighted to!¡± That earns him a few laughs and Hector pats his shoulder. ¡°Bro, I¡¯ll ask you again once Olivia is done with you. She¡¯ll surely wipe the floor with you.¡± We spend the rest of the break with idle bantering until Olivia returns half an hour later. Before she can restart the lesson, Hector speaks up. ¡°Hey Olivia, Kevin here wants to play training dummy for you later in the practicals.¡± Olivia grins wolfishly and looks at Kevin. ¡°Are you sure?¡± He gulps but nods. ¡°Yeah¡­ I¡¯ve got this.¡± Then he continues to punch Hector in the arm who just laughs. ¡°Alright, you get your chance in just a moment. I¡¯ve got two more things to tell you before we can do our first practical exercises. First, does anyone already know martial arts?¡± Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. This time only two people lift their hands and Olivia acknowledges them. ¡°That¡¯s not surprising. Interest in martial arts has been on a steady decline in the past years. I do recommend looking into it though. Knowing how to punch things, or to take someone down without weapons could be the one thing to save you in the end.¡± I make a mental note of that. It might be worth looking into learning something like that. Those kung-fu movies I watched when I was younger were fun after all. Olivia jumps off the counter and stands now behind it again. She bends down and disappears from view. Then she stands back up, now holding a broom with a plastic handle in her hand? The hell? She gives it a few test swings, before swinging it down on the counter with all her might. The handle breaks into a thousand pieces of course, and Olivia wears a satisfied grin. We all stare back at her in shock. ¡°That¡¯s the second thing I have to tell you. Things break when you hit them. Especially when they are hit by an attack spell. But,¡± she pauses, bends down again, and produces a second broom. ¡°There is a way around it.¡± I feel a tickle of magic emanating from Olivia and settling around the broom, then she smashes it on the counter. This time the handle stays intact, and the whole broom bounces back from the counter. ¡°This, my friends is the Reinforcement spell. A spell we¡¯ll all be learning over the following weeks. This spell can save your life! And the best part is, you can use it with anything. Hell, you can even reinforce your breakfast toast and club someone on the head with it.¡± Lydia starts snickering next to me, and a smile finds its way onto my face as well. The picture of the toast is just so funny. ¡°Now, that¡¯s enough talking, let¡¯s start with the practical part.¡± She looks at Kevin. ¡°Kevin, are you ready?¡± He stands up and walks toward the counter. ¡°I am.¡± Olivia stands opposite him, broom still in hand. ¡°Perfect, I won¡¯t be using the Reinforcement spell this time, just to show everyone what improvised combat is all about. In the following weeks, we¡¯ll do a few scenarios where we¡¯re using the actual setting we are in, but for now, we¡¯re just going to face off.¡± She slaps her chest and a translucent shield forms around her body. ¡°Okay, Lydia, can you count us in? And Kevin, do your worst, I¡¯m shielded.¡± Lydia stands up and starts to count. ¡°Three¡­ Two¡­ One¡­ Fight!¡± Then all hell breaks loose. Kevin immediately throws up a Shield spell around himself, then takes two steps back and lifts one of his hands. A red blade materializes before the hand, just outside his shield. He throws the blade toward Olivia with a flick of his wrist. The blade is fast, but Olivia has already dived out of the way which means, the blade flies past her, harmlessly. It does fly straight for one of the empty tables in the room though¡­ Before it can smash it to pieces, a small shield appears mid-air and stops the blade. I didn¡¯t feel Olivia cast any magic¡­ Was that some piece of Magitech? Olivia meanwhile hasn¡¯t been idle, and throws the broom at Kevin¡¯s feet, right after she gets back up from her dive. It doesn¡¯t even hit Kevin¡¯s shield, as it lands right before his feet. His gaze still follows the flying broom, and so he misses that Olivia immediately starts running after the broom. When he looks back up, it¡¯s just early enough to see her flying kick connecting with his shield spell. Unsurprisingly, it holds strong, but the momentum Has Kevin staggering backward. Olivia lands in a roll and grabs onto the broom again. Then she gets back up with a grin on her face. She proceeds to throw the broom at him a second time. This time, her aim is true. Kevin notices as well and casts another spell. A blast of wind throws the broom right back at Olivia. She grins even wider, steps to the side, and lets the broom pass her harmlessly. Then she jumps over the counter and hides behind it. Kevin now also wears a confident smirk, and for the first time, he steps forward. He casts another two spells and is now surrounded by a few fireballs and arrow-formed pieces of stone. He jumps onto the counter and is about to throw his spells down at Olivia. We all haven¡¯t seen what she has done in the time hidden behind the counter, so we¡¯re all surprised, when she stands back up with a fire extinguisher in hand, already mid-swing. I think Kevin is surprised the most, as he forgets to throw his spells and even loses control of them. The fireballs fly off in every direction, where they are intercepted by the same Magitech shields from earlier. His stone arrows simply fall to the ground and splinter. Olivia¡¯s fire extinguisher continues on its trajectory and connects with Kevin¡¯s shins. Well, with the shield around his shins. It still causes him to take a step back. That¡¯s the final mistake he makes, as his foot finds empty air and he falls off the counter. This also shatters his remaining concentration and his shield shatters when he lands on his backside. Olivia immediately capitalizes on this situation. She grabs a kitchen knife, jumps over the counter again, and mimes to stab toward Kevin¡¯s throat. She stops far enough away from Kevin to keep him out of danger, but his eyes open comically, and he admits defeat. His breath is heavy. ¡°Holy shit, that was intense!¡± We all just stare at Olivia. She completely outclassed Kevin. Sure, I don¡¯t know how experienced he is with A&D magic, but he threw out a lot of spells. Spells that I didn¡¯t even know existed a few months earlier. Olivia holds out her hand to help Kevin stand back up. He gladly takes it, and returns to his seat, looking a bit embarrassed. Hector claps his back and whispers something into his ear. It must have been something nice, as his expression softens a bit. Olivia wipes her forehead with a kitchen rag and sits back at the counter. ¡°I hope you now get why I told you to run away if you can. It¡¯s always like walking on a tightrope. One mistake, and you¡¯re dead. Can someone describe what I did right, and what Kevin did wrong?¡± I don¡¯t need to think about it much, as it was pretty clear what happened, so I lift my hand. I look at all the others and notice that I¡¯m the only one with their hand up. Didn¡¯t they see it? Olivia nods at me, so I speak up. ¡°Well, I think it was pretty obvious. You pretty much controlled the fight from the beginning. You never let Kevin enter the flow of battle and always kept him on the back foot. The thrown broom was brilliant. It completely surprised him but was only a distraction in the end which opened him up for your follow-up attack. That was brilliantly executed. I mean you used his distraction and jumped him. Something no one would ever expect a non-A&D Mage to do. Then your tactical retreat when you noticed that you didn¡¯t get his shield to collapse. Hiding out of sight is always good, it opens up countless possibilities as your opponent literally can¡¯t see you anymore. Then the fire extinguisher to his legs. You used the one vulnerability he had and capitalized on it. In the end, the knife finished it, but the fight was lost way earlier. Kevin never stood a chance.¡± There is a sudden silence in the room, everyone stares at me. ¡°What?¡± I ask. Olivia closes her mouth again after it dropped open. ¡°That¡¯s right¡­ How¡¯d you notice all this? I had a whole lesson planned to show you everything you just said.¡± ¡°Uhh, I guess I¡¯ve got an eye for those things? I don¡¯t know, those things simply stood out to me.¡± ¡°You might be a natural talent for this course¡­ But this also opens up a lot of possibilities. As we now don¡¯t have to deconstruct the exhibition fight, we can now continue with our first training exercises. Everyone, stand up please and walk toward the counter.¡± Let¡¯s see how this goes! Chapter 106: Improvised Combat (3) Chapter 106: Improvised Combat (3) Location: Magicon Empire; Magicon System; Terra; Imperia; FBC We line up next to the counter. There is a bit of open space before the tables we sat at earlier begin ¨C right where Kevin and Olivia just fought. Olivia jumps up onto the counter and turns to face us again. ¡°Alright, thanks to Sara, we¡¯re now faster than I planned, which means we can do our first light exercises today instead of next week. As you all don¡¯t know the Reinforcement spell yet, we¡¯ll do some light sparring instead.¡± She leans back and opens a drawer to take out a small box. Then she sits back up and opens the lid. Inside are about two dozen silver rings. They emanate a bit of magic. ¡°Those things are probably the best invention there is¡­ At least for this course,¡± Olivia chuckles. ¡°They form a full body shield around the wearer. It doesn¡¯t stop blows completely, but it dulls them. So, the best is if you don¡¯t get hit. If you¡¯re hit though, the shield will turn red where you¡¯ve been hurt, so we can analyze what went wrong later on. There is more to them, but that¡¯s something for later once you know Reinforcement.¡± Olivia pauses to hand out the rings. I¡¯m one of the first ones to get one, and immediately slip it on my finger. ¡°Oh, it tries to connect to your interface. I¡¯ll allow it, one second.¡± It does? That¡¯s probably one of the things Olivia meant with there¡¯s more to them. A window pops up, showing a toggle to switch the shield on or off. The second button with the name reset is greyed out. I shrug and tap the on button. The ring vibrates slightly, then I feel it reaching out to the magic flowing through my core. I feel that I could resist this, but I don¡¯t. Once the connection is formed, I feel a slight draw on my magic. It¡¯s barely noticeable, but a translucent shield forms around me. It covers me from head to toe, about one centimeter above my clothes. The others around me experiment with their rings as well, and one by one, shields appear around most of them. Olivia grins. ¡°Good, now please form up in pairs and face off, then just try to hit your opponent or block them respectively. We¡¯ll do that for a few minutes to get you warmed up. After that, we¡¯ll do single matches against me and add in a bit of improvising.¡± That sounds interesting! Lydia looks at me, and I nod. Everyone shuffles around until all students face off in pairs. Lydia stands opposite me and grins. ¡°Don¡¯t hold back, or I¡¯m gonna beat you!¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t dream of it,¡± I reply, and we both turn to Olivia. She¡¯s currently helping some students with connecting to the shield ring, I guess. It doesn¡¯t take long though, and she returns to her usual spot on the counter. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s start. Just do what you think is best and we go from there.¡± She claps, and the students rush at each other. Lydia and I both hesitate a moment before we both take a step forward. She is the first to go on the offensive and lifts her right foot to kick at me. I take a hasty step back and avoid her kick. That unbalances her, and she lands awkwardly. I try to capitalize on her mistake and swing my dominant left fist at her. She¡¯s quick to recover though and lifts her right forearm to block. My fist connects with it, and a slight pain wells up in my hand. Ouch! I notice Lydia¡¯s and my shield both turn a bit red at the point of impact, mine slightly less so. This didn¡¯t work as I expected¡­ We both stare at each other again, and I notice that the pair to my right has already finished their bout. One of them, a boy, lies on the ground, his shield completely red all around him, while the girl stands with a grin on her face and not a single speck of red on her shield. If I remember right, she¡¯s one of the few who know martial arts. I gulp. Good thing I didn¡¯t face her. My distraction costs me though, and only a last-minute warning from my Space Sense saves me from a fist to the head. I lean to the side and Lydia hits my shoulder instead. The shield immediately turns red, and I have to take a step back to keep my balance. It hurts! Lydia is quick to capitalize and rushes me. I don¡¯t have time to bring up any defense and Lydia¡¯s body collides with mine. This time I lose my balance, and I fall on my back. Lydia lands on top of me and her big grin fills my vision. An alert on my interface tells me that I¡¯m incapacitated. I let out a long breath. ¡°Got you,¡± Lydia grins and rolls off me. I rub my sore ribs and sit up. Ouchie. I slowly stand back up and look around. Most of the fights have already ended with one person¡¯s shield being completely red. Wait! I do a double-take. There is one pair with both of their shields red. What happened there? The final fight finishes just this moment, and Olivia claps. ¡°That was fantastic! Well done, everyone. You can sit back down if you want.¡± We all do so and look at Olivia expectantly. What has she planned now? She waves her hand, and a holo-projector comes alive. Suddenly, there is a projection of all the students facing off. Another wave of her hand later, the projection zooms in and only shows one of the groups. It the boy/girl pair that was standing next to me. The recording starts playing, and we all see just how easily the girl beats up the boy. It took less than thirty seconds, and the fight was done. Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! ¡°That was unfair!¡± The boy who got beat up complains. The girl meanwhile wears a satisfied smirk. Olivia ignores the complaint. ¡°Did you see how much of a difference martial arts have made? That¡¯s why I recommended it earlier.¡± Now she looks at the boy. ¡°Do you think you would have had a chance if you had had access to A&D magic?¡± He shakes his head. ¡°Probably not¡­ She immediately rushed me. I don¡¯t know how I could have cast a spell. But it was still unfair!¡± ¡°It was, but fights against A&D Mages will always be unfair. Never forget this. Now let¡¯s watch the next fight. Another interesting thing happened there.¡± The projection switches and it now shows Lydia and me. The recording starts at normal speed and shows the few exchanges we¡¯ve had. Then suddenly it slows down and zooms at my face. I watch my eyes move to the side. Oh! That¡¯s when I lost the fight. I got distracted by the fight next to us and Lydia used my distraction! The recording zooms back out and shows the remainder of our fight, including my embarrassing defeat. I blush a little. ¡°Can someone tell us what decided this fight?¡± Olivia asks. A lot of hands go up. With the zoom-in, it was pretty obvious. Kevin tells the class what I have already noticed, and Olivia gives him a thumbs-up. ¡°Exactly, distraction is key. Especially against A&D Mages, as it can interrupt their casting if you¡¯re lucky. Therefore, always try to distract your opponents.¡± Olivia continues to show a few other fights and points out a few things that happened there. Then it¡¯s finally time for the most interesting thing of the lesson: the one-on-one fights with Olivia plus the promise of finally doing improvising stuff. Not that we know much about the topic besides Olivia trashing Kevin with a broom of all things. She joins the martial arts girl at her table and sits down. I should probably stop calling her the martial arts girl, but I can¡¯t remember her name right now¡­ It was something that begins with V. Before I can figure it out, Olivia speaks up. ¡°I¡¯ve promised you earlier to do one-on-one fights with you before the lesson ends. We will do so each week, sometimes against me, sometimes against your classmates, or at other times against Kevin or another A&D Mage. We will also be in a different classroom every week, so expect changing settings on a weekly basis.¡± Changing settings? That¡¯s insane! But it also makes sense¡­ It¡¯s probably to show us real-life scenarios. I mean we¡¯re inside a coffee shop right now. Olivia looks at martial arts girl and grins. ¡°You wanna start? If so, attack me. You¡¯re allowed to use everything you find within the room. I¡¯ll only defend myself this time. You win if you land a solid hit. You have two minutes until you lose.¡± Martial arts girl returns the grin and nods. Then she springs into action and kicks up the table. It flips over and in Olivia¡¯s direction. Olivia quickly stands up and takes a step to the side, out of the table¡¯s trajectory. Martial arts girl falls into a stance, and eyes Olivia cautiously. Her eyes flicker through the room like she¡¯s looking for something to use to her advantage. Suddenly they brighten, and she rushes forward ¨C right past Olivia, ignoring her completely. She reaches her destination at a flowerpot which she grabs and throws at Olivia. Then she takes two steps until she goes down in a slide until she connects with Olivia¡¯s shins, or well the shield above her shins. Olivia finishes dealing with the flying flowerpot, and then she claps. ¡°Well done, Valerie! You successfully distracted me which brought you the first victory of today.¡± Ah, that¡¯s her name. The battles continue, with most of the students losing to the clock. Lydia doesn¡¯t win either, unfortunately. A few students are clever with the use of furniture and manage to break through Olivia¡¯s defense which enables them to land a hit and win. One student even jumped behind the counter and grabbed a few knives which he threw at Olivia. This earned him a win as well. The next one who tried it lost because Olivia hid behind an upturned table in time. While watching all those battles, I slowly come up with a plan. If everything works out, I¡¯ll get the fastest victory of the day. There are only two students who have to fight before me, so I start with my preparations. I lazily stroll behind the counter and grab an empty mug. Then I place it under the coffee machine and fill it up with freshly brewed coffee. Next, I take a piece of cake and place it on a plate together with a fork and knife. Then I walk back around the counter place everything on an empty table and sit down. I start to eat the cake very slowly while ignoring the weird glances from the other students. It¡¯s quite good. Meanwhile, the other battles have finished, and Olivia gets up. ¡°Was that everyone?¡± She asks and I lift my hand. ¡°Over here, Olivia. I¡¯m the last one.¡± She grins and walks over. ¡°I thought you were already done.¡± I grin back. ¡°Nope, I needed a bit of time to prepare.¡± Olivia sits down. ¡°Alright do your worst, whenever you¡¯re ready.¡± I ignore her and continue to eat my cake. A few seconds later, I look up. ¡°Want a piece?¡± I indicate the cake, and Olivia¡¯s gaze snaps to it. I take that as a yes and slowly push the plate over. Her gaze follows. Perfect! I shove the plate all the way over to her while I grab the mug of coffee with my other hand. Olivia still looks at the cake. That¡¯s the moment when I throw the coffee at her and immediately grab onto the knife. Then I jump up and lean over the table to mime stabbing her. Her shield turns scarlet red as soon as the hot coffee hits it and Olivia jumps back in surprise. The other students cry out in disbelief. My knife did nothing besides adding a bit of a dramatic effect. Olivia, now standing, stares back at me. ¡°Wow, that certainly came as a surprise. Well done!¡± I smile broadly and lean back. This was fun. Olivia shakes her head and waves her hand. The splattered coffee starts floating and moves back into the mug. Then she turns back to the class. ¡°Alright everyone, looks like we¡¯ve got a winner. Sara here managed to surprise even me. I certainly wouldn¡¯t have expected her to throw coffee at me¡­¡± That causes a few chuckles among the class. ¡°I definitely won¡¯t fall for the same trick again. So, take the week and come up with new ideas guys, I¡¯m looking forward to it. This also marks the end of today''s lesson. I¡¯m sending you now the instructions for the Reinforcement spell. It¡¯s not that hard, so who knows maybe one of you can surprise me with the spell next week.¡± I get a ping on my interface after she finishes and take a quick look at the Reinforcement spell. She¡¯s right, it doesn¡¯t look that hard. Just a week to learn it stretches things a lot though. Especially because I¡¯m posing as a Junior Utility Mage. I shrug inwardly. We¡¯ll see how long it takes. Afterward, we all say goodbye to Olivia, give back the training rings, and leave the classroom. Lydia and I talk a bit with the other students on our way down to the lobby, then we return toward our dorm room. When we arrive, we are immediately bombarded with questions from Alina and Lucy who have already finished their lessons for the day. So, we start talking, and both girls listen very attentively. Later on, we get some food delivered and talk while we eat. ¡°Wow, I didn¡¯t expect all this to be so effective,¡± Lucy speaks up. ¡°I mean I¡¯m just learning my first offensive spells, but they are so strong. I didn¡¯t think a non-A&D Mage would be able to stand against such power. But surprise and distraction make sense¡­ My spells take up a lot of concentration to cast. At least for now.¡± Lydia nudges me. ¡°Maybe we can ask Olivia if we can borrow those training shield rings? I think if the four of us train together it will help a lot.¡± ¡°You¡¯re right! Let¡¯s ask her next week.¡± Lydia blushes a bit and clears her throat. ¡°Uh, well, I could ask her tomorrow as well¡­¡± Tomorrow? ¡°What¡¯s tomorrow?¡± ¡°Uhh, she asked me if I wanted a coffee¡­ And I said yes?¡± Ohhhh. We all jump up and rush her. ¡°That¡¯s so nice, Lydia!¡± Alina cries and I can only agree. She deserves this! Chapter 107: Magic & Artifacts Chapter 107: Magic & Artifacts Location: Magicon Empire; Magicon System; Terra; Imperia; FBC It¡¯s Thursday now; The week is almost over, and I¡¯ve got the last two classes on my list today. My Friday is free for now. This only changes once the courses I¡¯m playing taxi for kick off for real. I don¡¯t have to sit in their theoretical lessons after all. Lucy starts showing off her cooking skills more and more and wakes us up with another nice breakfast. After that, Both Alina and Lydia rush off to go to their respective courses. This leaves me with Lucy, who will be my course partner for the first lesson of the day. It¡¯s finally time for the Magic and Artifacts course! Of course, Lucy wouldn¡¯t miss out on this. We both have been very curious about all things magic for like forever, so it¡¯s only logical that we both took this course. ¡°Ready to go?¡± I ask her once we¡¯ve put away the dirty plates. ¡°Oh, yes! I can¡¯t wait. Let¡¯s go.¡± She grabs my arm and practically pulls me out of our room. Then we quickly make our way to today¡¯s classroom. When we enter, it doesn¡¯t surprise me that it¡¯s a rather big classroom this time. It¡¯s almost a quarter in size of the initial classroom we had our introductory lessons. That¡¯s still thousands of people! And they all make themselves known¡­ The sound of conversation immediately assaults our ears as soon as we enter the room. I can barely hear Lucy talking next to me. If I¡¯m guessing right, she asked where I want to sit. I shrug and lean over to talk directly into her ear. ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­ Let¡¯s just sit down somewhere in the middle.¡± She looks back at me just as confused, then frowns and closes her eyes. A bit of magic emanates from her, and a second later, the surrounding noise quiets down a lot. She lets out a relieved breath. ¡°Ah, that¡¯s better¡­ And yeah, let¡¯s just sit down somewhere.¡± ¡°What was that?¡± I ask. It felt like an A&D spell, but it must be a new one. ¡°New spell,¡± she grins. ¡°Leaned it right in my first lesson. It was surprisingly easy and lets me dampen the sound around me. It was originally developed to protect children¡¯s ears during sports events, but the professor showed it to us after one of my classmates complained about the loud noise in crowds due to her sensitive ears.¡± ¡°Cool, I¡¯m glad you know it. It¡¯s just so loud in here¡­¡± We reach two empty seats shortly after and sit down. Then we wait until the lesson begins. Lucy notices a few students next to her struggling to understand each other and offers to include them in her privacy sphere or whatever the spell is called. They happily agree, and I hear them sigh in relief once the bubble envelops them. It takes another fifteen minutes until a wizened man enters the room and closes the doors behind him with a flick of his hands. He walks down the stairs and stops behind the lectern in the front. There he clears his throat and starts speaking. Lucy quickly stops her spell. He looks so old. Like almost double the age of Grandpa John. Wrinkles are all over his face, and what remains of his hair is completely white. Still, his eyes look sharp as ever, and his voice is still strong and deep. ¡°Good morning, students, and welcome. My name is professor Oldridge, and I will be your instructor in all things concerning Artifacts and general information about magic.¡± He pauses for a short moment and looks around. ¡°Now, before I start, are there any questions?¡± What would we ask about if we haven¡¯t heard anything yet? I look around as well and notice someone lifting their hand. Looks like we¡¯ve got someone overeager¡­ Professor Oldridge nods at the student and they speak up. ¡°Thank you, professor. I was wondering if it would be possible to challenge this course early for credit, as I already know everything about the curriculum.¡± Oldridge raises an eyebrow. ¡°You do?¡± ¡°Yes, professor,¡± they answer with confidence. ¡°Alright, please come down here after the lesson and we will talk about this.¡± ¡°What a nerd,¡± Lucy mutters, and I nod silently. Could this be me if I grew up here in The Empire? And does this count as an exploit? Probably not, right? I look around; No one else lifts their hand. Professor Oldridge notices this as well and clears his throat a second time. ¡°Alright, then let¡¯s start today¡¯s lesson. Can someone tell me what magic actually is or does?¡± That earns him blank faces all around. Such a simple definition, and no one has a clue. I¡¯m completely clueless as well, and even the nerd who confidently said they could challenge the course has a big frown on their face. Oldridge chuckles. ¡°Don¡¯t fret, an all-encompassing answer to this simple question still eludes even the greatest magical scholars after all those years since we discovered magic. The closest approximation to both parts of my question is this: Magic is a supernatural force or power that enables us to do things we otherwise can¡¯t.¡± He lets those words hang in the air and waits in silence. I think about them. It makes sense, but it is also very broad. It¡¯s like you say magic is magic and shrug. Before I know it, I¡¯m lifting my hand to ask a question. The professor acknowledges me after a short delay. ¡°Professor Oldridge, this doesn¡¯t make sense. It¡¯s like you tell us the water is blue. What are we supposed to do with this? Isn¡¯t there a better definition? I mean this is just useless¡­¡± The last sentence just slips out, and I blush a bit in embarrassment. Professor Oldridge just grins. ¡°Exactly! The definition we have is so broad, that we can ignore it. That¡¯s why this course isn¡¯t about that. I always like to include it at the beginning of a course though, as it shows just how little we know about magic even after more than 11,000 years. Sure, there have been better definitions over the years, but every single one besides the one I just told you has been proven inadequate shortly after.¡± He waves his hand, and a holo-projector comes alive. It shows something I saw all those years ago at the magic academy in the Estriduros Republic: Power levels. This time it shows the whole scale though. From Novice, all the way to Archmage. The professor focuses back on the class. ¡°I know, you probably know this already, but just for the sake of completeness, I¡¯ll repeat it. We start at the bottom with the Novice rank. It¡¯s the lowest and most restrictive. You actually won¡¯t see many Novices here in The Empire, as they are offered a free advancement to Junior rank which is the second lowest. You also won¡¯t find a doctor in their right mind offering to implant you with a Novice core!¡± The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. That¡¯s new. I didn¡¯t know about the no-Novice rule, but I like it. Being a Novice was just bad! ¡°After Junior, we have Senior, which enables you to cast most of the more advanced spells. This is followed by the Master rank, which is also the peak for most Mages as this is the highest you can reach completely on your own if you were born a Mage. To reach the last two levels, you need additional cores. Grandmaster technically isn¡¯t a real rank, even if it counts as such. A Grandmaster is just a person who has access to at least two cores at Master level.¡± The professor pauses with a slight grin on his face. Why is he grinning? And why does he leave out Archmage? Then my brain catches up to what he just said. He said at least! But¡­ But once you¡¯ve got all three cores at Master you become an Archmage?! What am I missing? I look at Lucy, and she stares back. ¡°You¡¯ve heard that too, right?¡± She asks and I nod slowly. ¡°Yeah, it doesn¡¯t make sense¡­.¡± Professor Oldridge clears his throat again and the chatter immediately dies down. Everyone listens to his next words. ¡°I see you didn¡¯t know everything after all,¡± he winks at the nerd from earlier who looks just as confused as everyone else. That earns him a few chuckles. ¡°But you all heard right. It is possible to be a Grandmaster with three cores instead of advancing to the last level which is called Archmage. Actually, it¡¯s more common than the other way around. If you don¡¯t believe me, just look.¡± He pauses and starts emanating magic. He cycles through three cores, and they all feel clearly like a Master. Am I missing something? Everyone always says that once you¡¯ve got three cores at Master, they merge, and you become an Archmage. ¡°You see, there is one final requirement that prevents most people from reaching Archmage. This requirement is known as Talent. You might have already heard people talking about talented Mages. What you didn¡¯t know is that Talent is an actual factor that has more meaning besides being good at magic. If you don¡¯t have enough Talent, as in my case, you aren¡¯t able to reach Archmage and stay a very powerful Grandmaster.¡± ¡°Why didn¡¯t we learn that earlier?¡± Someone calls out, interrupting the professor. It¡¯s a valid question. Why did no one tell me? ¡°Good question,¡± the professor replies. ¡°Let me ask you another question right back. Would you be here today if you were told as a kid that you weren¡¯t talented? That¡¯s a question for everyone. I don¡¯t know your levels of talent, so don¡¯t worry.¡± Uhh, would hearing that I¡¯m not talented actually discourage me? I glance at Lucy again, and she looks deep in thought. I nudge her. ¡°What do you think?¡± She whispers back. ¡°I don¡¯t think I would have pulled through if someone told me I¡¯m not talented. What about you?¡± I suddenly remember something. ¡°Err, I don¡¯t think so. Remember my testing? Low power, low potential. Do you think that was Talent?¡± Her eyes widen. ¡°Huh, that could be. I never told you, but mine said high potential. Does that mean I¡¯m Talented?¡± I can just shrug. ¡°Could be¡­ Let¡¯s hear what the professor has to say.¡± We must have missed another question as the professor just starts to answer it. ¡°Yes, we can quantify Talent, but most of the time we don¡¯t do so because of the reasons you just discussed. Knowing about one¡¯s Talent either discourages someone or turns them into someone arrogant. Therefore, it¡¯s the practice within The Empire, that the value of one¡¯s Talent stays unknown. If you reach triple Master, you either advance to Archmage or you don¡¯t. Either way, you are a very strong Mage.¡± I can¡¯t disagree with that practice¡­ If everyone strives to reach Archmage one day, you are guaranteed a lot of powerful Mages. Even if most of them aren¡¯t able to take the last step. Professor Oldridge pauses again and acknowledges another question. A woman from the back row speaks up. ¡°Where does our Talent come from? Can we acquire more of it or lose it? I don¡¯t know, this all sounds so conceptual¡­¡± Oldridge nods. ¡°Another valid question. And also the perfect moment to build a bridge to the second half of this course.¡± He pauses and clears his throat again. ¡°Talent comes from your core. You are born with a certain amount of Talent. It is mostly random, but also influenced by your parents or their ancestors. That¡¯s also the reason why the Big Five always have some of the strongest Mages.¡± There is a bit of bitterness in his voice. I don¡¯t think he¡¯s that happy with not being able to reach Archmage. Another student calls in their question. ¡°What about awakening cores? People aren¡¯t born with them.¡± Oh! Shit! My friends! Professor Oldridge lowers his head. ¡°That¡¯s the unfortunate question I was waiting for¡­ If someone wasn¡¯t born as a Mage, they unfortunately lack the Talent necessary to reach Archmage¡­ There is a way though: Artifacts. Real Artifact cores, with the capital A, come with their own portion of Talent that allows even someone who started with an awakening core to reach Archmage later on.¡± He continues before the noise rises again. ¡°We¡¯ll talk more about Artifacts in a minute. I have to finish the earlier question first. First of all, the only way to gain Talent is through an Artifact core. No other way has been discovered yet. On the other hand, there is only one known way to lose your Talent and that is the advancement to Archmage. Once you have three cores at Master level, your Talent gets burned up and tries to merge your cores. If there is sufficient Talent, you ascend to the power level of Archmage, if not, you don¡¯t. The Talent is gone either way. My thoughts ground to a halt a second time. Advancing to Archmage uses up all the Talent! That¡¯s why I need an Artifact core! My early advancement actually screwed me over. Fuck! Lucy puts a comforting hand on my shoulder and gives me a knowing look. She realized as well! I nod at her in thanks. Professor Oldridge pauses for a moment to let everyone calm down again. What he just told us caused quite an uproar. Reaching Archmage is even more difficult than I thought¡­ And I have already advanced. Even without three cores. Just how much Talent did I have? That¡¯s ridiculous. Or was it the Artifact? Did that cruel thing allow me to collect additional Talent? Holy shit, that can¡¯t be true. And even if, who would do that to themselves voluntarily? ¡°Are you okay, Sara?¡± Lucy asks and shakes me back out of my thoughts.¡± ¡°Yeah¡­ It¡¯s just hard¡­¡± She puts an arm around my shoulder and pulls me closer. ¡°I get it,¡± she whispers. ¡°We¡¯ll find a way though.¡± ¡°Thanks, Lucy.¡± After about five minutes, everyone has calmed down again, and professor Oldridge continues with his lesson. ¡°I know that was a lot to take in, believe me, I know. But such is life. Magic is a mystery. We don¡¯t even know where it came from. The only thing we¡¯re sure about is that magic is deeply connected with Artifacts. In fact, magic was discovered when the first Artifact core was found on Mars. It took years until the inscriptions were decoded and a volunteer implanted the core. He became the first Mage to ever live.¡± Professor Oldridge¡¯s lecture is visualized by pictures and short video clips that show a young man experimenting with magic and finally casting his first spell. He vanishes and reappears a few meters to the side. The first Mage was a Space Mage! The professor stops speaking and points at the projection. Suddenly something weird happens. The first Mage bends over in pain and holds the area where his Artifact core is located. Then he collapses and medics rush him. They are stopped halfway, unable to move forward or backward. It looks as if the Space around them is locked down. I lean closer. Is this something a Space Mage can do? That would be amazing for Improvised Combat and who knows what else. Then power gathers around the first Mage. A purple sphere encompasses him. Suddenly, with a brilliant flash, the purple sphere expands and expands and expands. The view switches to a schematic of the Solar System and shows the sphere expanding throughout the whole Solar System and beyond. The view switches again and now shows the first Mage collapsed on the ground. The medics are free to move again and rush the Mage. Seconds later one of them gives a thumbs-up. The first Mage is alive! The recording stops. We all look at the frozen image showing the first Mage lying on the ground, unconscious. Oldridge clears his throat again. ¡°As I said. Magic is a mystery. No one knows why this happened, but soon after, a fitting name was found for this event: The Awakening! In the following years, some babies were born with their own cores, which led to the first generation of Mages. Most of them had blank cores, which led to the discovery of Utility and A&D magic. Even rarer was the purple magic that the first Mage demonstrated to wield: Space magic. You will learn more about the history of magic in the following lessons as this requires more time than we have left.¡± The projection cuts off. ¡°You know what? I¡¯ve just told you so much that I think it¡¯s better to end the lesson right here and let you guys sort out the information on your own. If there are any questions, I stay here for the remainder of the lessons. Otherwise, I wish you a good day.¡± Immediately the noise rises again, as everyone starts speaking and discussing what we just learned. I just have to look at Lucy who grimaces. Seconds later, her noise spell envelopes us. We both sigh in relief. ¡°Do you have a question?¡± I ask her. She shakes her head. ¡°Okay, then let¡¯s get out of here.¡± I grab both of us and we teleport away. I chose the Stargazer as our destination, and we appear in the living room. I immediately sit down in one of the armchairs and let out a long breath. I didn¡¯t expect a single lesson to be this intense! Announcement - I’m sick Hey guys¡­ I¡¯ve got some bad news. I¡¯ve fallen sick and didn¡¯t manage to write a single word in the past few days. I was on a short trip from Monday to Wednesday where I didn¡¯t write either. So last week¡¯s chapters came straight out of my backlog. The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.Now it¡¯s getting a little bit too small and unfortunately I have to pause with posting chapters this week. This means the next chapter will be out on Monday, September 30. I¡¯m really sorry that I have to pause posting so soon after my summer break. Anyway, I wish you all a nice week. Maja’s Adventures 6 Maja¡¯s Adventures 6 Location: Magicon Empire; Armortec Duchy; Cintman System; PAS Andala The Andala flies closer and closer to the damaged freighter. Maja is now able to read its name with her bare eyes. The Jericho is dead in space. Maja lets her gaze swipe over her crew on the bridge. Some of her fellow cadets are a little tense, but all in all, they are all ready. Let¡¯s do this! Together with Ellie, Shay, and one additional member of the boarding squad, Maja came up with the plan they are about to implement in the next few minutes. The shuttle containing a magically cloaked boarding, and a smaller squad of non-cloaked Peacekeepers is only waiting for the go-ahead command from Maja. She hesitates for a moment, then gives the green light. The front-facing window splits. The left side still shows the outside while the right side projects a hologram of the shuttle. Now it¡¯s in Shay¡¯s hands. We still have to play our part though. To keep up appearances, Maja mumbles a few words for the ship¡¯s AI under her breath. In reality, she simply uses her connection to the ship and sends out a call request to the freighter. The captain, or whoever else he is, is quick to pick up. ¡°We just noticed your shuttle launch. Thank you! We¡¯ll be waiting at the port-side airlock for the extraction to speed things up.¡± Dammit, they are overeager. Shay needs time to exit the shuttle with her squad before they enter. I can¡¯t tell him that, though¡­ Hmm, yes, that could work. ¡°That¡¯s perfect,¡± Maja replies and forces a smile. ¡°The pilot will contact you as soon as they are docked.¡± The man nods. ¡°Thanks again, I¡¯ll see you soon in person.¡± Maja cuts the call and turns to the communication officer. ¡°Please tell the boarding squad to approach the port-side airlock, then disengage and dock at the starboard side. Then have them call the freighter and explain that the airlock looked damaged from the outside and so they docked at the other one. This should buy them enough time to disembark before the freighter crew arrives.¡± The young woman smiles and nods. She briefly closes her eyes to cast a Communication spell. A few seconds later, she nods again. ¡°They understand and are on their final approach now. We should see them enact the docking maneuver any time now.¡± Maja thanks her and looks at Ellie. She looks a bit nervous, probably still fearing that it might be pirates after all. Maja leans over to whisper. ¡°Shay¡¯s got this, Ellie.¡± Ellie¡¯s expression eases a little and she whispers back. ¡°Thank you, Maja.¡± In the meantime, the shuttle finally docks at the airlock. Ellie holds her breath, and Maja grabs her armrests a little tighter. That¡¯s the riskiest part. As soon as the crew is aboard the shuttle, everything should be good¡­ Well, we¡¯ll see if my paranoia was justified as soon as they are aboard the shuttle¡­ The projection switches again, now showing the interior of the shuttle. Shay¡¯s assault squad is already invisible, while the remaining six soldiers stand in the back of the shuttle. The airlock opens, and Maja looks at the communication officer. The woman stares intently, and after ten long seconds, she gives a thumbs-up. Shay made it out! Maja sighs in relief and turns to Ellie. ¡°Alright, commander, your turn. I¡¯ll take care of our freighter crew.¡± Ellie nods and walks over to the communication officer. They immediately start talking. Ellie¡¯s got this! I can¡¯t take care of everything without exposing myself. Still, I wish I¡¯d be involved in the sneaky boarding action¡­ But I¡¯ve got my own job to do. Still, Maja leaves a small process in her head observing the boarding action, ready to jump in if necessary. Then she concentrates on the smaller squad of peacekeepers that is visible. They are exiting the shuttle, and Maja accesses one of their body cameras and projects the feed on her console before her. The freighter crew is just walking around the corner with the assumed captain in the front. ¡°Greetings and thank you for coming to the rescue!¡± One of the Peacekeepers replies. ¡°That¡¯s what we¡¯re here for. Now, please get inside so that we can leave. Who knows if your ship is stable or not.¡± The freighter immediately rushes for the shuttle, while the captain stays back. ¡°I fear there is one more problem.¡± There is a slight tone of panic in his voice. ¡°We¡¯ve lost contact with our engineering section. There should be five more crew members down there¡­¡± The squad leader nods. ¡°We¡¯ll take a look. If there¡¯s someone still down there, we¡¯ll find them.¡± He turns to the rest of his squad and is about to send three of them on the rescue mission, as it¡¯s protocol to not leave the shuttle alone. He hesitates and remembers the plan. ¡°Let¡¯s go, we¡¯ve got some engineers to rescue.¡± Maja smiles to herself. This went even better than expected. Who would have known that the crew would give us a reason to remove the Peacekeepers from the shuttle? Saves us from finding our own reason. The shuttle¡¯s exterior camera catches a slight smile on the captain¡¯s face when he enters through the airlock. To keep up appearances, the Peacekeeper squad jogs toward the engineering section. Maja shifts part of her attention to Shay¡¯s squad. They¡¯ve just arrived at the mess hall where the scan showed the hostages. The guards around the room are gone. Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. Probably already aboard the shuttle. The invisible squad enters the room, and their video feed shows a room full of unconscious people. Ellie ushers a few orders, then Shay uncloaks herself and approaches one of the unconscious people. She takes an injector out of her pocket and uses it. The effect is almost immediate, and the middle-aged woman sits up straight. She looks around. ¡°What¡­? Where?¡± Her eyes focus. ¡°Shit! I¡¯m still on the ship. No¡­ No, no, no!¡± Shay snaps her fingers before her eyes. ¡°Please focus, madam. What happened here?¡± She looks at Shay with wide eyes. ¡°There¡¯s been a mutiny!¡± Hah, I knew it! ¡°Our engineers revolted. They wanted to steal our special cargo. We resisted, but they overwhelmed us. We need to leave! They rigged the ship to explode as soon as they are away from it.¡± Shay starts swearing, and Maja grips her console a bit tighter. They didn¡¯t plan for a self-destruct. Ellie turns and looks at Maja with wide eyes. Maja grimaces, as the mutineers just started their own move. Of course, it happens all at once¡­ Maja just points at Simon and Ellie¡¯s eyes light up. She also sends a priority message to the Peacekeeper squad, currently on their way to the engineering section, telling them to meet up with the others in the mess hall. Then she concentrates back on what¡¯s happening inside the shuttle: They just activated the emergency disconnect which caused the airlocks to close and now the shuttle is drifting away from the freighter. All mutineers aboard the shuttle pull out weapons, and the presumed captain, together with four others, advances toward the front of the shuttle. Maja watches them getting closer to the cockpit. Fortunately, the emergency disconnect also locked down the hatch leading inside the cockpit. The shuttle¡¯s engine engages, and the small vessel flies closer to the Andala. The captain nods at one of his goons, and the woman pulls a handheld laser cutter out of her backpack. Maja activates the audio. ¡°¡­ can¡¯t believe they fell for it,¡± the woman says while holding the cutter against the hatch. ¡°That¡¯s the worst batch of recruits so far.¡± The captain chuckles. ¡°True enough, Melinda, but stay sharp. Who knows if they have some surprises in their back pockets.¡± Oh, we have them, just you wait. Maja grins slightly and walks over to Thomas at the tactical console. She addresses his second. ¡°Target the shuttle as soon as they are in laser range. Light them up with our active sensors.¡± ¡°Aye, captain,¡± the young man from her command track replies with a big smile on his face. ¡°They should be close enough in one minute¡± Perfect, that¡¯s about the time they need to cut through the hatch. Maja glances at Ellie and also accesses the cameras in the jump room close to the med bay. Simon and the other Space Mage of the Andala are already back, and the freighter crew is being carried to the med bay. This time the cadets take no risks, and a full squad of armed Peacekeepers keeps watch. Ellie gives a thumbs-up at the same time. They¡¯ve got everyone out! Maja nods back and activates the main holoprojector, showing the inside of the shuttle to everyone aboard the bridge. ¡°Ladies and Gentlemen, stay at your stations and keep watch for further surprises, otherwise, enjoy the show.¡± The woman finishes with the laser cutter, and the captain presses the intercom button beside it. ¡°We¡¯ve taken control of your shuttle. This doesn¡¯t need to end bloody, come on out, and we promise to leave you and your colleagues aboard the freighter alive.¡± ¡°Link me in,¡± Maja whispers to Dina, the Andala¡¯s fake AI for appearance¡¯s sake. Then she continues to speak. This time her voice also comes out of the intercom¡¯s speaker on the shuttle. ¡°No can do, mate. But I¡¯ll take your surrender now.¡± The captain laughs. ¡°As you wish, but don¡¯t whine that we didn¡¯t warn you after the assessment.¡± He steps back and kicks in the door. They enter the cockpit and point their weapons at the shuttle pilot. Said pilot gets up and lifts her hands. She looks at the mutineers with wide eyes. ¡°Surrender now, or it¡¯s going to hurt.¡± The pilot suddenly grins broadly and winks, then she vanishes when Maja turns off the holoprojector in the cockpit. The mutineers continue to stare at the spot where the hologram of the pilot just vanished. Then the shuttle enters the laser range of the Andala, and the assistant tactical officer targets it. Red warning lights start blinking all around the cockpit, and the mutineers¡¯ eyes go wide. They start swearing. Maja uses that moment to speak through the intercom again. ¡°As I said, we¡¯ll take your surrender now.¡± The mutineers blanch and one of them whispers. ¡°They knew¡­ We stepped right into their trap, and our fake call for help in engineering played right into their cards to get the Peacekeepers off the shuttle.¡± The woman with the laser cutter shakes her head. ¡°Dammit, that¡¯s why they broke protocol and sent the whole squad away.¡± Meanwhile, the captain takes out a small device with a big red button. He holds it to the camera and shouts. ¡°Let us go, or we blow up the freighter with your crew and the civilians aboard!¡± Maja laughs. ¡°Go ahead. Everyone left the freighter a long time ago.¡± The man sits down, resignation on his face. ¡°Dammit! Fine, we surrender.¡± It only takes another fifteen minutes until the shuttle sets down in the hangar bay. It is surrounded by armed Peacekeepers, and the crew¡¯s A&D Mages provide additional one-way Shields for the crew¡¯s protection. The shuttle¡¯s airlock opens, and the mutineers step outside with their hands in the air. There is a purple flash at the entrance of the hangar bay, and a middle-aged man with greying hair appears. It¡¯s commander Lackney, the man overseeing the training mission. He starts clapping, and a message saying that they¡¯ve passed the assessment appears on everyone¡¯s interfaces. A loud cheer goes through the cadets, and the mutineers start clapping too. We did it! ¡°Congratulations,¡± commander Lackney calls out. ¡°That¡¯s the best performance we¡¯ve seen in a very long time.¡± He looks at the mutineer captain and grins broadly. ¡°Especially captain Hedon will remember it for a long time. His dumbfounded expression will definitely find its way into next year¡¯s Peacekeeper calendar.¡± The mutineer captain, or rather captain Hedon turns beet red and hides his face behind his hands. The cadets around him start to chuckle. ¡°Please have mercy.¡± Commander Lackney shakes his head. ¡°Oh no, you¡¯ve brought this upon yourself with all that confident talking inside the shuttle.¡± Captain Hedon groans while his crew mates pat his back. ¡°But joking aside, it¡¯s time for your debriefing. Please return to your stations, one of the instructors will be with you shortly. Dismissed.¡± The cadets finally lower their weapons, and slowly return to their stations. Maja and the others from the bridge crew join up with Ellie and Thomas who have stayed behind to keep the ship operational. Ellie is quick to hug Maja when she enters the bridge. ¡°We did it, Maja. Your plan actually worked!¡± Maja smiles. ¡°It did, and we also impressed the commander! He said it was the best performance in years.¡± ¡°Awesome, but what now?¡± ¡°He said someone will be with us shortly for a debriefing¡­ I don¡¯t know who though.¡± ¡°That would be me,¡± commander Lackney¡¯s voice sounds from behind Maja and she jumps a little. She turns around to salute. The others follow her example. ¡°At ease, cadets. You did great, indeed. Now, please get comfortable, then we go over the whole assessment again¡­¡± What follows is a lengthy recollection of everything that happened during the training mission. Commander Lackney asks a few times why the bridge crew decided to do things the way they did and gives a few pieces of advice on other things. All in all, his words are still full of praise. ¡°Now, I have one final question. Have anyone of you noticed anything strange during the mission?¡± Silence is the answer to the question until Simon hesitantly lifts his hand. ¡°Uh, the motivation of the mutineers¡­ It doesn¡¯t make sense. Why would they hijack a shuttle from a Peacekeeper ship? I mean even if they managed to take control of it, where would they go? The Andala sure wouldn¡¯t have let them escape.¡± Commander Lackney grins. ¡°That¡¯s it! Yes, the scenario was pretty unrealistic in that regard but sometimes you have to expect the unexpected. And you guys managed that brilliantly. Really well done. Concerning recent news, you have just taken a big step toward being nominated for the Earth adventure.¡± YES!!! Chapter 108: Advanced Space Lessons Chapter 108: Advanced Space Lessons Location: Magicon Empire; Magicon System; Terra; Imperia; FBC ¡°Did you expect something like that?¡± Lucy asks me after five minutes of silence. My head is still spinning¡­ All the things, professor Oldridge just taught us. It¡¯s crazy. I thought this would be a rather boring course. At most, I expected to learn more about Artifacts. But with all things concerning Talent, it feels like Artifacts are just a minor part of all this. Even if I know this is not true. I mean Oldridge told us himself: Magic developed from Artifacts. Without them, the Awakening would never have happened. Still¡­ My thoughts still cycle back to Talent, despite all this. I didn¡¯t even know about Talent a few hours earlier¡­ And now it is the one thing that explains so much and affects me in so many ways. Why did no one tell me about it? Did they think I couldn¡¯t handle it? Sure, professor Oldridge¡¯s explanation of losing motivation and all that is valid, but still. Ugh¡­ Everyone probably tried to take things slowly as they didn¡¯t know how I would react to things¡­ I¡¯ve been gone for 20 years after all. Hell, I don¡¯t know how I would have reacted. All I know is that I¡¯m now sitting here, thinking about it¡­ Maybe I wouldn¡¯t have reacted the way I now expect? I guess I¡¯ll never find out¡­ Unless Space Lessons turn out to include time travel or something like that¡­ ¡°Sara?¡± Oh, I spaced out again! ¡°Sorry, it¡¯s been a lot. And no, I didn¡¯t expect it at all. Also, do you realize what this all means with Talent and all?¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± she answers and lowers her head. ¡°How can we explain this to Lydia?¡± This hammers it home even more. Lydia, our friend and roommate, is directly affected by this! ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­ Hey, now that I think about it. Why bother with all the secrecy stuff about discouragement and everything when professor Oldridge just tells everyone that people with awakening cores will never reach Archmage? Was it a lie after all? Because that¡¯s a big reason to discourage someone with an awakening core.¡± ¡°Right¡­ That doesn¡¯t make sense. Maybe he checked and no one with an awakening core was there?¡± Lucy shrugs. ¡°Yeah, maybe. Clara, can you find out?¡± ¡°Sure, but this might take a while¡­ I¡¯ll have to look up every student from the course, and I¡¯m not allowed to browse the student files. Maybe you can contact someone and ask them¡­ That might be faster. That¡¯s all I¡¯m allowed to say.¡± Right, I can ask my parents. ¡°She¡¯s looking into it, but it might take a while. But I¡¯ve got another idea, give me a moment.¡± Lucy stands up. ¡°Sure, take your time, I¡¯ll get us something to eat.¡± She leaves the room and I start casting the longer-range Communication spell I learned before attending FBC and aim for my mom. I don¡¯t have the Video Call one ready yet. Somehow, I hear the sound of Clara face palming. ¡°I didn¡¯t mean your mother¡­¡± Before I can respond or maybe cancel the spell, it connects, and I can hear Mom¡¯s voice. ¡°Hey Sara, it¡¯s nice to hear from you! How are you? We haven¡¯t spoken in a while.¡± I swallow my annoyance at Clara. ¡°Hi, Mom! I¡¯m good, thanks. It¡¯s been a while, yeah. But things have been busy.¡± ¡°Hah, you tell me. You just have to sit still and learn while Dan and I both have to do all the preparation stuff for your trip to Earth,¡± Mom replies with false annoyance, which causes me to grin. Then I remember something I wanted to ask her as well. ¡°Yeah about that¡­ Can you pull some strings and have Maja¡¯s cadet group or whatever they are called assigned to us? It would be so cool to have everyone back together again.¡± Now it¡¯s Mom¡¯s turn to laugh. ¡°Oh dear, don¡¯t worry. We¡¯ve considered all that for a long time. While you won¡¯t be all aboard the same ship, you all will be forming one large team. That¡¯s all I¡¯m going to tell you though. A bit of the surprise has to remain.¡± Oh, now I feel a bit dumb. Of course, they thought of all that¡­ ¡°Thanks, Mom! You¡¯re the best. But that¡¯s actually not why I was calling you¡­ You see, I had my first Magic and Artifacts lesson today¡­¡± Mom just utters a single word. ¡°Oh¡­¡± She knows! ¡°We learned about talent¡­ And now I know why I need an Artifact core for A&D magic.¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s the reason. And I¡¯m guessing you learned even more about Talent if I¡¯m judging your mood correctly.¡± I nod, despite Mom not being able to see it. ¡°Yeah¡­ So it¡¯s true? Lydia, Shay, and all the others who got their first cores from Doctor Philipps can never reach Archmage?¡± Mom sighs. ¡°Yes, it¡¯s true. The only possibility is getting them an Artifact core as well. That¡¯s also the reason why we didn¡¯t tell you and your friends. There is nothing worse for a Mage¡¯s career than being told that you can never reach the peak of magic. So, if Lydia doesn¡¯t know already, I suggest you don¡¯t tell her. At least not yet when she just started her journey.¡± Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. Hmm, she¡¯s got a point there. Lydia has always been so excited about magic. I don¡¯t want to crush her spirits. Mom continues. ¡°I¡¯m curious though¡­ Did you figure it out yourself or did your professor tell you?¡± ¡°He told us after someone asked. That¡¯s also something I¡¯m confused about. I mean, he told us the same as you just did with crushing a Mage''s spirit and all, but why did he tell us the part about awakening cores not being able to reach Archmage? Isn¡¯t that the definition of crushing one¡¯s spirit?¡± ¡°That¡¯s true¡­ Maybe you had only born Mages in your course? That¡¯s the only explanation I can think of right now.¡± ¡°Yeah, Lucy thought the same¡­ I already asked Clara, and she said looking into it might take a while. She also said I should just ask someone else, that¡¯s why I called you¡­ But then she said she didn¡¯t mean you. She¡­ Oh!¡± I trail off. I¡¯m such an idiot. Now it¡¯s obvious. Clara meant I should ask the professor! ¡°Thanks again, Mom, but I gotta go!¡± She laughs and tells me goodbye as well, then I cut the call and look back at Lucy who has entered the room just a minute ago. ¡°You were probably right that there were only natural Mages in our course. I could ask the professor if you want, but actually, I don¡¯t think it¡¯s that important. Also, Mom said we probably shouldn¡¯t tell Lydia about her not being able to reach Archmage.¡± Lucy sits down and grimaces. ¡°I hate to lie to her¡­ But I also don¡¯t want to hurt her. Shit, that¡¯s messed up. We¡¯re going to hurt her either way. But I think your mom is right¡­ Telling her now is probably worse than telling her later when she is already stronger. Who knows, maybe we find a whole cache of Artifact cores on Earth.¡± Yeah, that would be great. ¡°Okay, then we keep it to ourselves for now¡­¡± I don¡¯t like it, but the alternative isn¡¯t better. We eat in silence until Lucy breaks it some ten minutes later. ¡°Should we head back down? You¡¯ve got your Space magic class, right?¡± ¡°Yeah, let¡¯s go. It¡¯s been getting way too broody in here.¡± That gets a short laugh out of Lucy, and I teleport the two of us back into our dorm room. Having Space Sense is such a cheat when it enables you to check your emergence point. A bit later I find myself inside a familiar room. It¡¯s the same one, I had my Beginner Space class a bit more than a week ago. This time the room is rather empty, probably less than a hundred people. Hmm, there were about 500 Senior or above Space Mages in the introduction course¡­ That would make five or six classes. The same number as the Beginner course I¡¯ve attended before. That must be it. Now I just have to wait if instructor Renner was right, and he¡¯s the one to teach this course as well. But still, there should be a one in six chance, that I¡¯ve got one of the other five instructors¡­ Ah, never mind¡­ With a purple flash, instructor Renner appears behind the lectern in the front, and with another flash of Space magic, the doors at the back of the classroom are suddenly closed. Silence descends through the room. What was that? Did he use Space magic to close the doors? How? I immediately lift my hand to ask him, but for now, he ignores me. Instead, he introduces himself again. Only then does he acknowledge my question. Right, the other Space Mages don¡¯t know him yet. ¡°What spell did you just use with the doors in the back?¡± I glance around and notice a few other students¡¯ gazes sharpening. Looks like they noticed as well. ¡°Ahh, you caught that, did you? It¡¯s something similar to Teleportation but also not. The spell is called Displacement, and one of the many spells you all will learn during our lessons. Unfortunately, not right now as we have more important topics to cover before.¡± He pauses for a second before continuing. ¡°Who of you knows the Starship Jump spell?¡± This time, almost every hand goes up. Only ten or so don¡¯t lift theirs and look a bit uncomfortable because of all the attention they are now getting. ¡°That¡¯s good! It will speed up things by a lot. Can the ones who don¡¯t know the spell yet please join me at the lectern?¡± They quickly get up and do so. Instructor Renner talks to them for a while, then they return to their seats shortly after with big smiles on their faces. I wonder what he told them. Instructor Renner addresses the class again. ¡°Alright, as you all now know the most important spell for Space Mages, or learn it very soon,¡± he winks at the few students who have just talked to him, ¡°we can immediately start with something even more interesting. It¡¯s something to look forward to for all the Senior Mages among you. Can the Masters here tell me what I mean by this?¡± He has to mean Space Sense, right? That ability is just overpowered. I lift my hand, and about fifteen others do so as well. That¡¯s quite a lot of Masters¡­ Sixteen out of a hundred. Renner points at someone. It¡¯s a tall young man with dark hair who sits at the other end of the classroom. ¡°You¡¯re talking about the fact that us Masters can ignore ship sizes,¡± he brags. ¡°And that teleportation distances are almost tenfold, right?¡± He leans back with a satisfied smirk on his face when he sees the people around him looking at him in awe. Oh my, did his power go to his head? How can someone be so arrogant when almost a fifth of the people in this room are just as strong as him or even stronger in my case, probably? Instructor Renner seems to think the same, as he frowns slightly and shakes his head. ¡°No, not quite. Sure, being able to teleport greater distances and all are very nice things, but it¡¯s not what I meant as it¡¯s just natural progression. No, I¡¯m looking for something else. Something that sets a Master Space Mage a step above all the others.¡± Only a few hands are still in the air, mine included. The arrogant dude looks a bit confused. Finally, instructor Renner calls out another student. This time it¡¯s a red-haired girl. Her hair is much darker than my natural color though. ¡°It has to be Space Sense, and you¡¯re absolutely right. That ability is amazing!¡± Before instructor Renner can reply, the arrogant dude speaks up again. ¡°Really? But that¡¯s useless¡­ All that weird ability shows me is the destination of my teleports¡­ Who cares about that when we arrive there in the same second anyway?¡± Is he dumb or is he just ignoring all the things Space Sense can do? Renner interrupts him. ¡°Miss Dellowa is absolutely right, I was talking about Space Sense. And Mr Franklin, it seems that you are underutilizing your own Space Sense. If you want, I can offer you an extra lesson on Space Sense sometime next week. That goes for all of you. Especially the Masters among you.¡± I find myself nodding. I definitely listen to that lesson! He continues to tell us some basics about Space Sense that I already know. Then he explains a few other things about Space Magic in general. And the time flies by. Before I know it, instructor Renner is finished with today¡¯s lesson and asks us if we have any questions. He ended the lesson quite a bit before it ended officially. I guess he expects quite a lot of questions. And he was right¡­ Almost everyone lifts their hand and wants to ask something, so instructor Renner just shrugs and starts at the leftmost student sitting in the front row. The questions come and go. Most of the time, the students ask for clarifications or something similar. Someone else asks if he can attend the Space Sense lesson despite only being a Senior Mage. Renner happily agrees and extends the invitation to everyone else a second time. Then it¡¯s my turn. I too have a question. Something that has bothered me since the Magic and Artifact lesson in the morning. ¡°I don¡¯t know if this is part of a future lesson, but I¡¯ve been to the Magic and Artifact course this morning. There we saw the recording of the first Mage. He froze the people in Space around him¡­ Was that a spell and can we learn it as well?¡± Instructor Renner grins. ¡°Ah, I was waiting for that question. This one is asked every year. Unfortunately, what you saw wasn¡¯t a spell¡­ It was part of the Awakening and the first Mage never managed to replicate it.¡± My face starts to fall. That spell would have been so useful! ¡°But years later, someone else managed to create a spell that practically does the same. It¡¯s called Space Freeze, and yes, that spell is part of the curriculum!¡± His grin is affecting and I return it. He did that on purpose! But still, I can¡¯t wait to learn that spell. Chapter 109: College Team Chapter 109: College Team Location: Magicon Empire; Magicon System; Terra; Imperia; FBC Friday is my free day, at least as long as I¡¯m not needed for my taxi duties. But that should still be a few months off. The groups need to learn their theoretical stuff first and plan their journeys after all. This means I finally have time to check out the Gravity Ball field here on campus! I¡¯m all alone, as the others either have classes or aren¡¯t that interested in Gravity Ball, at least not in playing the sport themselves. Not that I care¡­ It¡¯s been too long since I¡¯ve played, and the absence of my friends won¡¯t stop me here. Thomas always said I¡¯ve got the talent to play in professional teams. Let¡¯s see if this turns out true. College sports are very close to the professionals, or so I¡¯ve read. Thanks to Clara, I now know that this week has been full of tryouts for the first, second, and third college teams here at FBC. Today isn¡¯t different, so I exit my room after eating breakfast and say goodbye to Alina who is in her room studying. I decide to walk instead of teleporting and take the elevator to the ground floor. I already have put on my sports clothes consisting of dark shorts and a baggy tank top with a sports bra underneath. That way I don¡¯t have to carry anything with me and can immediately start playing if the coaches ask for it. I greet a few familiar faces along the way and before I know it, I stand at the entrance to the sports section on campus. It¡¯s like a big open field right in the middle of all the college towers around me. Besides the four Gravity Ball fields, other grounds allow to practice basically every kind of sport. There is even an outdoor gym with weights and everything. I of course ignore all of it and head directly to the Gravity Ball fields. I¡¯m a bit early, as today¡¯s tryouts don¡¯t start for another thirty minutes. Still, there is already a small crowd waiting. I join them and say hi. I don¡¯t know anyone of them, but who cares? A few of them look just as eager as I probably do. Others are more subdued, but I can still feel the tension in the air. The conversations are mostly about different professional teams. A topic I can¡¯t speak much about, unfortunately. My time here in The Empire has just been too short. I arrived mid-season, and now it¡¯s summer break. I barely had time to watch any games in between. I don¡¯t even have a favorite team yet¡­ That is just embarrassing. I hope no one asks me about it. From the few games I managed to watch, I¡¯m inclined to support the Nua Panthers, as they are, well my home-ground team and they are quite good. In fact, they won the title this year, and that¡¯s where the problems start: Sara Green isn¡¯t from Nua¡­ So I can¡¯t say I support the local team. Combine this with my lack of knowledge of the other teams and the recently won championship of the Panthers, others might come to a horrifying conclusion: They could see me as a fair-weather fan! And that is something I can¡¯t bear being called. Fortunately, I¡¯m in luck, and no one asks me about my team preferences. Instead, they ask about other things. The boy next to me leans over. ¡°Hey, I¡¯m Alec. What position are you trying to get if I may ask? I¡¯m aiming for defense myself.¡± I look at him. He¡¯s extremely broad. Almost broader than he is tall. Like a square. I suppress a chuckle. It¡¯s obvious that he wants to try out for defense. His question is a good one and reminds me of the times I played with Thomas. Back then we always played one on one. That way we had to control the catchers on our own while using the bat as well. In a sense, this was harder than the team version. Here, teams consist of seven players. Six are with bats, while the seventh sits at the sidelines and controls another six catchers. This person is called the controller. Other positions are naturally goalkeeper, defense, and offense. Depending on the coach¡¯s tactics, a different number of players play each role. There is one more position. It is the hardest to play, and the most popular among all positions. Still, the number of really great players playing this position can be counted on two hands. It requires something like a sixth sense for the gameplay, as this position has to be in the right place at the right time. This is what makes it so hard. This position is called the jumper. It¡¯s also the only position that requires a Space Mage in the Mage leagues. Why should be obvious with that name. Naturally, it¡¯s the perfect position for me. I grin at Alec. ¡°Hi Alec, I¡¯m Sara, nice to meet you. I¡¯m trying my luck on the jumper. I¡¯m quite confident though.¡± He scoffs. ¡°Everyone is confident until they learn that jumper isn¡¯t for them. It¡¯s not for nothing that there are hardly any teams with good jumpers out there. Hell, some teams even discarded the role and play with an additional offense or defense player.¡± He¡¯s right of course. Even the Panthers played the last five games without their jumper as he was injured during a game. While he was right patched up with healing spells, the rules still call for a recovery break after an injury. I decide to wink at Alec. ¡°Just wait and see. I¡¯ve got this.¡± I do have a plan, but it also depends on the coach to trust me¡­ If everything works out, my team will have an insanely strong advantage. Said coach or better coaches arrive just at this moment. They are quite different. While the tall woman looks almost as broad as Alec, the man is small and lithe. If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. I gasp, as do all the people around me. I recognize them! The woman is Caroline ¡°Zero¡± Octan, one of the greatest defensive players of the past 150 years. She retired ten years ago and started her career as a coach. How did I miss that she is one of the coaches here? And then there is the man. His name is Angus Dalton. He was one of the better jumpers before he retired. He is a local player who played for the Terran Spartans for most of his career. This is insane! I just have to get a spot in one of the teams. The things I can learn from them¡­ I look around and my stomach drops a little. When did so many people arrive here? There are suddenly several hundred people waiting next to the playing fields. I gulp and Alec¡¯s hand lands on my shoulder. ¡°Hah, not so confident anymore?¡± I glare up at him and swallow my anxiety. ¡°On the contrary. Now I know just how impressive I have to be!¡± ¡°Hah, we¡¯ll see.¡± Coach Zero and coach Dalton both stop at the edge of the closest playing field and turn around. Zero clears her throat and magically enhances her voice. ¡°Welcome to the last tryout of the week, students. In case you don¡¯t know me,¡± she stops and winks. ¡°My name is Caroline Octan, but everyone calls me Zero. That means coach Zero for you. Next to me is my dear colleague coach Dalton.¡± Dalton gives a short wave before speaking up as well. ¡°We¡¯re both the head coaches of this year¡¯s college team here at FBC. This means we¡¯re responsible for picking the best of you for the three teams we¡¯re allowed to send to the student league. As you can see, with just three teams our spots are extremely limited. So do your best and show us what you¡¯ve got.¡± Zero takes over again. ¡°Also, if you don¡¯t get selected, don¡¯t despair. We¡¯ve got more coaches here on campus who happily help you get better if you want. Then you might have a shot at the main teams next year. Now, let¡¯s get started! You¡¯re quite a big group today. Best if we don¡¯t waste time. You all know the five positions. Please form up at the corresponding sign.¡± She waves her hand and projections of the five roles appear behind her. Alec immediately heads for the defensive group as a lot of other people do too. I look all the way to the right where the projection for the jumper is visible. A small group of nervous-looking students is already standing there. I put on a mask of confidence and join them. Then we all wait until every student has found their group. Of course, the offense and defense groups are the two biggest. The third biggest is the jumper group, despite the difficulty of the role. Everyone wants to be the star of the team! The controllers are close behind and lastly, there are a few people who want to try out as goalkeepers. Coach Zero addresses the group again. ¡°Alright, now that everyone has joined a group we can start. We¡¯ll be doing short matches of five minutes each across two of the playing fields. Both coach Dalton and I will be watching those games. If you catch our interest, we ask you to stay behind. Otherwise, you may leave if you want. Teams will be formed at random with the standard configuration of one goalkeeper, one controller, two offense and defense each, and a jumper. You¡¯ll be notified on your interface when it¡¯s your time to play. Now, enjoy the games and the first teams may enter the fields!¡± She turns around and enters the first playing field, where she stands on the sidelines, waiting for the first teams. I catch coach Dalton giving a lazy wave at the edge of my vision. Then he vanishes and reappears on the second field. The first group of students quickly enters, and the coaches give the signal to start. The first game was¡­ Unimpressive. I mean, they didn¡¯t play badly, but it was bog standard. Like they played every move by the book. It was just boring. Where is the struggle? Where are the surprising moves that can cause unexpected goals? The game ended in a draw of all things. Who wants to see a draw? The coaches seem to agree and dismiss every single team member. Their faces fall when they leave the fields. A few of them even leave altogether. They¡¯re missing the passion for the game! I would never leave even if I didn¡¯t get selected for the squad. While the next teams enter the field, I decide to take a look at the other one as well. Unfortunately, the pattern continues, and I switch fields every other match. Sure, the coaches select a few people sometimes, but I still think they are rather unimpressive. Maybe the coaches saw some potential in them, who knows? I know I sound a bit arrogant, but it¡¯s just true. My fourteen-year-old self would have wiped the floor with everyone and that while playing solo. Add in my new teleportation capabilities and yeah¡­ That changes in the ninth match. I¡¯m currently at coach Dalton¡¯s field and watching another unimpressive team enter the field. Then I catch sight of their controller. He¡¯s a small guy and even wears glasses. Who wears glasses anymore? But it¡¯s the glint in his eyes that catches my attention. It¡¯s the same glint I saw in the mirror this morning. This unwavering confidence of making it into the team. I have a feeling that I¡¯m going to be impressed for the first time! The teams line up and the first difference I notice is the controller. Other than the others, he doesn¡¯t sit down on the controller chair on the sidelines. Instead, he sits down cross-legged right next to his team¡¯s goal. Then he closes his eyes. Suddenly, his whole team looks at him with slightly wide eyes. Then they start grinning and begin to nod. I think he just cast a Group Communication spell! It¡¯s the first team I see to do this. If they manage to communicate silently, that will give them an extreme advantage. The team forms up and signals their readiness. The guy positions his six catchers in a half circle right around the hovering ball in the middle of the field. It¡¯s a stark difference compared to what the other team¡¯s controller is doing. She has all the catchers spread out across their half of the field. Coach Dalton whistles and the game starts. One of the guy controller¡¯s team kicks the ball straight up, and one of the catchers bounces it off again. The other catchers form a circle around the ball and continue to bounce the ball around while slowly moving toward the goal. The offensive players get into position on the sidelines and wait for a pass that never happens. Instead, the opposing team¡¯s jumper teleports right in between the catchers. He is too late though, as the controller guy bounces the ball straight ahead right before the opposing jumper arrives. That was some impressive timing! The ball flies straight for the goal, where the goalkeeper gets ready to strike the ball away with his bat. That is when the other jumper appears right next to the ball and only gives it a slight nudge with his own bat. It¡¯s enough, and the ball flies right past the goalkeeper and into the goal. The opposing controller tries her best to get one of her catchers into position, but guy controller must have anticipated it, and crashes one of his own catchers into hers. Doing so is allowed, and as the catchers are rather sturdy, both are still intact after the crash. The effect is immediate though. Girl controller¡¯s catcher misses the ball, and it arrives inside the goal. First goal for team guy controller. There are cheers all around the field and I quickly join in. That was an impressive move! Coach Dalton seems to agree and pauses the game after barely one minute of playtime. ¡°That was very impressive, Drew! You can stay behind after the game, now continue!¡± For the first time, the guy controller, no, Drew grins. Then he nods in determination and the game continues. In the end, Drew¡¯s squad completely wipes the floor with their opponents, but Drew is still the only one who gets selected to stay behind. I return to the other playing field, as I see Alec entering it in the corner of my eye. Let¡¯s see how he does! Chapter 110: Jumper Chapter 110: Jumper Location: Magicon Empire; Magicon System; Terra; Imperia; FBC I arrive right when coach Zero calls the start of the match. Alec is playing defense, just like he said. The other team gets to start, and so Alec has to do his job right away. He¡¯s quite quick on his feet, despite his broad frame. He rushes for one of the opposing offensive players and tackles him right before he can play the ball with his bat. Somehow Alec managed to get his knee up while doing his tackle and hits the ball with it. It flies straight up, where Alec¡¯s jumper appears, and kicks the ball toward one of the waiting catchers. Unfortunately, their counterattack is stopped soon after, and Alec is forced to act again. This time, he¡¯s out of range, as the opposing jumper tricked him with a quick double teleport. The other defensive player is busy covering one of the other offensive players. This leaves one offensive player wide open, and the ball flies right in his direction. Alec bellows in rage and rushes for his own goal. The goalkeeper is already concentrating on closing off all the angles the offensive player might attack. Instead, the opposing attacker smirks and uses his bat to send the ball slightly above and to the right of the goal. The goalkeeper stretches, but she¡¯s not tall enough. The ball flies past her, and the opposing jumper appears in mid-air, already swinging his bat. That¡¯s when Alec comes flying by after he jumps the final distance. Again, he¡¯s much more agile than his frame would suggest. He basically flies at least two meters and collides with the jumper¡¯s bat right as he is about to hit the ball. Instead, the ball continues on its trajectory until one of the catchers moves in to bounce the ball back forward. Alec and the jumper tumble to the ground and after checking if the other young man is okay, Alec gets back up and stands guard. He moves his hand through his short-cropped silverish hair and allows a slight grin. I think that move with the jumper is what impressed coach Zero enough to ask him to stay for later. He winks when he sees me after the game, and I give him a thumbs up. Then, about twenty minutes later it¡¯s finally time. It¡¯s my turn now. I¡¯m also playing on the field, coach Zero supervises, and take a look at my teammates. I¡¯m not impressed, but at least they look confident. ¡°Come here, please, guys,¡± I call out, and we form a small circle. ¡°Does anyone of you know the Group Call spell?¡± Unfortunately, no one knows it and I sigh. ¡°Okay, then we have to play without much coordination¡­ I can be practically everywhere. Just get me the ball somewhere, and I will take care of it.¡± One of our defensive players frowns. ¡°That¡¯s your plan, really? Haven¡¯t you seen how many prospective jumpers tried to lead the game just to fail miserably? The role isn¡¯t the hardest for nothing¡­ I¡¯m not wasting my chance of joining the team on a wannabe jumper who overestimates herself.¡± I must have sounded too confident¡­ The guy sounds stubborn as well. I don¡¯t think there is anything I can say to change his mind. ¡°Fine, you do your way, and I do mine. You¡¯ll see that I didn¡¯t overestimate myself.¡± He grumbles but nods. Then we form up on the field and coach Zero calls the start of the match. The other team has the first move and one of their offensive players kicks the ball straight up toward one of the catchers ¨C a classic move, one I¡¯ve anticipated. I quickly cast a Teleportation spell. As this is all line of sight, I don¡¯t need any coordinates from Clara. I reappear right next to the upward-moving ball and hit it dead center with my bat. The other team is so surprised by my quick movement, that everyone just stares and the ball shoots right into the goal. One-nil for my team, and we¡¯ve barely played for ten seconds. That¡¯s one way to start a game, I¡¯d say. A quick glance at coach Zero shows a good poker face. She doesn¡¯t show a single emotion. I guess, I have to continue with those fancy moves. For the next attack, I decide to take it slower and let my team lead the defense. The guy who was annoyed with me does an adequate job and manages to secure the ball pretty quickly. Unfortunately, he then tries to pass the ball diagonally across the field toward one of our attackers. It was a very obvious move, which is easily intercepted by a combined move of the enemy¡¯s jumper and controller. A single catcher bounces the ball up toward a second one, which then shoots the ball into our last third close to the sidelines. There, the jumper appears, already mid-swing and swats the ball toward our goal. It bounces from the ground right before our goalkeeper, which irritates him, and he misses his catch. That¡¯s where I come in again! Another teleport moves me to the goal line, and I save my team from conceding a goal. I kick the ball toward one of our catchers and nod at our controller. She nods back. She understands! What follows is a series of rapid teleports across the whole field. Our controller lines up the catchers in a straight line toward the enemy¡¯s goal and I jump around them, while we pass the ball back and forth. Right next to the goal, I feint, and instead of shooting myself, I do a sneaky pass toward one of our attackers who rushed close to the door. She jumps up and manages to swat the ball down into the goal, unhindered ¨C two-nil! Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. The pattern continues, and in the end, we win with a comfortable four goals while the others didn¡¯t manage to score. If it weren¡¯t for their goalkeeper, the score would have been a lot higher. So it comes as no surprise when coach Zero asks her to stay behind. Then she turns to me. ¡°That was one of the most impressive jumper performances I¡¯ve seen in a very long time. Well done! You may stay behind as well. As for the rest of you, I wish you good luck next year. You may go.¡± Caroline Octan, coach Zero just praised me! I almost do a silly dance, but manage to restrain myself. Instead, I thank the coach and move toward the sidelines together with the goalkeeper, while wearing a very broad grin. A big hand lands on my shoulder. It¡¯s Alec. ¡°What a performance, Sara! I take back all the doubts I had earlier. That was insane!¡± ¡°Thanks, Alec. You weren¡¯t half bad either.¡± After that, we watch the remainder of the games together. Alec takes me now much more seriously. I think my performance left a mark on him. Anyway, a few more students get selected to stay behind and about one and a half hours later, the final match concludes. Coach Zero calls everyone they asked to stay behind together, and we form up before the coaches. We are now about fifty people left. That¡¯s still too many, and it doesn¡¯t even consider the other four tryout sessions. The real fight for team slots hasn¡¯t even begun yet! Coach Dalton speaks up. ¡°Alright, you¡¯re the ones who showed the most potential today. That means you get the chance to compete for one of the 36 open team slots next Saturday. We will do a repeat of today¡¯s matches to determine the lucky ones. But there is a twist. Just like in real matches, you won¡¯t be confined to the standard team lineup anymore. So if you have ideas about improving your game, bring those tactics to me or coach Zero in the following week. We will then look for suitable teammates for you. Who knows, maybe you¡¯re not the only ones with a certain idea. Now, off you go. We see you in a week, and good luck!¡± Our own tactics! That¡¯s going to be interesting as I¡¯ve already got an idea in my head that I want to try. I just have to convince my teammates, as it is a bit risky. Maybe I find them beforehand? I look at Alec. That could work. Maybe I could get Drew the controller aboard as well. That would be a solid foundation for a team. ¡°Hey Alec, do you have a moment?¡± I ask when he is about to leave. He shrugs. ¡°Sure¡­¡± We step aside, and I keep an eye out for Drew. I don¡¯t find him. ¡°Clara, can you notify Drew, please.¡± She immediately catches on to my idea. ¡°Sure, just one second¡­ Done¡­ Oh, he¡¯s a fast one. He¡¯s already on his way.¡± Just seconds later, I spot Drew moving through the crowd. He¡¯s heading straight for us and tilts his head when I spot him. ¡°Do I know you?¡± He asks and moves a hand through his messy brown hair. I shake my head. ¡°No, not at all. I¡¯m Sara, this is Alec.¡± Now Alec looks at me with a curious expression too. ¡°I know this is a bit sudden, but what coach Dalton just said got me thinking¡­ If they allow us to try our own tactics, it¡¯s best if we talk about them beforehand and in the best case even try them.¡± Alec nods. ¡°That¡¯s true¡­ I think I know what you¡¯re planning. I¡¯m in!¡± Drew takes off his glasses and starts cleaning them, absently. ¡°I¡¯m taking you want to team up? Let¡¯s say I¡¯m interested. I¡¯ve seen you playing, that was impressive. That¡¯s why I agreed to your AI¡¯s invitation. What¡¯s your plan now?¡± How the hell did he connect Clara¡¯s message to me playing on the field? Just what did she send him? A picture of me or what? I shove the thought away and grin in return. ¡°Exactly! It would be even better if we had a full team right away, but well. I didn¡¯t see anyone else who impressed me as much as the two of you. Anyway, I¡¯ve got an idea for how to play next Saturday, but it¡¯s a bit risky. Still, I think between the three of us we could pull it off.¡± Drew puts his glasses back on. ¡°Interesting. I like risky ideas, and I can already think of a few on my own. But let¡¯s put this discussion somewhere else in case the others listen in.¡± ¡°Good idea,¡± Alec agrees. ¡°Some others are already looking at us. Also, I might be able to help with some other people for our team if you trust my judgment¡­¡± They both look at me with expectant expressions. Right, I¡¯m the Space Mage. ¡°Alright, do you want to eat or go somewhere more secure?¡± Alec shrugs. ¡°Your choice.¡± ¡°I could use something to eat¡­ And I think a table with a privacy curtain is secure enough,¡± Drew replies. I nod at them. ¡°Alright, you¡¯re ready?¡± Then I whisper to Clara. ¡°Can you get me the coordinates for the burger restaurant I visited with Randolf?¡± They both nod their consent, and Clara provides the coordinates. Then I grab them with the Teleportation spell, and we vanish. A fraction of a second later, we reappear inside the same jump room I used to meet with Chris. Then we walk straight ahead toward the restaurant. ¡°I¡¯ve put in a reservation under your name,¡± Clara says right before we reach the entrance. I thank her silently and greet the employee at the entrance. ¡°Hello, sir. My name is Sara Green, I¡¯ve just put in a reservation for three people.¡± ¡°Good day, Miss. One second, please.¡± He looks at something on his interface, then nods. ¡°Right this way, please.¡± We follow him inside, and he leads us to a table close to a window. After ordering, I activate the privacy bubble, and we begin to talk. ¡°Okay, Sara let¡¯s hear your great plan,¡± Drew starts and Alec nods along. I decide to just tell them without much fanfare. ¡°I want to play without a goalkeeper.¡± ¡°You what?¡± Alec almost screams. ¡°Are you crazy? Do you want to lose?¡± Drew stays silent and looks out of the window. He seems deep in thought. I take the moment to address Alec. ¡°Think about it. We could play with an additional offensive or defensive player. Or maybe a hybrid role if one of those exists in our year. Sure, our goal would be more exposed without a keeper, but between me and Drew, I think we could manage quite nicely. You saw my game. I saved the ball more than once. Drew did the same with his catchers¡­¡± I¡¯m interrupted by Drew. ¡°She¡¯s right¡­ That could actually work. Here, take a look. That¡¯s the Kalupi Dolphins from 56 years ago. They did the same and it won them the title. Their jumper was exceptional though.¡± He looks at me in the end as if he is judging me. ¡°I can do it,¡± I say with conviction and Alec nods slowly. ¡°Alright, I give you the benefit of the doubt for now. But we do have to test it out before Saturday, I¡¯m not going to the tryouts with some untested and risky tactics.¡± ¡°Absolutely,¡± Drew and I agree at the same time. ¡°Good, now I mentioned that I might be able to fill out our team slots¡­ I wasn¡¯t sure before, but now that you mentioned your plan, she might be a perfect fit. There was this girl on Tuesday¡¯s tryouts. She struggled a lot with the rigid team compositions but still managed to get a spot on tryouts. I think she might be a real hybrid. She was everywhere on the field, and she¡¯s extremely fast. I think if we can get her aboard and fill up the remaining slots with two offensive and one defensive player, we¡¯ll have a solid squad.¡± I look at Drew who nods. ¡°That might work. Can you contact her?¡± ¡°Yeah, absolutely. I had to ask her for her contact. You know what I mean when you see her,¡± he winks. I can¡¯t help it and start laughing. ¡°Alright, then talk to her and invite her to our training game¡­ You guys free on Monday evening?¡± They both say yes, and we talk a bit more. Our food arrives soon after, and we enjoy a nice meal. After that, we tell each other goodbye and go our separate ways. Gravity Ball college team, here I come! Chapter 111: Suitors Chapter 111: Suitors Location: Magicon Empire; Magicon System; Terra; Imperia; FBC Saturday arrives quickly, and I enjoy a nice breakfast with my roommates in one of the countless caf¨¦s on campus. They all had some cool stuff happening during their courses on Friday, and I share my experiences with the Gravity Ball tryouts as well. We talk so much, that it¡¯s almost noon when we leave the caf¨¦. Alina leaves in a hurry, telling us she has to run some errands in the city. That leaves me with Lucy and Lydia. ¡°What are your plans for today?¡± I ask them. Lydia shrugs while Lucy starts grinning like a madwoman. ¡°Well, I¡¯m guessing you want to visit Benson Moon, right?¡± ¡°I do, yes¡­¡± Lucy suddenly grins even more. ¡°Do you think anyone would complain if I, or better we would join you?¡± She indicates Lydia at the end whose eyes go very wide and her jaw drops. I shrug. ¡°I don¡¯t think so. You know about me anyway. Let me check real quick.¡± Who is best to call? Probably Vic. I cast a quick Communication spell and reach out to her. The spell connects quickly after. ¡°Hey Sara, did you miss me?¡± I grin when I hear Vic¡¯s happy voice. ¡°Hi, Vic! I wanted to ask you something and maybe come by for a visit later depending on your answer.¡± ¡°Oh? Do tell.¡± ¡°Well, you know about Lucy and Lydia, right? They asked me if they could join me on the moon. I didn¡¯t know, so here I am asking you.¡± I hear her laughing. ¡°Good thing you asked, instead of just teleporting. Access to the moon is very restricted as you should know. Let me check¡­¡± She goes silent, and I turn back to the two girls. ¡°Just a moment.¡± They both nod, their faces full of anticipation. Vic comes back. ¡°That¡¯s surprising¡­ But I think Amelia or someone else in power pulled a few strings. Both Lucy and Lydia are allowed on the moon as long as they are with you.¡± A big grin finds its way on my face. ¡°That¡¯s great, thanks, Vic! We see you soon.¡± I cut the connection and relay the good news to the two girls. They are very excited, and we decide to jump up there as soon as we¡¯ve changed our clothes. Therefore, I teleport us back to our room and we all change into something a little fancier.
Location: Magicon Empire; Magicon System; Benson Moon We arrive in the good old jump room, I¡¯ve arrived at the previous times I visited the moon, and I immediately step into the nearby disguise chamber to change back to my true self again. When I step out, Lydia tilts her head. ¡°Wow, you look so different. I almost forgot your real looks over the past month,¡± she winks at me. I ignore her, as the door in the back opens at just this moment to reveal a smiling Vic. ¡°Hey cousin,¡± she shouts, and I rush over to hug her. ¡°Hi Vic,¡± I greet her and introduce Lucy and Lydia after we separate. Vic leads us out of the building, and we walk a bit across the moon. Unfortunately, we¡¯re currently on the side not facing the planet, so we can¡¯t look down on Terra. It doesn¡¯t matter, as we find enough things to talk about. My friends hit off great with Vic, and as Grandma Amelia trusts her with everything, we can also sit down and talk about our trip to The Empire. Vic is very excited about how well Lucy handled the Stargazer¡¯s shields against the pirates and tells Lydia that she would make a great diplomat with her communication skills. Before we know it, it¡¯s noon and Vic starts grinning broadly. ¡°Are you hungry? I¡¯ve got a surprise for you.¡± As if it was waiting for this question, my stomach starts to rumble, and everyone looks at me. ¡°What?¡± Lucy just snorts. ¡°Of course, you perk up when there is food.¡± ¡°Rude,¡± I reply. ¡°But yeah, food sounds great. What do you have in mind, Vic?¡± ¡°Oh, you¡¯ll see. Can you lend me a hand?¡± She sends me a set of coordinates, and Clara confirms that they are still on the moon. I shrug and start casting a Teleportation spell. ¡°Sure, everyone ready?¡± When everyone agrees, I trigger the spell, and we vanish. Then we are somewhere else. I don¡¯t recognize the place, but the big window shows Terra deep below us. We¡¯re now on the other side of the moon! Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. Vic immediately walks toward the fridge and takes out a few frozen pizzas. She throws them in the oven and then uses her Telekinesis to float over five fresh plates. After that, she beckons us to sit down at the table. ¡°Why five plates? Are you expecting someone else?¡± Lydia asks while we all take our seats. ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s the surprise. Just a few more minutes, then you¡¯ll see.¡± I start grinning, as I can guess just who will visit us. I don¡¯t tell the others though. Instead, I ask Vic something else. ¡°Is this your apartment, Vic?¡± ¡°Yes, pretty nice, huh?¡± ¡°Absolutely! You¡¯ve got a nice view.¡± ¡°Thanks, I¡¯m going to miss it when I join you on the trip to Earth.¡± That has both Lucy¡¯s and Lydia¡¯s gaze snap to the two of us. ¡°She¡¯s joining us?¡± ¡°You¡¯re coming with us?¡± They ask at the same time. Vic nods. ¡°Yeah, but I¡¯m going to be something like a referee to keep you in line,¡± she winks. ¡°That means that we can¡¯t be too familiar with each other¡­ At least not in the beginning.¡± They deflate a little, but the mood is saved by the finished pizza. It smells delicious despite not being freshly made. Vic serves us when the doorbell rings. ¡°I¡¯m getting it,¡± I call out and get up. When I open the door, I find Grandma Amelia standing there. Hah, I knew it! I immediately hug her, then we both step back inside. I will cherish what follows forever. My friends¡¯ reactions are just so adorable. They both sit there open-mouthed and lost for words. Grandma Amelia with her chill self, calms them down soon after and we all have a nice lunch. Lucy and Lydia mostly stare with stars in their eyes, but they manage to talk later on as well. Grandma Amelia doesn¡¯t have that much time, but we make the best of it. When she is gone, Lydia explodes. ¡°That. Was. So. Cool! Oh my god. Thank you, Vic. I¡¯ve never imagined meeting the Empress, hell I never even imagined seeing her back at my home. The Empire was so far away¡­ And now I¡¯ve eaten lunch with her! It¡¯s crazy, wow!¡±
Location: Magicon Empire; Magicon System; Terra; Imperia; FBC We return to our dorm room a few hours later. All in all, it was one of the best days here at college so far. I really like to see my friends so happy. They both grab me in a hug and thank me again. ¡°Hey, chill! I can¡¯t breathe,¡± gasp out, and they hug me with a little less force. We step back out into the common room and find Alina sitting on the couch. She¡¯s got a thunderous expression on her face, and some of our good mood is washed away. ¡°Alina, what¡¯s wrong?¡± Lydia asks with concern in her voice. We sit down around her and wait patiently for her reply. She takes a deep breath and sighs. ¡°It¡¯s my parents¡­¡± She looks at me. ¡°I told you a while ago about their plans for me¡­ And well, now that I¡¯ve settled in at college, they made their first move.¡± Oh! Did her parents arrange a marriage? Shit! And I promised her it wouldn¡¯t happen. How could I know this would happen that fast? What am I going to do now? Should I¡­? Alina continues. ¡°They made me visit multiple suitors today! I didn¡¯t even know before I met the first one. Send me a message that I have to deliver a small package for them. Then the door opens, and some guy welcomes me with a smile, telling me it¡¯s nice to finally meet me¡­¡± She gets angrier the more she talks. ¡°The worst is, he wasn¡¯t even bad. We had a good time and then he suddenly pulled out some contract and started talking about marriage and company things¡­ I left and called my parents. They just told me to stop whining and do my duty. That¡¯s not how I expected things to go at all. My parents were always so nice¡­¡± Tears start streaming down her face and Lydia hugs her. She starts sobbing. ¡°I always knew this would happen¡­ But not like this. I thought my parents loved me. Why would they do it that way? Why didn¡¯t they wait for longer or at least tell me in person?¡± She stops, and Lydia does her best to comfort her. This is worse than I feared. What¡¯s wrong with her parents? Why would they rush things that much? I mean college barely started. There is still enough time¡­ Oh! It has to be about Earth! While we¡¯re not officially on any list for Earth, Grandma Amelia confirmed it for me, and I relayed it to the others under the guise that Tim would pull strings. I wait till Alina composes herself again. Then I lean over and hug her as well. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Alina. I didn¡¯t think it would happen that fast¡­ Have you told your parents about Earth? I mean that you¡¯ll be going there?¡± Alina looks up. ¡°Yeah, I did. They were so happy for me. Why do you ask?¡± I sigh, my suspicions confirmed. ¡°I think your parents rushed things because of that. You¡¯re one of the few people who can visit Earth. Can you imagine how prestigious that is?¡± Alina¡¯s face goes through various expressions. It starts with disbelief, mixed with a good portion of anger. In the end realization dawns and she slumps down again. ¡°Fuck me! That¡¯s why the first guy was the son of a Count. My parents aim for bigger fish now¡­ And I messed up by leaving. What am I going to do now? My parents aren¡¯t going to stop, are they?¡± I shake my head. ¡°No, from what I¡¯ve heard probably not¡­¡± I promised her. Should I tell her? We¡¯ll be spending a lot of time together¡­ But can I trust her? Alina looks resigned. Lucy and Lydia try to cheer her up. ¡°Hey Alina, stop,¡± Lucy says. ¡°It¡¯s not the end of the world. There is still time. You¡¯re not engaged yet.¡± ¡°Lucy¡¯s right. We¡¯ll find a way to fix this,¡± Lydia joins in. Lucy leans over to me and whispers. ¡°Can you fix this?¡± I whisper back. ¡°Maybe, but it would mean telling her. I¡¯m not sure. I have to ask Grandma Amelia first.¡± Lucy sighs in relief. ¡°Do that, please. Lydia and I will distract her,¡± she turns back to Alina. ¡°I think we should eat out. Maybe that will settle you a bit. Hey, Sara, you said you had coupons for almost everywhere, right?¡± Ah, now I get what she¡¯s doing. While they get ready for the restaurant and maybe even take a shuttle, I have time to call Grandma Amelia. ¡°I do. Wait a second, I¡¯ll send you one. Let¡¯s meet up there, I¡¯ll need to check something real quick.¡± I send her the coupon to the fanciest restaurant inside the entertainment tower. It¡¯s right at the top and probably costs an arm and a leg, but who cares? Then I get back into my room, cast a Communication spell, and connect to Grandma Amelia. I hope she¡¯s got time. ¡°Sara? What¡¯s up, do you miss me already?¡± The spell connects and Grandma Amelia greets me with a cheerful voice. ¡°Hi, Grandma Amelia. I always miss you. But that¡¯s not why I¡¯m calling¡­ I learned from my roommate that her parents want to arrange a marriage for her. She¡¯s not happy at all about it¡­ I promised her a while ago that I would help her. But now her parents try to marry her off much faster than I expected. Probably because of the trip to Earth. I still want to help her, but the only way I can think of is to tell her who I am and put her under my wing or something.¡± Grandma Amelia is silent for a moment. ¡°You know that arranging marriages is common practice throughout The Empire, right? There¡¯s nothing wrong with it.¡± ¡°Yeah, I know,¡± I reply. ¡°But Alina doesn¡¯t want to. She said she wants to fall in love and marry someone she likes in the future. I think she¡¯s allowed to have that choice at least.¡± ¡°True enough. I won¡¯t stop you from telling her. It¡¯s your decision. But I¡¯m guessing that¡¯s not why you called me.¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s not. I¡¯ve already decided to tell her. But I want you to check her out first. I¡¯ve been reckless in the past and I want to change that. I want to know if she is really trustworthy.¡± I almost hear Grandma Amelia¡¯s smile. ¡°You¡¯ve come to the right person then. Can you have Clara send me a few details about her? I should be able to tell you my results in about an hour or something.¡± ¡°That¡¯s perfect, thanks, Grandma Amelia!¡± Chapter 112: Reveal Chapter 112: Reveal Location: Magicon Empire; Magicon System; Terra; Imperia; FBC I finish my call with Grandma Amelia and ask Clara to send a few things about Alina up to the moon. She happily obliges me, and I step back into the living room. As expected, the others are already gone, so I get back and change my clothes. It takes a bit, as I even take the time and apply some makeup. After all, I picked a fancy restaurant! That done, I¡¯m ready to go. ¡°Are they there already, Clara?¡± ¡°No, not yet, but they aren¡¯t far¡­ If you jump right now, you can probably catch them at the underground train station.¡± ¡°That sounds great. Do you have the coordinates?¡± ¡°Absolutely, here you go. And I think it¡¯s the right decision to tell Alina by the way¡­ It felt like there was a rift forming between you all.¡± Oh, I actually didn¡¯t notice. ¡°Thanks, Clara!¡± I use the coordinates and teleport to one of the jump rooms below the entertainment tower. Then I step outside and wait. I don¡¯t have to wait for long, as barely two minutes later, I spot the others walking down the hallway toward the elevators. They spot me as well. ¡°Hi, Sara,¡± Lydia calls out and I wave back. Alina looks still a bit out of it, but that¡¯s to be expected. I hope the meal helps before I shock her with the reveal¡­ Surprisingly, the elevator takes us upstairs with barely any interruptions. We must be lucky. Still, Alina¡¯s eyes go wider and wider the higher the level counter climbs. When it finally stops at level 222, she gasps in shock. ¡°Are you crazy?¡± I just shrug. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, the coupon is a good one.¡± The elevator doors open, and I¡¯m blown away. I thought the floor where I was kicked out was fancy. I was wrong! This floor is so much above the other one. Instead of Wesley the butler, a stunning brown-haired woman greets us. She guides us all the way to our table next to a window overlooking the whole city. The chairs are the comfiest I¡¯ve ever sat on. They automatically adjust to my body form and are just so soft! Lucy almost moans in pleasure. A raised eyebrow from everyone of us has her spilling the beans: There is an included massage function! Our interfaces automatically update and show us the menu. The food is probably the most normal in the whole restaurant and I order a simple noodle dish. Of course, some special ingredients on top almost make my eyes pop when I see the price. Now I¡¯m really happy about the coupon! As soon as we finish ordering, our drinks appear on the table with a small flash of Space magic. My head snaps to the right, where I notice a young man standing behind a bar. He winks when he catches my gaze and lazily juggles a few bottles of liquor. They disappear one after the other and reappear back on the shelf. I almost salute him in awe. That¡¯s a position I didn¡¯t expect at all for a Space Mage to have. Anyway, our food arrives soon after. This time it arrives rather normally. By that, I mean that our plates float through the room and settle down before us. Then there is no holding back anymore, and we all dig in. It¡¯s delicious! When I¡¯m almost finished, I feel a connection forming and happily accept the Communication spell. Luckily, it¡¯s voice only, and I start hearing Grandma Amelia¡¯s voice. ¡°Hello, Sara, I hope you had a nice meal.¡± Of course, she knows that. ¡°Hi, Grandma Amelia, I¡¯m actually still eating. But it¡¯s delicious!¡± ¡°Oh, should I call you back in a few minutes?¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s all good. I¡¯m almost finished anyway. Now, did you find anything about Alina?¡± ¡°Nothing at all. She¡¯s clean. If you trust her to stay silent, you are free to tell her your real name. I would advise against telling her about your Earth adventure, but that¡¯s your decision. I also talked with your parents. They said it¡¯s fine as well and are already working on something believable for Alina¡¯s parents as they still want to keep your identity hidden in the wider galaxy.¡± A grin finds its way on my face. ¡°Thanks, Grandma Amelia! That helps a lot. I think I¡¯ll take your advice about Earth for now. I think that would break her.¡± Now it¡¯s Grandma Amelia¡¯s turn to chuckle and we both tell each other goodbye. I return to the conversation at the table and find the three others staring at me. ¡°Everything alright?¡± Alina asks, and I smile at her. ¡°Yeah, everything is fine¡­ Better than fine. I just got confirmation about something and that means that we¡¯re going on a short trip right after the meal.¡± Lucy and Lydia look at me curiously while Alina is more direct. ¡°A trip? Where to?¡± ¡°You¡¯ll see. It¡¯s a surprise but it should help solve your little suitor problem,¡± I finish with a wink and return to my noodles. We finish soon after and order some ice cream for dessert. It¡¯s a plain vanilla flavor but with little chunks of chocolate inside. It basically melts on my tongue, and I savor every single spoon of it. Meanwhile, Clara takes care of the check, then we¡¯re good to go. You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. I decide not to teleport straight out of the restaurant, as this might disturb other customers. Instead, we exit the normal way and once we¡¯re out in the hallway, I expand my spell, grab the others, and we¡¯re gone.
Location: Magicon Empire; Magicon System; VS Stargazer I decide to take things up to the Stargazer, as it¡¯s the most secure location, I conveniently have access to. Alina looks a bit surprised when we appear inside the ship¡¯s living room and shoots me another curious glance. ¡°I¡¯ll be right back with you,¡± I tell her and walk toward the exit. Lucy follows me outside, while Lydia and Alina sit down on the couches. ¡°Are you going to do what I think you¡¯ll do?¡± Lucy asks in a whisper once we¡¯re out of the room. I nod. ¡°Yeah, I think it¡¯s time. But I only tell Alina for now. As our roommate, she¡¯s the closest one to us and well, I hate what her parents are trying to do.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I understand. But I¡¯m glad that we don¡¯t have to hide that much from Alina anymore,¡± she suddenly snorts. ¡°Can I record her reaction? Please say yes. She literally has Valterion fan posters in her room.¡± I try to hold back but a small chuckle escapes my throat. ¡°Sure, go ahead. But try to be subtle or she might notice.¡± ¡°Gotcha! Just have Clara give me a sign or something when you¡¯re about to enter the room. You¡¯re going to change your hair, right?¡± ¡°Will do, and yes, I¡¯m going to hop into the disguise chamber real quick. I should be back in about five minutes. See you.¡± I head to the elevator, and let it take me up to deck 04. There, I ignore the magical batteries and immediately step into the disguise chamber. A tap starts the process, and magic envelopes me. Luckily, I don¡¯t feel a thing when my face gets slightly realigned. My hair also changes back to its original light red color. I look into the mirror and grin. That suits me so much better than those pink hair-tips. I step back outside and return down to the living room. Just before the door, I ask Clara to notify Lucy and wait for confirmation. When She gives me the green light, I tap the button to open the door and step inside. Alina has her back to me, and I have to clear my throat to catch her attention. Lucy already grins broadly and gives me a thumbs-up. Lydia on the other hand looks rather surprised. Then, Alina finishes her turn and looks at me. She stops in her tracks and her mouth drops open. She¡¯s too stunned to even speak. It feels like we¡¯re staring at each other for minutes but actually, barely 30 seconds pass before Alina slowly closes her mouth again. She turns back to Lucy and Lydia, disbelief evident on her face. ¡°That¡­¡± She struggles to even speak. ¡°That¡¯s¡­ That¡¯s a joke, right?¡± I clear my throat again, and her head snaps back to me. The face she¡¯s making is so funny that I have to suppress a laugh. ¡°Sara¡­? Is that you? What¡­ What happened to you?¡± I sit down next to her. Her gaze follows me, still full of disbelief. She manages to close her mouth this time though. ¡°My real last name isn¡¯t Green,¡± I start, just to be interrupted by another gasp from Alina. I think she finally starts to consciously connect the dots. Subconsciously, she obviously must have connected a few of them already, otherwise she wouldn¡¯t be so speechless. My hair color and last name are just so intertwined¡­ ¡°Valterion,¡± Alina whispers, but then shakes her head again. ¡°No, this can¡¯t be. I know there isn¡¯t a Sara among them. Wait, is your name even Sara?¡± That¡¯s the longest interconnected sentence she¡¯s said since my reveal. But she¡¯s drifting off in the wrong direction. I have to stop this. ¡°Hold on, Alina. You have to stop that train of thought!¡± I put an arm around her shoulder to try to comfort her. It seems to work as she doesn¡¯t shy away at least. ¡°My name is Sara. I didn¡¯t lie about that. And you were right. My last name is Valterion. If you let me, I¡¯ll explain why you¡¯ve never heard of me.¡± I put the hand away and lean back. Then I give her time to form a response. Her face goes through various expressions of disbelief for the second time. She turns and looks at Lucy and Lydia who both give her nods of reassurance. Then her gaze settles back onto me. ¡°For real?¡± I nod. ¡°Yes.¡± She lets out a long breath. ¡°Wow! I can¡¯t believe it. How?¡± ¡°This might take a while.¡± I look at Lucy and Lydia. ¡°Can one of you get us something to drink?¡± Lydia immediately jumps up. ¡°Yeah, I can do that!¡± She leaves the room, and I look back at Alina. ¡°Okay, where to start. Now it¡¯s probably best to tell you who my parents are¡­ Better to shock you at the beginning.¡± Her eyes start to widen a bit again when I say this. Somehow, I even find this a bit amusing. I let out a weak chuckle. ¡°My parents are Aidan and Jasmine Valterion¡­¡± This time she jumps up and starts pacing. ¡°No way!¡± Then she suddenly stops in her tracks and her face freezes. ¡°I had a crush on you brother!¡± Her face flushes a shade of crimson red. ¡°And I asked you if you found him hot as well. Holy shit! That¡¯s so embarrassing! How did you manage to keep your composure back then?¡± This time I can¡¯t hold back and start laughing. ¡°It was so hard. I almost spilled the beans back then. Now, are you ready for the rest of the story?¡± Alina leans back. ¡°Yeah, go ahead. But please be gentle. Any more surprises and you¡¯ll break me.¡± With that, I lean back as well and start my tale. My kidnapping earns me a hug, and the Estriduros Republic earns Alina¡¯s wrath. In the meantime, Lydia returns with the drinks, and we take a short breath. Lucy takes over when we tell her about Mage Academy and all the knowledge they left out. ¡°So that¡¯s why you don¡¯t know any attack spells!¡± Lucy nods. ¡°Yeah, they didn¡¯t even tell us that they exist. Now I¡¯m missing all the basics¡­ That¡¯s why I¡¯m in the beginner course with you.¡± After that, I gloss over most of the things concerning Maja and Earth. Maybe I will tell her later but for now I think I¡¯ve shocked her enough. Instead, I tell her that we managed to get rid of our collars, stole a ship, and escaped. If I judge Alina¡¯s expressions correctly, she doesn¡¯t believe that little lie, but she accepts it as it is. I nod at her in thanks. She understands. Then I continue to tell her how we met Lydia how we finally arrived inside The Empire with all the shenanigans from border control and how I learned about Mom and Dad. Lydia and Lucy continue to comment on things, and slowly Alina starts to accept all of it. When I finally finish, it¡¯s already late, and Lucy volunteers to make some food in the kitchen. We gladly accept. Then Alina takes a deep breath and looks at me. ¡°Now, I understand why you¡¯re undercover and why you were so clueless with Noble things¡­ What I don¡¯t understand is why you tell me now? Things were working with your disguise, weren¡¯t they?¡± ¡°Yeah, the disguise was fine. I think Tim¡¯s the closest one to suspect something, but he¡¯s got the advantage of being under disguise as well.¡± ¡°Oh, right. Do you know who Tim really is?¡± I shake my head. ¡°No, unfortunately not. Grandma Amelia wouldn¡¯t tell me. She said to figure it out on my own¡­¡± I trail off when I see Alina spitting out her food. Oh, right. While she should know about the connection, I haven¡¯t told her about my interactions with the Emperor and Empress. I blush a little in embarrassment and try to cover my laugh with a cough. ¡°Sorry¡­¡± ¡°No, I get it. It¡¯s just hard to wrap my head around everything¡­¡± This time I do chuckle. ¡°Yeah, I know. I wasn¡¯t much better when I learned about all of it. Now back to your question. I think it¡¯s obvious why I told you just now.¡± Alina freezes again. ¡°No! For real?¡± ¡°Yes, I promised, didn¡¯t I?¡± Tears start forming in Alina¡¯s eyes. ¡°Thank you!¡± She jumps up to hug me and I return her hug. We stay there for a while. Then Alina manages to speak again. ¡°But how? You want to keep your identity secret.¡± I can just shrug. ¡°My parents are working on it¡­ That¡¯s all I know. But it should work out.¡± That earns me another hug. ¡°Thank you so much. For everything.¡± I just smile. Somehow it also feels relieving. Always lying to her affected me more than I thought. Now, everything should be fine for a new week at college! Chapter 113: Tactics Chapter 113: Tactics Location: Magicon Empire; Magicon System; Terra; Imperia; FBC As expected, Sunday didn¡¯t bring any more surprises. We mostly chilled inside our respective rooms in the morning. Then we spent the rest of the day in one of the countless parks across campus. Alina is still giving me a few awkward glances, but I think she¡¯s slowly coming around and starts accepting things. I¡¯m back in my Sara Green disguise, of course, which seems to comfort her a bit. On another note, Tim is finally back. He¡¯s been missing for over a week now. He didn¡¯t say much¡­ Just said hi, and then left again, saying he had to catch up on last week¡¯s lessons. It¡¯s a bit weird, as he acted like nothing had happened. Sure, he doesn¡¯t know that I know that he is some high-ranking Noble, but still. One doesn¡¯t vanish for over a week and then return so nonchalantly¡­ The four of us all decided at that moment that we¡¯re going to grill him during the Exploration course on Monday.
Said Monday is right now, and I¡¯m currently on my way to my second beginner lesson for Space magic. I find Tim already sitting inside the classroom and decide to sit next to him again. ¡°Hi, Tim.¡± He jumps a little. ¡°Oh, hi, Sara. How are you?¡± ¡°I¡¯m good, thanks,¡± I grin at him. ¡°Is everything alright with you? You were gone for a while¡­¡± ¡°Yeah, more or less. I had to deal with a few things. Mostly talk with my friend at RMA about all the Earth things. Then he asked me to accompany him back home and talk with his parents.¡± He returns my grin. ¡°That reminds me, I¡¯ve got a surprise for you all. I¡¯ll tell you during the Exploration course.¡± I have to suppress a laugh. It¡¯s like he¡¯s not even trying anymore. That excuse was so bad¡­ Still, I decide to let it slide for now. I think it¡¯s funnier to expose his not-so-little secret when our whole crew is together. Who knows, maybe he¡¯ll even tell us who he really is and wins me that bet with Vic. Anyway, while we were talking, instructor Renner entered the room and is about to start the lesson¡­ It¡¯s not really interesting today, as our class continues learning the Personal Teleportation spell. This means we spend most of our time in zero gravity and have to use magnetic boots to stay on the ground. Instructor Renner uses the same spell he used last time to stay anchored on the ground and moves from student to student to give some pointers. I use the time to watch his spell very closely. I can almost read it for the lack of better words. By the time we¡¯re halfway through the lesson and Renner calls for a short break, more than half the class managed to pull off a simple teleport at least once. I think I¡¯m also close to trying out that anchoring spell on my own. I do just that after the break. I sit down and focus. With my eyes closed, I start building the spell. I use all the insights I had from watching instructor Renner and weave them together. My Space Sense starts doing some heavy lifting, and I once again realize just how overpowered that ability is. Finally, the spell locks in, and I feed it a little power. I focus down on my feet and see Space magic gathering there. It connects my boots to the ground. With a shrug, I switch off the magnets in my boots, and with a pleasant surprise, I stay secured to the floor. Yes! That¡¯s when a notification shocks me out of my trance, and I lose hold of the spell, as it¡¯s still new and unfamiliar. Still, the notification brings a smile to my face, and with a quick teleport, I¡¯m back on the ground again ¨C this time with my magnets turned back on. Still, it was worth it, as I¡¯ve just got another prize for a successful exploit! I practice the spell for the remainder of the lesson and earn an appreciating nod from instructor Renner at the end of the lesson. Then, Tim and I are off to grab something to eat. After that, it¡¯s time for the Exploration course. We meet up with the others, and then I teleport us back up to the space station. Sam really seems to be a very hands-on teacher, as she sends every student group to their ship, after assigning them to the groups who don¡¯t have their own ships. A little bit later, we find ourselves on the bridge of the Stargazer and watch a hologram of Sam floating next to the big window in the front. ¡°Alright, can everyone hear me?¡± Hologram Sam asks, and I hear a few affirmative replies, while my group just nods. ¡°Good, then the first order of business is taking those beauties out for a spin. I¡¯ll send you a route, just have the AIs follow it. Please don¡¯t take control on your own for now. We¡¯ll just be circling the station for an hour. That will be enough for today. Just try to get a bit of a feel for your ships.¡± A file containing a short route around the station appears next to the hologram, and I quickly forward it to Clara. She immediately locks it in, and the Stargazer starts moving. We¡¯re the second fastest ship out. To my surprise, the fastest one is the small freighter. I didn¡¯t expect that. The short tour finishes all too quickly, and we find ourselves back inside the classroom aboard the station. There, Sam asks us if we all managed to hire a Senior Space Mage. Except for a single group, everyone answers yes and Sam smiles. ¡°Perfect, then I¡¯ll be the Senior Mage for you guys until you find someone else.¡± She nods at the group, who in turn sighs in relief. Then, Sam continues. ¡°Be sure to bring your Seniors with you next week. We¡¯ll be going out of the system for another short trip with our starships. Also please make sure that your Monday evenings are free, as I can¡¯t promise that we¡¯ll be returning on time every week. Now, we still have enough time, so here¡¯s a list of all possible systems you can explore in this course. You have the remainder of the class to decide.¡± Our group huddles together, and we go over the list. We quickly have a list of five favorites, though two immediately get crossed off as two other groups were faster in grabbing them for themselves. In the end, we decide to explore the Vexton System. It¡¯s pretty far away, but that shouldn¡¯t pose a problem. What caught our interest is that one of the planets there is a perfect distance away from the local star and still, there hasn¡¯t been any effort in settling there. That made everyone of us very curious and now our goal is to find out why. Sam grins broadly when we tell her our decision but stays silent otherwise. After that, the lesson ends. After teleporting back down to the planet, I say goodbye to the others and make my way back to the Gravity Ball fields. I belatedly realize that both Tim and I forgot to do what we wanted to do. Neither did I grill him about his Noble heritage, nor did he tell us that we¡¯ve got a spot on the Earth adventure. Well¡­ I guess we have to do that tomorrow then. I send everyone a message to meet up after classes tomorrow. This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. But now it¡¯s finally time for our tactic talk! When I walk closer, I catch sight of Drew who is already waiting at the entrance. Alec is still missing, so I walk up to Drew and greet him. He jumps a little when he hears my voice and turns to look at me. ¡°Oh, hi, Sara. How are you?¡± ¡°I¡¯m good, thanks. Are you ready to get some matches done today?¡± He nods eagerly. ¡°Oh, absolutely. I went over so many recordings over the weekend, and man, this could really work. You¡¯ll have to play exceptionally, but if you do, we¡¯ll be unstoppable. I¡¯ve got some additional ideas as well, but that can wait until we can form a complete team of seven.¡± ¡°Nice, that¡¯s great to hear,¡± I reply. ¡°I¡¯ll be right back.¡± I walk over to the changing rooms and quickly change into my sports clothes. When I step back outside, Alec is there too and talks with Drew. Next to him is an unfamiliar girl. She¡¯s about my height and her hair is so black that it seems to be swallowing the light around her. She must have seen my movement in the corner of her eyes, as her gaze immediately snaps onto me when the door closes behind me. Her eyes are blazing green with a few brown specks mixed in. She nudges Alec, and he looks at me too. He starts smiling and calls out. ¡°Hi, Sara. Good to see you. You look ready, shall we start?¡± The others are already in their sports clothes, so nothing is holding us back. I return his smile and nod. ¡°Yeah, let¡¯s do this.¡± I walk the few meters back to the others and hold out my hand to the new girl. ¡°Hi, I¡¯m Sara, nice to meet you.¡± She actually sniffs and her nose wrinkles. ¡°I¡¯ve heard your name before¡­ You may call me Lady Baxton,¡± she replies with a disdainful tone. I give her a flat look. A Noble, really? And she sounds even worse than that Charles dude. I look at Alec and before I can raise an eyebrow in question, I notice his hand before his mouth. He¡¯s shaking from trying to suppress his laughter. What is happening? I look at Drew. He¡¯s the same, but a bit more subdued. Then I hear a high-pitched laugh and my gaze snaps back to Lady Baxton. She¡¯s bent over and laughs so hard that she gasps for air. When she gets herself back under control, she looks at the scowl on my face and starts giggling again. Then finally, she manages to stop. ¡°Sorry, I just had to.¡± This time her voice is cheerful, and the disdain is gone. ¡°I¡¯m Amanda, nice to meet you.¡± She grabs the hand I¡¯m still holding out and shakes it. ¡°What the hell was that?¡± I ask when I find my words again. ¡°Sorry again, it¡¯s a habit of me¡­ I always play the haughty Noble when I meet new people. Their faces are so funny every single time. You should have seen yours. It was one of the best.¡± Okaaaaay¡­ I look at Alec and he nods. ¡°It¡¯s true, she did the same with me and Drew just now. And I have to admit, both of your faces have been funny.¡± I return my scowl to Amanda. ¡°So you¡¯re not a Noble¡­?¡± ¡°Oh, I sure am, but you know how things are. If you¡¯re not the heir, being part of a Baronial family is pretty much useless. I¡¯m no different than you all. I¡¯m truly sorry if my behavior offended you.¡± She sounds sincere¡­ Let¡¯s just try her out in the game, I guess. I shrug. ¡°It¡¯s okay¡­ It¡¯s just that I had one bad encounter with a Noble already¡­ That got me banned in every restaurant in the city for a while.¡± Amanda looks at me in shock. ¡°What the fuck? Who did that? Tell me and I wring them out! That¡¯s so illegal in so many ways. Did they forget about the Game? It¡¯s sacred. You did report it, right?¡± Wow, I didn¡¯t expect her to explode like this. ¡°Yeah, everything¡¯s cleaned up now, and I guess he¡¯s in a lot of trouble.¡± Amanda nods in relief. ¡°Serves him right. Seriously though. If there is anything, tell me. It¡¯s the least I can do after the stunt I pulled.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll keep that in mind. Let¡¯s get started, we¡¯ve wasted enough time.¡± We finally enter the field. I still have mixed feelings about Amanda. Sure, she apologized but she really didn¡¯t have to do that¡­ Anyway, Drew sits down at his uncommon spot right next to our goal, and with a flick of his wrist, our catchers start flying. Amanda and Alec line up at their positions. We¡¯re obviously not playing with a full team, as there are still three spots to fill, but it shouldn¡¯t matter that much. I also get in position and connect my interface to the playing field¡¯s network. It¡¯s a function I learned over the weekend: The fields can simulate opponents! I tap in the parameters, and four holograms of other players appear on the opposite half of the field. That¡¯s also why the missing players shouldn¡¯t matter. We¡¯re simply playing 4v4. ¡°I could take over the simulation,¡± Clara chimes in. ¡°That should give you more realistic opponents.¡± I tilt my head a bit. ¡°You can?¡± I whisper and she confirms again. ¡°That¡¯s great, please do so!¡± The simulated opponents come alive, and a holographic ball appears in the middle of the field. We can¡¯t play against holograms with a real ball after all. ¡°Are you ready?¡± I ask, and everyone nods. Drew also casts his Group Communication spell which enables us to speak mentally. Clara takes the nods as the go-ahead sign, and we start playing. The simulated team has the first ball, and Clara immediately starts pressing us hard. Amanda as our hybrid player is needed as an additional defender, and she coordinates heavily with Alec. Drew and I, on the other hand, start readying our first counterattack. He positions his catchers at seemingly random positions. They aren¡¯t random of course, but it only starts making sense if I manage to teleport to the right spots at the right time. Still, that doesn¡¯t matter that much right now, as Alec misses intercepting a crucial pass from one of the attackers to a catcher. Clara has now clear sight on our goal and immediately capitalizes on it. She angles the catcher so that the ball gets deflected right toward our goal. ¡°Shit!¡± Alec curses. ¡°I can get it if I move one catcher backward,¡± Drew replies with a calm voice. ¡°Don¡¯t bother, their jumper will change the direction of the ball once you¡¯re in position,¡± Amanda sounds a bit resigned. ¡°Why are we playing without a goalkeeper anyway? That¡¯s stupid.¡± Now it¡¯s my turn to shine. A smile forms on my face. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ve got this! But I need you as an attacker now, Amanda. We¡¯re going to do a counterattack!¡± ¡°Really?¡± She doesn¡¯t sound convinced. ¡°Yes, please trust me¡± ¡°Alright, I guess¡­¡± Thanks to Drew¡¯s Communication spell, all our planning happened in barely a second, so it¡¯s still enough time for me to get the ball. Amanda shrugs and starts running forward. I cast a Teleportation spell, but don¡¯t trigger it yet. Instead, I wait and focus on the ball. There! A flicker of simulated Space magic, thanks to integrated Magitech emitters in the playing field. It¡¯s still enough for my Space Sense to latch onto the position where Clara¡¯s jumper hologram will appear. I trigger my spell, and appear right before them, already mid-swing. I hit the simulation of the ball, and it¡¯s off toward the first of Drew¡¯s catchers. From there on, I continue to do quick teleports all across the field while always playing the ball to the next of Drew¡¯s positioned catchers. This works out until I¡¯m about to pass the ball to the penultimate catcher. Clara¡¯s jumper appears in my way, and her first defender blocks the last catcher while the other blocks Amanda. ¡°Alec, how good is your passing?¡± ¡°Not bad, why you¡¯re asking?¡± I give him a quick outline of a plan that just formed in my head. He grins and starts running to the right. ¡°Bring it on!¡± Instead of passing the ball toward Drew¡¯s catchers or Amanda, I kick the ball backward to Alec. He gets it right next to the edge of the field and swings his bat. I grin broadly as everything plays out perfectly. As Alec is positioned elsewhere, he has a clear pass to Amanda and immediately gets the ball to her. She is a bit surprised, but still manages to control the ball. She feints with her bat, then kicks the ball into the goal. The goalkeeper is without chance. We score! ¡°Pause game,¡± Amanda calls out loud and Clara obliges. ¡°Wow, I didn¡¯t expect that to turn out that good. Seriously, Sara, are you a hidden Gravity Ball genius? Who comes up with things like that on the fly?¡± ¡°Uhh¡­¡± I start. I don¡¯t know what to say. Alec comes to the rescue. ¡°She might be! But she¡¯s our genius. Let¡¯s continue and check if we can keep up like this without a goalkeeper.¡± We continue playing. I don¡¯t manage to save every ball, but together with Drew¡¯s catchers, we get most of them. On the offensive side, things are more mixed. Clara gets very good at intercepting our attacks, but in the end, we still manage to win by a small margin. When the game stops we are all exhausted and sweat like hell. ¡°Holy smokes, that was intense!¡± I call out between gulps of air. ¡°True,¡± Alec replies and waves the sweat out of his face. ¡°Since when are those simulations that good anyway?¡± ¡°He¡¯s right! That wasn¡¯t just the hardest difficulty. What did you do, Sara?¡± ¡°I¡­ Uh, I let my AI take over¡­ Clara?¡± She connects to a speaker. ¡°Well, I took the liberty and gave you a proper challenge. Congratulations, you just won against the training simulation that the Terran Spartans are using.¡± Everyone is silent and stares at the speaker. Amanda gulps. ¡°We just won against a simulation of the national team?¡± ¡°I guess so¡­¡± Amanda rushes over and hugs me. ¡°Do you know what that means? If we pull that off at the final tryouts, we¡¯re in the team without a doubt!¡± ¡°She¡¯s right. If that really was the Spartan¡¯s training program, we have nothing to fear. Thanks for getting me on the team, Sara.¡± I can hear the excitement in Drew¡¯s voice. ¡°Nah, don¡¯t thank me yet. We still have to convince the coaches. And I couldn¡¯t have pulled it off without all of you.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be so modest, you¡¯re an exceptional player,¡± Alec replies. I guess I have to take some of the praise¡­ ¡°Thanks, guys. Then let¡¯s rock this on Friday, alright!¡± Chapter 114: History Chapter 114: History Location: Magicon Empire; Magicon System; Terra; Imperia; FBC I wake up early on Tuesday. Today is a special day. It¡¯s my first lesson in the History of The Empire course. That in itself is already special, especially now when you consider all the news with Earth. I mean up until now common belief was that the planet and star system were lost forever. I wonder what the professor will tell us about Earth. The other thing is that this is another mixed course. Similar to the Leadership course but very different. This time classes will be mixed up with students from RMA. I just hope they aren¡¯t assholes like that Charles dude. They shouldn¡¯t¡­ As Chris said, Charles was an outlier. Anyway, I¡¯m very excited and say goodbye to my roommates. Then I¡¯m out of the dorm and off to the classroom. Let¡¯s see what awaits me! I grab some breakfast on the way and eat while I walk along the Clara-provided route. It leads me to a completely new section of the university district. ¡°Are we going to RMA campus?¡± ¡°We are. The lesson takes place in one of the RMA classrooms.¡± ¡°Thanks, Clara.¡± ¡°You¡¯re welcome!¡± It takes almost fifteen minutes, then the surrounding buildings change in design. They somehow look older and a bit more regal. They aren¡¯t of course, but there are more ornaments and decorations around the facades of the buildings. It makes them look like very tall castles. The thought causes me to chuckle a bit. Then I finally arrive at the right building and enter. The lobby is reasonably crowded, and I recognize a few faces from the other courses I¡¯ve taken so far. No one is immediately familiar, but it¡¯s good to see at least a few familiar faces. Unfortunately, Lydia decided not to take the course in the end. There are also a lot of unfamiliar faces, and I struggle to decide if they are RMA or FBC students. Then I look toward the elevators in the back, and my breath catches a bit. Well, that could be interesting¡­ There is a young man with light red hair and fitting green eyes. He¡¯s animately chatting with a smaller woman with Asian features. One thing is clear, he¡¯s a Valterion and thus probably my cousin. I whisper to Clara. ¡°Who is this?¡± A hand lands on my left shoulder, and a male voice that obviously isn¡¯t Clara¡¯s answers me instead. ¡°That¡¯s Victor Valterion, a big annoyance if you ask me.¡± Barely a second later, Clara confirms the young man¡¯s words. ¡°He¡¯s right, it is Victor. He¡¯s your cousin. This time for real. His father Alejandro is your uncle¡­ Oh, and you should take a look at your new friend.¡± I turn to my left. ¡°Thanks¡­¡± I stop when I recognize another face. For real? This is ridiculous¡­ Someone clearly pulled some strings here. The man who still has his hand on my shoulder is a splitting image of Pascal Schmidt, the current Duke from Armortec. I hold back a groan. ¡°You¡¯re welcome, I¡¯m Bernd by the way, but it looks like you¡¯ve already noticed¡­¡± ¡°Yeah¡­¡± I clear my throat. ¡°Nice to meet you, I¡¯m Sara.¡± He chuckles. ¡°I guess, I should introduce you to the others. I dunno what happened here, but you¡¯re something like the odd one out.¡± I frown. ¡°What do you mean?¡± He leads me closer to the others. ¡°Well, I¡¯ve already told you about our resident Valterion idiot¡­ I really wish there was someone else at our age from that family. The beauty next to him is Lisa Song.¡± Clara takes that moment to chime in. ¡°Oh, I know what he means¡­ Like Bernd and you, Lisa is from the main line. Actually, the three of you are the only ones at your age. Just continue to listen to him and you¡¯ll get what I mean.¡± Bernd continues without pause. ¡°¡­ there we¡¯ve got the Axtendus twins, but they barely qualify for the name anyway, so you can pretty much ignore them. That¡¯s it from the Big Five¡­ Chad Benson is missing, as always. But he¡¯ll never have a shot at becoming Emperor. Someone has to nuke Benson Moon for that to happen. Oh, and probably kill off both Valterion heirs.¡± He shrugs. ¡°You get what I mean, right?¡± I just stare at him. He sounds a bit arrogant. And no, I don¡¯t get what you just said. That was like a full-on lesson about the upper political landscape of The Empire. Of course, I can¡¯t tell him that. Instead, I reply rather weakly. ¡°Yeah¡­¡± He grins and we arrive close to Lisa Song and Victor Valterion. ¡°Hi Lisa,¡± he stops to hug the girl. ¡°Victor¡­ This is Sara, she¡¯s somehow new in our class group, and I¡¯m currently introducing her to everyone.¡± Lisa holds out her hand. ¡°Hi, nice to meet you. I¡¯m Lisa.¡± I take her hand and shake it. Now that I¡¯m closer, I notice that she¡¯s quite a bit smaller than her mother. ¡°Nice to meet you too, as Bernd said, I¡¯m Sara Green.¡± The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. Victor''s eyes look me up and down. I don¡¯t like what I see in his gaze. No, not gonna happen, mate. First, you¡¯re my cousin, and second, just no! He just nods with a slight grin on his face, that looks kinda creepy. ¡°Pleased to meet you.¡± Bernd grabs my arm again, and we move on. I¡¯m introduced to a lot of people. Most are children from different Marquesses and Marchionesses, but there are also a few scions from influential Counties. I also learn that the students I recognized from FBC are actually close friends or retainers from all the high-ranking Nobles here. And well, there is me, the odd one put as Bernd pointed out so nicely. There must be a reason¡­ Probably another joke from my parents, I guess. Bernd continues to talk to me for a while until Lisa calls out for both of us. ¡°Bernd, Sara, are you ready? It¡¯s almost time.¡± I look at my interface. She¡¯s right, there are only a few minutes left until the lesson begins. We join the two of them again and Lisa looks at Victor. ¡°Can you do four people?¡± He huffs and straightens. ¡°Of course I can. Hold still.¡± I feel Space Magic enveloping the four of us and decide not to resist. A second later, the spell snaps into existence, and we vanish. We reappear inside an empty classroom, and Victor immediately starts heading for a seat in the back. I stay where I am for a moment when I hear Victor calling out. ¡°Are you coming?¡± I look at Bernd. He looks a bit uncomfortable. Lisa shoots us an apologetic look and shrugs. Then she walks toward Victor. ¡°I¡¯m not really feeling the last row,¡± Bernd says to me. I shake my head. ¡°Yeah, me neither. Nothing against Victor, but he¡¯s a bit creepy.¡± Bernd starts laughing. ¡°That he is. That he is. Wanna sit there?¡± He points at a row of seats in the middle of the room. Meanwhile, the door in the back opens, and other students enter the room. I shrug. ¡°Yeah, why not¡­? Hey, Bernd, one question. Why do you want to sit with me? Hell, why do you care about me at all? We¡¯re so far apart politically speaking¡­¡± ¡°Well, history class is pretty boring. Even with all the Earth stuff, I guess. You on the other hand are interesting. Not in a sexual way, don¡¯t worry.¡± He must have seen something on my face as he suddenly backtracks. ¡°Err, that was a dumb phrasing. You¡¯re very pretty, but I don¡¯t tick that way, you get me? No, what I mean is, you¡¯re new. You don¡¯t have any connections, and you still are in our class. That makes me curious, and I intend to find out more¡­ You don¡¯t want to just tell me, right?¡± I shake my head. I don¡¯t even have to lie that much to reply. ¡°I wish I could¡­ I¡¯m as clueless as you are. Huh, maybe even more so. I mean you already know everyone here and everything¡­¡± He chuckles. ¡°True, just tell me when you find out. Otherwise, I¡¯ll be telling you.¡± I grin slightly. ¡°Deal!¡± That¡¯s the moment when I feel magic gathering behind the lectern. I turn around to look and catch sight of an older woman appearing. Her face is wrinkled, and her long hair is grey. Still, her blue eyes practically shine with intensity. A slight grin is on her face when she clears her throat. ¡°Good morning, students. My name is professor Bishop, and I¡¯ll be teaching you about the most important topic there is. History! Or rather the history of our Magicon Empire.¡± She stops and takes a look around. Her eyebrows raise a bit. ¡°Oh, ho¡­ quite the prominent class we have here,¡± she chuckles. ¡°But that shouldn¡¯t matter. I take it we¡¯re all civilized here, right?¡± We all reply with murmurs of agreement, and she nods. ¡°Good. Now, originally, I had the whole year planned out for you starting with the founding of The Empire and finishing with the present. Can anyone guess why we¡¯re not going to do it like that?¡± Everyone gives each other knowing looks, but no one moves to answer professor Bishop. I sigh internally and lift my hand. Professor Bishop looks at me and smiles. ¡°Only one? Very well, please, Miss Green, what¡¯s the answer?¡± ¡°It¡¯s probably Earth, professor.¡± I hear murmurs of ¡°obviously¡± around me, but I don¡¯t care. Professor Bishop nods. ¡°Exactly. Earth messed up all my plans, and so we¡¯re making a different start today. Instead of starting with the founding of The Empire, we¡¯ll be talking about the early years today. We¡¯ll catch up with the end of Earth and the subsequent founding of The Empire in the following weeks. Now, let¡¯s start¡­¡± The older woman takes a deep breath and dives into her lecture. She starts right after the original Big Five founded The Magicon Empire right here on Terra. I guess the actual founding is too much interwoven with Earth, so she leaves it out just now. Anyway, the Big Five divided the star systems they claimed for their new nation and formed the five Duchies. Then they went on with reestablishing their companies while also giving out Noble titles to other company owners or war heroes. Bernd nudges me. ¡°Wanna ditch the second half of the lesson? Lisa just invited us to hang out at her place. What the professor tells us is old news anyway¡­ If the course wasn¡¯t mandatory, I wouldn¡¯t have taken it at all. I just hope the Earth part will be more interesting¡­¡± I¡¯m taken aback, as I was just enjoying learning about the early years of The Empire. I guess real Noble scions learn that much earlier. Also, the course is mandatory for RMA students? I look at Bernd and shake my head. ¡°Sorry, but I can¡¯t. My parents would kill me if they heard that I played hooky¡­ I¡¯m also quite interested in history, actually, so yeah¡­¡± ¡°Bummer¡­ But it¡¯s okay. You can join after the lesson if you want. I¡¯ll send you the address.¡± ¡°Oh, cool. I¡¯ll do that, thank you.¡± ¡°You¡¯re welcome,¡± he smiles, then I get a ping on my interface. It¡¯s the address. Meanwhile, professor Bishop continues with her lesson. ¡°¡­ While the former inhabitants of the Solar System still tried to settle down, the Big Five spent a lot of their wealth on expansion. Their companies became bigger than ever before, and in the beginning, they were basically the sole employer for the people.¡± She pauses to take a sip from a glass of water that just appeared in her hand. ¡°Now, that expansion didn¡¯t go unnoticed, of course, and neighboring nations, such as the Starseeker Kingdom took interest and negotiated trade deals with the relatively new Empire. The Starseeker Kingdom is still our biggest ally by the way. ¡°To understand why this was such a significant event in our history, you must understand that while Earth was the origin of humanity, the whole Solar System was rather isolationist before it was destroyed.¡± She finishes the sentence with air quotes. ¡°The new open-mindedness enabled other nations to benefit from the Big Five¡¯s advanced technologies and kicked off an age of prosperity. The newly found Empire on the other hand got what they needed most at the time: Workforce. This freed up Earth¡¯s refugees to pursue their own goals within their new nation. That allowed the fledgling society to prosper, and the newly founded cities and planets started to fill up and normalcy finally returned to the people. ¡°At the same time, they understood that a common currency would simplify things a lot, and so the Banking Union was established. Following that, countless new companies were founded, as suddenly a lot more things were needed.¡± Professor Bishop stops and looks at the class. When she chuckles, I follow her gaze. I only see blank faces, at least among the Nobility. ¡°I guess now is a good time for a short break. You can think about what kind of companies were now needed until we return with the second half of the lesson.¡± She vanishes, and immediately conversations erupt among the students. Bernd shoots me one more questioning glance. I shake my head. I didn¡¯t change my mind. He nods and walks back toward Lisa and Victor. After a short discussion, the three and a few others vanish. When professor Bishop returns for the lesson, the room is only half filled anymore. Her shoulders slump a little, but then she continues with her lesson¡­ Chapter 115: High-Class Nobles Chapter 115: High-Class Nobles Location: Magicon Empire; Magicon System; Terra; Imperia; RMA I¡¯m glad I stayed for the second half of the lesson, as professor Bishop told us about a lot of interesting things. During the early age of expansion of The Empire, so many new companies were founded. Some of them still exist today. And that was hundreds of years before the Silvanis founded their shopping paradise. And considering everything else that happened in those early years, the age of expansion is really fitting. The Empire started so small, but it got bigger and bigger every year. So many new planets were integrated and terraformed. The number is just mind-blowing. Unfortunately, that was all of today¡¯s lesson. The class was finished way too soon¡­ But now I¡¯m really looking forward to next week''s lesson. Professor Bishop has a very captivating teaching style. Now though, I¡¯m following through on Bernd¡¯s invitation as my Utility magic class doesn¡¯t start for another few hours. ¡°Clara, is there a jump room close by the location Bernd sent? I don¡¯t want to appear right inside Lisa¡¯s living room¡­¡± ¡°Those are coordinators for a jump room, actually. But it¡¯s a private one. Give me a second.¡± Hmm, a private one. Does Lisa have her own jump room? Where does she even live? ¡°Yep, as expected. It¡¯s a Song Medical jump room at the top of their tower here in Imperia.¡± That explains it¡­ She¡¯s living with her parents¡¯ company. ¡°Uhh, okay¡­ Can we use it, or do we have to jump somewhere else and I don¡¯t know, ring a bell?¡± ¡°Your invitation includes access codes, so you¡¯re good. I can lock them in when you¡¯re ready.¡± ¡°Thanks, Clara, go ahead.¡± The coordinates lock in and I spin up the Teleportation spell. A fraction of a second later, I¡¯m somewhere else. It looks just like a normal jump room. Nothing fancy at all. Before I can take a step toward the exit, I hear a voice shouting from behind the door. ¡°Guys, I think the pizza is early! Someone just arrived at the jump room!¡± The door opens, and I stare at a guy about my age. I vaguely remember his face from the History course, but I don¡¯t have his name at hand. He is quite tall, but also rather wide in stature. His hair is dark and a bit greasy. He stops on the doorstep upon seeing me. ¡°You¡¯re not the pizza guy¡­¡± I shake my head. ¡°Nah, obviously not.¡± Confusion enters his face. ¡°But who are you then? Everyone¡¯s already here.¡± ¡°Uhh, I¡¯m Sara¡­ Got an invitation, but I wanted to stay for the whole course.¡± His eyes widen slightly. ¡°Who would stay there voluntarily? Never mind¡­¡± He turns around and starts shouting again. ¡°False alarm on the pizza! But there¡¯s a Sara girl here¡­ Anyone invited her, or should I send her away?¡± A few seconds later, I recognize Bernd¡¯s voice replying. ¡°Let¡¯s her in, Donnie, she¡¯s with me.¡± The guy, Donnie looks a bit surprised but nods. ¡°Well, you¡¯ve heard the boss¡­ Come in, come in. Welcome to the party.¡± He turns around and starts leaving. I¡¯m quick to follow him. We enter a long hallway that opens up into a large room after a 90-degree bend. This time it¡¯s me stopping on the doorstep. Everyone is there! Every single person who left the history class early, is either lounging on one of the fancy couches, or they are chilling in different armchairs. Almost everyone has a drink in their hand and those who haven¡¯t are currently standing close to a bar in the center of the room. An actual barkeeper is mixing drinks for them. Who has their private barkeeper in the living room? Lisa Song, apparently. I notice her sitting off to the left in what looks a bit like a private recess. It¡¯s a raised round section that is surrounded by various flowers in every possible color. There are four seats up there, but only two of them are occupied. One obviously seats Lisa, and Bernd is lounging in the other chair. He notices me, and quickly waves me over. I shrug and enter their private space which earns me a few frowns from some people close by. I ignore them and sit down on one of the empty chairs. ¡°So you¡¯ve made it. That¡¯s great! How do you like our little come-together so far?¡± I lean back a bit and shrug. ¡°I¡¯ve just arrived¡­ But the party looks great. Well, maybe a bit over the top?¡± Lisa quirks an eyebrow. ¡°How so?¡± ¡°Well, uhh¡­¡± I stop and point at the barkeeper. The others follow my gaze and Bernd starts chuckling. You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. ¡°See, I told you so.¡± Lisa groans. ¡°Would you rather have everyone mix their own drinks? Everyone would be wasted, and you know that we have Gravity Ball tryouts today.¡± That catches my interest ¡°Oh, you have? Ours will only take place on Saturday.¡± This time Bernd answers. ¡°Yeah, we have them today. The college season starts in two weeks after all. Are you playing too? And what position?¡± The season starts so soon? How are we supposed to integrate our tactics that fast? I hope the coaches have a plan. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m quite good too. I¡¯m playing as our team¡¯s jumper.¡± Bernd whistles and Lisa looks at me with a sudden interest. ¡°That¡¯s impressive,¡± Bernd says. ¡°You¡¯ve got Space Sense then?¡± Uhh, that¡¯s quite the conclusion he made here. Not that he¡¯s incorrect but still. How does one jump from jumper to Master Space Mage? I nod hesitantly and look at Lisa who still looks like some cogs are turning in her head. Bernd must have noticed my discomfort. ¡°Hey, don¡¯t worry. I¡¯m just curious, and this was a guess in the blue, as almost every decent jumper is a Master in Space Magic.¡± I relax a bit. ¡°It¡¯s okay. Not that my magical power is a secret anyway¡­ I was just shocked at how fast you came to that conclusion.¡± Bernd chuckles again. ¡°Call it experience and a good amount of digging that my AI did.¡± He blushes a bit in the end when he admits to looking me up. His gaze slips back to Lisa who just continues staring. ¡°Yo, Lisa, are you alright?¡± That snaps her out of it. ¡°Sorry, got lost in my thoughts¡­ You¡¯re an interesting woman, Sara. Would you be interested in learning more about all this?¡± She moves her hands to encompass the whole room we¡¯re inside. ¡°From what I¡¯m reading here, this is all news to you, right? Who knows, maybe one of us will find a place for you?¡± Uhh, did I hear this right? Did she just offer to take me under her wing? That¡¯s not good¡­ It¡¯s an offer I can¡¯t reject but it will also cause a lot of problems once I shed my disguise in the future. Come to think of it, Sara Green is starting to cause more and more problems¡­ Or I¡¯m just bad at it, who knows? Anyway, I nod at Lisa. ¡°Yeah, I haven¡¯t been much inside Noble circles until now¡­ If you did a bit of digging, I¡¯m guessing you¡¯ve heard about Charles Junbun, right?¡± Both of them cringe at me mentioning that mess. ¡°Yeah, we¡¯ve heard of it,¡± Lisa replies and shakes her head. ¡°I can¡¯t believe that people can be so idiotic¡­¡± Bernd starts chuckling. ¡°Idiotic puts it lightly. From what I¡¯ve heard, this stunt was the last straw and cost the Junbun family their Barony. They¡¯re no Nobles anymore.¡± My eyes widen in surprise. ¡°For real?¡± ¡°I think so, yeah.¡± Clara puts a newspaper article on my interface. The headline confirms what Bernd just said. The Junbuns are really just commoners now. Thanks, Clara! Lisa clears her throat. ¡°So what do you think, do you want to learn more? I think there are a lot of benefits for you when you get closer to a Ducal family.¡± She almost looks like she¡¯s pleading¡­ Bernd looks rather interested as well. Must be because I¡¯m a Master Space Mage¡­ I can¡¯t find another explanation. We¡¯re a rare breed and Olivia said most of them are closely tied to Noble families. My Sara Green persona is probably an anomaly¡­ The real me is very closely tied to a Noble family as well after all. I look at both of them. ¡°I¡¯m not sure¡­ Sure, I¡¯d love to learn more, but tying myself to a Noble family? I really don¡¯t know. After all that stuff with the Junbun dude. I know he was a bad example, but still¡­¡± Bernd nods. ¡°I get it. Take your time. We¡¯re not in a hurry after all. There¡¯s still almost a year until the Earth competition.¡± Oh, it¡¯s about that? ¡°Uhh, actually, I already have a team for that¡­¡± Now they both look surprised. ¡°You have?¡± Bernd asks. ¡°Are you sure that you¡¯ll be able to join? Only the top students from outside of RMA will get a chance.¡± I nod. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m sure. I can¡¯t get into the details, but my team has a spot in the competition.¡± Bernd scratches his non-existent beard. ¡°Interesting¡­ You¡¯re full of surprises, Sara. But anyway, think about getting closer to our families. There are a lot of benefits. For now, just join us here whenever you want. I¡¯m sure, someone will happily answer any questions you have.¡± I nod slowly. It¡¯s a bit weird. They really want me to say yes. If they only knew¡­ I grin inwardly. ¡°Thank you. I¡¯ll think about it.¡± ¡°That¡¯s all we ask for,¡± Lisa grins at me. Before we can talk further, the loud voice of Donnie calls out again. ¡°Guys, pizza¡¯s here! This time for real!¡± ¡°Shall we?¡± Bernd asks and gets up. Lisa and I both nod. ¡°Yeah, let¡¯s eat,¡± she says. The three of us join the others. On a table in the middle of the room stand three giant boxes of pizza. Everyone eagerly grabs a slice. I take one for myself as well and mingle with the others. We do a bit of small talk, but that¡¯s mostly it. That is until Victor Valterion taps my shoulder and asks me if I¡¯ve got a moment. Actually, he¡¯s been missing the entire time. I wonder where he¡¯s been. Not that I care, as he¡¯s still rather creepy. Anyway, I can¡¯t really decline him, and so I accept. I follow him to a silent corner of the room and look at him expectantly. He waves his hand, and an opaque bubble surrounds us. He clears his throat. ¡°Now that we¡¯re alone, I¡¯ll get right to the point. Who are you?¡± I stare at him. Does he know? He can¡¯t, right? No, Mom and Dad said they¡¯ll keep it secret from everyone. Did I mess up somewhere? Why would he ask me who I am? ¡°What do you mean? I¡¯m Sara Green¡­¡± I don¡¯t even have to fake the confusion in my voice as I really don¡¯t know what he wants from me. ¡°Of course you are¡­ That¡¯s not what I mean.¡± Victor is frowning now. At least he doesn¡¯t look so creepy anymore. ¡°You walk in here like you own everything and immediately hang onto the two most important people as if they were your best friends. You barely know anything about us Nobles, but you start right at the top. Others have to work for this kind of attention, you know?¡± Ohh, he¡¯s just jealous! That should make things easier. ¡°Err, I¡¯m sorry? I mean, I didn¡¯t ask for it. They were the ones to approach me¡­¡± Victor tilts his head, and a slight blush enters his face. ¡°For real?¡± ¡°Yeah, I just wanted to go to the history class this morning. I didn¡¯t even know someone put me together with all the high-class Nobles. And then there¡¯s suddenly Bernd right next to me and he didn¡¯t leave my side afterward. Sure, I¡¯m here at the party but only after he invited me.¡± Victor coughs awkwardly. ¡°I feel like an idiot now¡­ Dammit. I had all this in my head to confront you¡­ I¡¯m sorry.¡± He starts pacing. ¡°Can we start anew? I¡¯m Victor, Victor Valterion. Nice to meet you.¡± So that creepiness was all a mask? He looks so normal now¡­ ¡°Err, sure. I¡¯m Sara, nice to meet you too.¡± We shake hands, but Victor keeps the privacy bubble active. ¡°Just one more thing. It¡¯s been bothering me the whole day. How do you know my cousin?¡± ¡°Your cousin?¡± ¡°Yeah, Christopher Valterion. He removed you from the ban list.¡± ¡°Oh, that was him? That¡¯s so cool! I didn¡¯t know. I just filed a complaint that Charles Junbun broke the rules of the Noble Game and a few hours later everything was fine for me again. Please say thank you to your cousin then.¡± Oh my, I don¡¯t think I managed to look the right amount of surprised. But it looks like Victor bought it. Lucky me. ¡°Oh¡­ Yeah, of course, it¡¯s that simple. Shall we return to the others?¡± I nod at him. ¡°Sure, please lead the way.¡± Chapter 116: Exposed Chapter 116: Exposed Location: Magicon Empire; Magicon System; Terra; Imperia; Song Tower The remainder of my time in Lisa¡¯s penthouse suite goes by rather quickly. After I made peace with Victor, we both returned to the others, and I talked with a few of them. An hour later most of the others have to go to their classes, which leaves me alone with Lisa. ¡°Are you already done with classes for today?¡± She asks me when I stayed behind after Victor and Bernd left. ¡°No, I¡¯ve got my first course on Utility magic today, but it¡¯s an evening course. What about you?¡± ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m mostly done for today,¡± she shrugs. ¡°Well, I¡¯ve got someone coming by later to help me with a few things I¡¯m struggling with, but otherwise, today¡¯s my chill day.¡± ¡°That¡¯s cool, I wish I had the free time. But I¡¯ve brought this onto myself sooo, yeah.¡± That has us both giggling, and we sit down on a nearby couch. Lisa looks at me. ¡°Want a drink?¡± I decline. ¡°No, I think it¡¯s better if I stay sober for what¡¯s to come in the evening. I still have a lot to learn in Utility magic.¡± Lisa chuckles. ¡°I can imagine¡­ When I got my second core, I spent every waking moment in devouring new spells.¡± I raise my eyebrow. ¡°You did? Also, what¡¯s your secondary core if I may ask?¡± ¡°It¡¯s no secret¡­ Like almost everyone else, I started with Utility. Instead of going for Space with my second core as my parents wanted, I decided to get an A&D core.¡± That¡¯s surprising! I didn¡¯t expect her to have A&D magic. ¡°Oh? How come? Space magic is so cool.¡± She laughs. ¡°Oh, I know. But I was always more interested in A&D magic. Wielding such destructive forces in your hands is fascinating!¡± She gets a faraway look and trails off. ¡°Anyway, enough of myself. Have you thought about my or Bernd¡¯s offer?¡± Dammit. I should have left with the others. I don¡¯t want to talk about this now. This can¡¯t lead to a good outcome. ¡°No, I haven¡¯t¡­ I¡¯m still unsure. Why is it even relevant now? I mean, I¡¯m just a first-year college student¡­¡± Lisa stares at me. Her dark eyes sparkle with hidden curiosity. ¡°That makes me curious, you know?¡± I tilt my head. ¡°You¡¯re either completely stupid, what I don¡¯t think, or there¡¯s more to you¡­¡± Uh oh! I don¡¯t like where this is leading to. What can I do? Before I can think of a response or do anything else, Lisa continues. ¡°That only leaves one option. You¡¯re a Noble yourself, right?¡± Shit, shit, shit! What do I do? Lisa looks at me with an intense gaze. I¡¯m inwardly panicking, and I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve kept my expression neutral. It¡¯s still worth a try¡­ I lean back and open my eyes wide. ¡°Whaaat?? That¡¯s ridiculous, how¡¯d you come to that conclusion? Didn¡¯t we talk about the whole fiasco with the Junbus? I acted like a fool! What kind of Noble would do so?¡± Lisa smirks. ¡°It¡¯s quite simple. The offer I¡¯ve made you¡­ No person in their right mind would have hesitated for even a single second. But you did hesitate. Not only that, but you¡¯re also still hesitating even now. That only leaves one explanation: You don¡¯t need what I¡¯m offering. Am I right?¡± Ugh, dammit. Just because I didn¡¯t want to get entangled with high-class Nobles. And now that¡­ But I guess there¡¯s no way around telling her a bit now. I sigh. ¡°Yeah¡­ You¡¯re right.¡± She pumps a fist in the air. ¡°Yes! I knew it. Hah, My first exposed disguised Noble. Mom¡¯s going to be so proud. Now, tell me more!¡± I groan. ¡°It¡¯s not something I want to talk about too much¡­ I thought I could have a chilled life here at college, but someone had the idea to put me in class with you and all the others¡­ Not that I don¡¯t like you or anything, but the chances of me being discovered are just so much higher as you proved just now.¡± That gets a short laugh out of her. ¡°Oh, that¡¯s true. Even Bernd immediately noticed you, as you were the odd one out. Combine this with your rare power in Space magic and well. You see where this ended. Do you have an idea how you even landed in our course?¡± ¡°Not really, but I do have a suspicion. It was either my parents as they like to have a joke at my expense, or it was my grandma¡­ But I don¡¯t exactly know why she would do this.¡± I shrug. ¡°Not that it matters right now. Anyway, was there anything else that gave me away? This might help me in the future as long as you don¡¯t tell everyone about me?¡± I look at her pleadingly. She returns a smile. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t tell anyone besides my mom. I know full well how stressful this all can be. But I have to tell Mom, as exposing Nobles is something like a tradition in my family. I think I¡¯ve set a new record with how fast I¡¯ve found one.¡± This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. I bury my face in my hands. ¡°And I thought I was a good actress¡­¡± ¡°Oh, but you are. Besides you refusing to take my offer there was barely anything else that made me suspicious¡­ Maybe the fact that you¡¯ve already got a spot on the Earth expedition, but that¡¯s it.¡± I groan even louder. ¡°That¡¯s not even my merit. One of my teammates took care of it¡­ Oh, he¡¯s also a Noble in disguise if you want to add another one to your list. But don¡¯t tell me who he is if you find out. I¡¯ve got a bet running with my cousin.¡± Lisa breaks out into full-blown laughter, and for the first time since she exposed me, I smile slightly. ¡°Are you for real?¡± She asks between bursts of laughter. ¡°Of all the things you team up with another Noble in disguise? Does he know?¡± ¡°No, I don¡¯t think so.¡± I shake my head, still smiling. ¡°But he¡¯s much worse in acting than I am. Anyway, does Bernd know about all this?¡± Lisa composes herself and shakes her head. ¡°No, he doesn¡¯t. I mean even I had to guess in the end and he¡¯s not the brightest in such things. But you should think about telling him¡­ It would make things a lot easier, as I don¡¯t think he¡¯s given up on taking you under his wing yet. Victor too. I know he can be a bit weird, but he¡¯s a nice guy and once he¡¯s interested in something, he won¡¯t stop. But from how things look, you dodged him for now. Anyway, think about it.¡± I grimace a bit. I don¡¯t think telling Victor would make him happy. Maybe I¡¯ll tell Bernd. We¡¯ll see. ¡°Yeah, I will. I¡¯m not sure yet about telling them as this could make things more complicated.¡± Lisa raises an eyebrow. ¡°Oh? Please do tell.¡± Ahh, I should have anticipated that question¡­ ¡°I could use that drink right now¡­¡± She laughs again and gets up. ¡°Alright, coming right up!¡± She leaves the room, and I lean back with a sigh. I guess I¡¯m all in now. I spin up a Communication spell and aim for Mom. She¡¯s quick to pick up, but also quick to dismiss me as she¡¯s very busy right now. Frustrated, I try to call Dad. ¡°Hey sweaty, what¡¯s up?¡± ¡°Hi, Dad, I¡¯ve got a bit of a situation¡­¡± I continue to tell him about Lisa exposing me while she¡¯s still gone making the drink. The barkeeper is already gone, I think. Dad chuckles. ¡°Ahh, this was only a matter of time. Lisa Song is a smart one, just like her mother. But you can tell her whatever you want. I¡¯ve already talked with Xin, she vouched for her daughter. Well, you obviously don¡¯t want to tell her about the Worldender Ship stuff, but you get what I mean. Anyway, I¡¯ve gotta go. See you soon, Sara!¡± Dad disconnects and I look at Lisa who¡¯s just entered the room again. She carries two glasses filled with brown liquid and hands me one of them. I sniff and am immediately assaulted by strong alcohol. ¡°Careful, it¡¯s got quite some kick to it,¡± she chuckles and raises her glass. ¡°To exposed Nobles.¡± We clink glasses and I take a sip. It burns! But it¡¯s also very good. Lisa starts musing. ¡°So who are you? That¡¯s the only thing I can¡¯t find out. You¡¯re not just a Count''s daughter, right? That wouldn¡¯t make sense.¡± I nod at her. It¡¯s best when she tries to find out herself. Maybe she gives up? ¡°That leaves Marquess¡­ But there are a lot of them. You¡¯re obviously not Timothy Silvani, as he¡¯s a guy¡­¡± WAIT! Is that it? Tim Skadi¡­ Timothy Silvani. That would be the dumbest disguise ever! But it would also fit. Oh my. I get up and start pacing. Lisa stops talking and looks at me. ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­ The teammate I¡¯ve told you about. He goes by Tim Skadi. I¡¯m just thinking if it could be so simple and he¡¯s actually the Silvani heir.¡± Lisa¡¯s eyes widen. ¡°That¡¯s certainly possible. I mean he is unaccounted for, soo¡­ But it would also be a very dumb disguise.¡± ¡°Yeah, my thoughts exactly¡­¡± I sigh and sit back down. ¡°Not that it¡¯s that important right now.¡± ¡°True enough. Now leaving out the Silvanis, that still leaves a lot of possibilities.¡± She taps something on her interface and starts reading. I watch her patiently. ¡°Okay, I¡¯m going to drop a few names now. You just have to shake your head if I¡¯m wrong. Tina Porter? Fridolina Rowlins? Chelsea McDunn?¡± Her name-dropping continues for almost five minutes while I steadily shake my head. Lisa grows more frustrated by the minute until she finally gives up. I can barely hold back a smirk as I¡¯m sure that she¡¯ll never guess right. I don¡¯t exist after all. Or at least only the Dukes and Duchesses know about me. Lisa finishes her drink and throws the glass away in frustration. Out of reflex, I grab it with my Telekinesis before it shatters. Lisa huffs in annoyance. ¡°Fine, don¡¯t tell me and keep your secret¡­ I¡¯m out of names to ask. So either you lied or you¡¯re bullshitting me with your claim of being from a Marquess¡¯s family. Also, good reflexes.¡± Time to make a decision. Dad said Lisa could know everything. Do I tell her? I guess there¡¯s no actual downside. Yeah, screw it. It worked out well with Alina. ¡°I didn¡¯t lie¡­ I really am not from one of the families you called out. But I¡¯m also bullshitting you a bit as I¡¯m not the daughter of a Marquess. But before you go through all the other Noble families why don¡¯t I just tell you? I mean you already found out about me being a Noble soo¡­¡± Her eyes light up. ¡°I would love that! So what Noble rank is your family? You said no to Count¡­ Is it just Viscount?¡± I shake my head. ¡°Baron?¡± She asks in disbelief. ¡°It¡¯s best if I just show you. But we need to go to my ship for that. Is it okay if I teleport you? My AI can send you the coordinates so you can double-check that I¡¯m not planning to kidnap you or something.¡± ¡°I sent them to her interface!¡± ¡°Thanks, Clara,¡± I whisper while Lisa takes a look at the coordinates. ¡°They look fine to me. I¡¯m still curious, especially now that you said my ship. There is so much that doesn¡¯t check out. So please go ahead, I¡¯m ready.¡± I nod at her and spin up the Teleportation spell. To flex my power a bit, I don¡¯t bother with standing up, and just grab the both of us while we¡¯re still sitting down. We reappear aboard the Stargazer right next to my disguise chamber. Lisa gasps. ¡°What the hell is that magical power in the air?¡± I just shrug and step into the chamber. ¡°It¡¯s just the magical battery¡­ I¡¯ll be right back, just relax for a moment. Oh, and to give you a hint about who I am¡­ I¡¯ve met your mother,¡± I wink at her and close the door behind me. I barely catch a glimpse of the surprise on her face. Then I press the button to revert to my true self. It takes the usual five minutes until the process is finished, and I take a look at my hair which is now red again. Way better than those pink tips! A quick conversation with Clara confirms that Lisa is still looking at the entrance of the disguise chamber, so I teleport out and a bit to the side. I reappear with a big smile on my face and call out to Lisa. ¡°Hey there!¡± She turns around and freezes. Her mouth opens and closes a few times. ¡°Impossible,¡± she breathes. ¡°How?¡± I lead her to the living room, and we sit down. Then I introduce myself for real. ¡°My name is Sara Valterion, as you might have guessed. I¡¯m the daughter of Aidan and Jasmine Valterion and well, you don¡¯t know about me because I was kidnapped as a little girl¡­¡± ¡°WHAT?¡± Lisa almost explodes when I tell her about my kidnapping. ¡°How is that even possible?¡± I shrug. ¡°Things happened and people messed up and someone capitalized on it¡­ I can tell you more if you want. It also includes the rediscovery of Earth,¡± I wink at her in the end. Now she looks even more dumbfounded. ¡°Earth? Really?¡± ¡°Yup, that¡¯s why Grandpa John included other colleges besides RMA in the Earth competition.¡± ¡°Of course, you would call the Emperor Grandpa John¡­ I don¡¯t know what to say. I need another drink!¡± I teleport a bottle and a glass before her. ¡°You don¡¯t have to say anything. Just listen to the tale of a girl living in an anti-Mage nation¡­¡± Chapter 117: Secondary Utility Chapter 117: Secondary Utility Location: Magicon Empire; Magicon System; Terra; Imperia; FBC After telling Lisa the key parts of my tale, we continue to talk for a long time. She¡¯s very shaken by a lot of it and shows her sympathy. She now also understands why I wanted to go to college in disguise. She promises to keep my secret, and we start talking about other things. We talked for so long, I¡¯m almost late for my first Utility course in the evening. I turn back into my Sara Green disguise and teleport the two of us back to Lisa¡¯s apartment. Then I say goodbye to her and promise to drop by in the future. After that, I teleport back to the FBC campus and actually have to run the last meters to arrive on time for the course. This time it¡¯s a big course again, and the lecture hall is already packed when I arrive. Still, the actual lecture hall is different from what I expected. Instead of tiered rows of seats, there are small seating groups throughout the room. There are hundreds of square tables with four chairs around them. Most of the seats are already occupied. I stop at the entrance and take it all in. I wonder why the room is set up like this. Finally, my eyes catch an empty seat almost in the center of the room. I quickly walk over there and sit down. The other three at the table are two boys and a girl. They all give me polite nods, but then return to tapping their interfaces. I inwardly shrug and do the same. Let¡¯s wait for the professor. I don¡¯t have to wait for long, as barely five minutes later, a man in his thirties enters the lecture hall through the main door. He is followed by a small army of younger people which immediately reminds me of Olivia, my Improvised Combat instructor. Once everyone has entered the room, the man in the front waves his hand, and the doors close behind him. He continues to walk through the room until he stands at a slightly elevated platform opposite the doors. The other people split up, and equally divide themselves throughout the room. Silence descends, as everyone watches the man¡¯s entrance. Now we all look at him expectantly. He waves another hand, and a spotlight starts shining on him. He grins and and starts speaking. ¡°Welcome students to Beginner Utility Magic for non-primary Utility Mages. My name is professor Damian Flood. I know the course¡¯s name is a mouthful, so I¡¯m just going to call it the Secondary Utility course.¡± He stops for a short chuckle. ¡°Not that I¡¯m providing you with secondhand magic or anything. ¡°Anyway, you¡¯ve probably noticed my small army of helping hands. Those are third-year students here at FBC and are here to help you with any struggles you might have. Now I should probably tell you how this course is structured. Well, here goes¡­¡± He snaps his fingers in an overly dramatic movement and the air behind him shimmers. Suddenly, there is a magical projection of an endless list. I recognize a few names like Communication, Cloaking, Telekinesis, and Basic Healing, which makes it easy for me to identify what that list is: It¡¯s a collection of Utility spells! Professor Flood grins after a short pause. ¡°I see most of you recognized the small list behind me. It¡¯s a list that contains almost all Utility spells that can be cast with a Junior level core. In case you¡¯re interested in the spell behind me, it¡¯s also on the list and is called Projection. It simply projects whatever you want in the open air and lets you forego a holoprojector.¡± He waves his hand again and the projection vanishes. ¡°Now, you might ask yourself why am I showing you that list, right? It¡¯s rather simple and also the reason why this course is different. You can freely decide which spells you want to learn throughout the year!¡± He stops after the announcement and the room erupts into pandemonium. Professor Flood does nothing to stop the cries of excitement and disbelief and just stays where he is with a big grin on his face. His third-year assistants also wear big knowing smiles. I guess they were the same two years ago. The others at my table stay rather calm, and only mutter different things under their breath. I dare say that I stayed calm as well. At least if you ignore my loud shout of ¡°No way!¡± Right after professor Flood¡¯s announcement. Now, I¡¯m already thinking about which spells I¡¯d like to learn. I¡¯ve forgotten most of the names already as there were just that many. But I still know a few of the broader categories. There are vanity spells that sound interesting. If I¡¯m guessing right, those are the spells that Mom used for styling and all the other things. What woman in her right mind wouldn¡¯t want something like that in her repertoire? Then there¡¯s the general Utility section. Still going by the name, I¡¯d say this is everything about Telekinesis and whatever else can make your day easier. It¡¯s a solid category but I think I don¡¯t need most of those spells right now. Telekinesis is enough for now. The subterfuge category on the other hand is quite interesting as spells under that category could probably help my Sara Green disguise. Next, I don¡¯t need anything new from the Communication category as I already know the important ones¡­ The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. Before I can weigh the pros and cons of further categories, professor Flood catches our attention again. ¡°Now, I get that this is quite amazing, but we still only have a few hours together each week, so please be quiet so that I can tell you one more thing.¡± This has the desired effect, and everyone stops talking and looks back at the professor. ¡°Showering you with a list of spells is one thing, but even more important is that you can use them. We¡¯re the class for second-core Utility Mages after all. So now I have to ask you all an uncomfortable question. Who amongst you doesn¡¯t know how to properly connect their cores?¡± His gaze wanders through the room and I look around as well. A few faces suddenly look a bit embarrassed. ¡°This is no problem at all! That¡¯s why I have my small army of assistants with me. Just lift your hand, and one of them will be very happy to assist you with your struggles. The same goes for the spells you¡¯re going to learn later on as well. Just lift your hand and one of my assistants or myself will help you.¡± Slowly, more and more people lift their hands, asking for assistance for the connection of their cores. One of the two boys at my table hesitates and then asks for help as well. A third-year student is quick to arrive and starts going through the necessary steps with him. I¡¯m just about to ask the professor about the spell list when a notification comes through on my interface. He¡¯s just sent us the list. I immediately open it and dive in. There are literally thousands of spells on the list. I count alone 57 different versions of the Telekinesis spell¡­ How am I supposed to decide? I whisper to Clara. ¡°Can you help me sort the list? And maybe cut out all the unnecessary and useless spells?¡± ¡°Oh, absolutely. Give me just a moment. The list is a pain to format.¡± The list changes right before my eyes. After a few minutes, most of the spells have vanished, and I¡¯m left with about a hundred spells to choose from. ¡°There you go. I took the liberty of deleting everything useless like those super-specialized Telekinesis spells or all the Communication ones. I also took out everything that has a much better version at the Senior and Master level as learning the light version of such spells would be wasted time for you. Lastly, I deleted everything that I thought was useless for you. I still have everything saved though, so if you¡¯ve had a specific spell in mind that I deleted, just tell me.¡± ¡°That¡¯s amazing, thanks a lot, Clara!¡± I immediately dive into the now much shorter list. As I expected, the general Utility and Communication categories are almost completely gone. All the others are heavily thinned out as well. The single remaining Communication spell immediately catches my eye though. ¡°That¡¯s possible?¡± I ask Clara in disbelief. ¡°It is, but it¡¯s a very inefficient spell, that¡¯s why you haven¡¯t seen it in use yet.¡± ¡°Shouldn¡¯t be that bad for me, right? It would be rather useful in situations like this¡­¡± ¡°That¡¯s true. So you¡¯ve found your first spell?¡± ¡°I have, yes. Can you show me the instructions?¡± What I¡¯m talking about is a spell that lets you communicate silently with your AI. As for why it would be fitting right now? Well, the other people at my table look at me as if I¡¯ve grown a second head. Normally, people don¡¯t have full conversations with their AIs as AIs like Clara or Maja are rather rare. I point at my head and stage whisper the words ¡°AI,¡± then I refocus on my interface and look at the spell explanation for my first new Utility spell. Its imaginative name is AI Call¡­ The spell itself looks rather complex when I first look at it, and I have to break it down and start with a small part of it. Before I can dive completely into the spell, professor Flood makes one more announcement. I somehow get the feeling that he likes hearing his own voice, as he always has that pleased expression when he is speaking. ¡°I lied earlier, as there are two spells that are mandatory for passing this course. Those are any form of Telekinesis and one of the available Communication spells. On top of that, you need to perform at least three additional spells at the end of the year.¡± He pauses for a short moment. ¡°Now that¡¯s really it. Have fun starting with your new spells!¡± I shake my head and concentrate on my spell again. Half an hour later, I¡¯m still stuck and don¡¯t have a single clue how this spell works. I let out a long breath in frustration and finally lift my hand to ask for help. A few minutes later, one of the third years stops by my side. It¡¯s the same one who helped my table mate with his cores earlier. ¡°Hi, I¡¯m John, how can I help you?¡± I greet him back and send him a screenshot from the AI Call explanation with markers at the sections I don¡¯t get. Let¡¯s just say there are a lot of markers. The whole spell looks like someone tried painting a labyrinth with his foot while being completely stoned. ¡°I can¡¯t make heads or tails of it,¡± I complain to John. ¡°This spell looks so ridiculous¡­ Is this even a Junior level spell?¡± John looks very concentrated until he slowly shakes his head. He starts muttering under his breath. Unfortunately, I don¡¯t catch a single word, but they don¡¯t sound happy. Finally, he sighs and looks back at me. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but that spell is beyond me¡­ If you want, I can call the professor to assist you, but it might take a few minutes.¡± The spell is beyond him, really? Just what is that spell? I mean professor Flood obviously didn¡¯t nominate some random idiots as his assistants¡­ ¡°Yeah, that would be great, thanks, John.¡± He nods and taps his ear twice. Professor Flood looks up from the desk he magicked into being a while earlier. John waves his hand and after a slow nod, professor Flood walks over to my table. John excuses himself to help another student, and I start by explaining my problems a second time. This time to the professor. He flashes me a smile. ¡°Ahh, I haven¡¯t seen that spell in a while. It¡¯s an absolute nightmare to learn, that¡¯s true, but the spell is also very convenient in certain circumstances. Especially for Space Mages like yourself. Now, let me give you a hint on where to start.¡± He conjures another Projection spell which shows the spell explanation. A wave of his hand removes 90% of it, including almost all my markers. ¡°Try this version first. This is the most basic version of the spell and lets you send basic intentions and feelings to your AI. Once you¡¯ve got that working try adding in more and more from the original spellform.¡± I stare at the spell. It looks much simpler now. ¡°I¡¯ll do that¡­ Thanks, professor!¡± ¡°You¡¯re welcome, just call me again if you need more help.¡± With that, he returns to his desk, and I dive into the simpler version of my new Utility spell. Chapter 118: Interlude 10 – Lisa Chapter 118: Interlude 10 ¨C Lisa Location: Magicon Empire; Magicon System; Terra; Imperia; Song Medical Tower Minutes after the impossibility called Sara Valterion teleported her back to her penthouse, Lisa Song spins up a Communication spell and aims for her private tutor of the day. He¡¯s quick to pick up. ¡°Lady Song, what can I do for you? I¡¯m just about to come over for today¡¯s lesson.¡± ¡°Hello Peter, unfortunately, I have to cancel our meeting today¡­ You¡¯re still being paid, it¡¯s just that something came up and I have to leave.¡± ¡°Oh, alright, then I wish you a good day, and I hope you¡¯ll get your things resolved quickly.¡± ¡°Thanks, Peter, I¡¯ll see you next week!¡± The call ends and Lisa starts pacing. She kept her cool in those past hours, but now everything comes crashing down. Meeting a person, she didn¡¯t even know existed, was not part of her plans for the day. I can¡¯t believe it¡­ What are the odds? A third child of the Big Five in my generation. A ping on her interface shakes her out of it. It¡¯s a message from Bernd Schmidt, asking if she wants to come over after her private lesson with Peter. Every other day, she would have happily agreed, but now? Nah, there¡¯s no way I could keep my cool in front of the others tonight¡­ She sends a quick reply that she¡¯s got an appointment with her mother and therefore can¡¯t join them tonight. Bernd of course is completely understanding. He knows the role people like them have to play. And then there¡¯s Sara¡­ Chilling at FBC without a care in the world. Just when she¡¯s about to cast another Communication spell ¨C this time aiming for her mom ¨C another ping on her interface interrupts her. This time it¡¯s something else, as there is an immediate pop-up, and she can¡¯t swipe the message away. Lisa gasps when she recognizes the symbol at the top of the message. It¡¯s the Empress¡¯s seal! Lisa gulps and starts reading. She¡¯s never received a message from the Empress before. Luckily, it¡¯s nothing bad. It¡¯s a message reminding her of the agreement she¡¯s made with Sara: She¡¯s forbidden from talking to anyone besides her parents or the other Dukes about Sara Valterion¡¯s existence. Holy shit! I¡¯m barely back from Sara¡¯s ship, and the Empress already knows about everything! Not that I planned to go back on my word, but still, this hammers it home. Now, I really need a drink¡­ She walks over to her bar and grabs a bottle without bothering to get a glass. Lisa just takes the bottle and takes a big gulp of expensive alcohol. Then she sits down on her couch and after removing her shoes, puts her feet on the table. ¡°Pfew¡­¡± Lisa lets out a long breath and takes a few minutes to calm down. A quick spell projects a mirror before her, and she puts a strand of black hair behind her ear. Then she smoothens her features as best as she can manage and cancels the Mirror spell. Lisa then sits up straight and casts a Video Call spell, aiming for her mother. Xin Song, Duchess of the Song Duchy appears before her shortly after. Due to the Video Call spell, Lisa is the only one who can see the woman. Would someone else look at them, they would recognize the similarities between the two young-looking women. Lisa Song is a spitting image of her mother. She¡¯s just a bit shorter. ¡°Hello, Lisa,¡± her mother greets her. ¡°How are you?¡± Lisa takes another breath and smiles at her mother. ¡°Hi Mom, I¡¯m not sure how to feel right now¡­ But I¡¯m mostly good.¡± Her mother¡¯s expression turns concerned. ¡°What¡¯s wrong dear?¡± Lisa shrugs inwardly and gets directly to the point. ¡°Sara Valterion¡­¡± Xin Song¡¯s eyes immediately open wide, and she almost gasps. ¡°You found out?¡± She asks, and Lisa can hear the pride in her voice. ¡°Yeah, and now I don¡¯t know what to do¡­ I¡¯ve already received a warning from the flippin¡¯ Empress!¡± Her mother is silent for a moment. ¡°Do you have time? I think it¡¯s best if you come home for a few days. Carl can jump you with the Dionis. Your father doesn¡¯t need the ship right now. He¡¯s tied down on the Moon.¡± Lisa scratches her head and thinks for a moment. Do I have the time? I¡¯d have to ditch Friday¡¯s lessons. But they¡¯re not that important anyway. Bernd and Victor will probably ask why I¡¯m gone, but I can handle it. Yeah, I think I¡¯m going home for the weekend. ¡°Yeah, it should be fine. I can come home!¡± ¡°Good, just give Carl a call when you¡¯re ready to leave. I¡¯ll tell your dad in the meantime and give Carl a heads-up.¡± Lisa nods and waves at her mother. ¡°Thanks, Mom, I¡¯ll see you soon.¡± The call disconnects, and Lisa gets back up. She enters her sleeping room and grabs a small suitcase, then she starts packing a few essentials. Twenty minutes later, she¡¯s ready to go. She¡¯s already talked with Carl and is just waiting for him to pick her up. A few minutes later, there is a flash of magic, and a middle-aged man steps out of the jump room. He smiles at Lisa. The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡°Are you ready to go?¡±
Location: Magicon Empire; Song Duchy; Song System; SMS Dionis The trip was fast. Carl and the other Space Mages aboard the Dionis gave it their all, and so Lisa arrives back home late Friday morning. She thanks the crew and gets ready to disembark. This time, she¡¯s going to use a shuttle, as all the Space Mages are very exhausted. Her mother who¡¯s an Archmage of course can¡¯t pick her up either, as she¡¯s in meetings all morning. That only leaves the traditional way of using a shuttle for Lisa. Not that she cares, as the trip was already much faster than she expected. Her appointment with her mother is for dinner. That leaves her with half a day for her own leisure. The shuttle¡¯s door opens, and the pilot welcomes her aboard. She smiles at him and sits down on one of the comfortable seats. The shuttle closes back up and leaves the Dionis behind. A big screen shows Lisa what¡¯s up ahead, and she sighs when she catches sight of Ji¨¡. Her home planet is breathtaking as always. I can¡¯t say it enough. Ancestor Li-Ming had every right to call that beautiful planet ¡°home.¡± The planet is a little smaller than Terra, but the giant forests and green expanses are easily visible from orbit. There is no industry polluting the planet, and only a few sparse cities can be found on the northern continent. Everywhere else is pure nature. Lisa¡¯s shuttle heads straight for the biggest city on the planet. Compared to Imperia, the city of Valenia is tiny. There are no giant towers or other colossal buildings made out of tristanium. Instead, every single building in the city almost blends in with the surroundings. Organic forms and big planes of glass are prevalent, and every roof is covered by plants. One of the biggest building¡¯s roof opens up when the shuttle gets closer, and shows a landing pad just inside. The pilot heads right there and sets down. Lisa thanks him and leaves the shuttle behind. As soon as she¡¯s a few steps away, some Magitech comes alive and shields the young woman. Then the shuttle lifts again and disappears through the closing roof. As soon as the roof is closed, the Magitech turns off again, and Lisa enters the building proper through a sliding door to her left. Through that door, everything changes. There is still that nature vibe everywhere but otherwise the interior of the building looks like what one would expect from one of the richest families in the galaxy. Lisa ignores it all and slumps down on one of the couches. And now I wait. Who would have known that Carl and the others would be that fast? I could have met with Mom for lunch¡­ She flips on one of the rooms¡¯ holoprojectors and starts a movie, then she leans back to relax. Halfway through the movie, Lisa is interrupted by an incoming Communication spell. As it¡¯s no Video Call, she doesn¡¯t bother to sit up. She accepts and immediately hears Bernd¡¯s voice. ¡°Yoo Lisa, what¡¯s up? And where are you? You¡¯ve been gone all day, and no one can find you!¡± ¡°Hey Bernd, I¡¯m home¡­ Something came up.¡± ¡°Bullshit, I¡¯m standing right in front of your door.¡± His voice turns curiously. ¡°Did you find a secret boyfriend?¡± Lisa groans. ¡°No, I don¡¯t have a boyfriend, and you know that you would be the first one to know if I had one¡­ No, what I mean is that I¡¯m home home.¡± The line turns silent for a moment until Bernd answers. ¡°Oh¡­ Something important then. Can you tell me about it?¡± ¡°No, unfortunately not¡­ But I should be back on Monday at the latest.¡± The cheerfulness is gone from Bernd¡¯s voice. ¡°Alright, see you then.¡± ¡°Bye, Bernd.¡± Lisa resumes her movie but doesn¡¯t pay much attention. She stares up at the roof, deep in thought. Keeping it from Bernd might be harder than I thought¡­ Since when is he so¡­ So un-Bernd-like? He never cared about my whereabouts before¡­ She must have fallen asleep, as she¡¯s woken up by an alarm on her interface, reminding her that it¡¯s almost time for dinner with her mother. Shit, shit, shit! I¡¯m going to be late! Lisa jumps up and runs for her room. There, she opens the wardrobe and grabs some fitting clothes. Another dash later, she¡¯s in the bathroom and takes a quick shower. A few quick spells have her body and hair dried and after putting on her clothes, more spells take care of some light styling and makeup. Then she¡¯s ready, just in time! Lisa returns to the shuttle bay at the top of the building and enters the shuttle that¡¯s already been waiting for her. It takes off as soon as she¡¯s taken a seat and heads for the city center. Ten minutes later, the shuttle sets down on another landing pad. Lisa gets up and exits the shuttle. Someone is already waiting for her at the platform¡¯s edge. ¡°Welcome Miss Song, if you¡¯d follow me? I¡¯ll lead you to your table.¡± Lisa nods at the woman and starts following her. Some 50 meters later, they enter a building and take the elevator down a few floors. After that, the two women enter a restaurant, where Lisa is led to a private room that overlooks the whole city below. Duchess Song is already sitting at the table, holding a steaming cup of tea in her hand. Upon seeing Lisa, she sets down her cup and gets up to hug her daughter. ¡°Lisa, nice to see you! Want some tea? They have a nice blend.¡± Lisa agrees and greets her mother back. Duchess Song points at her cup of tea and the attendant nods. A few seconds later, a second cup floats into the room. ¡°Please leave us,¡± Duchess Song says, and the two women sit down at the table. As soon as the door closes, the Duchess casts a Privacy spell around the room, then she looks at her daughter. ¡°So, you found out, huh?¡± Why does she look at me like I passed some test? Lisa nods slowly. ¡°I did¡­ When you know what to look for, she was very bad at hiding it.¡± The Duchess smiles and raises an eyebrow. ¡°Is that so? Jasmine will be very happy to hear that, especially when I remind her that her idea backfired.¡± Lisa is taken aback. ¡°Huh? What do you mean by that?¡± Her mother starts laughing. ¡°Why do you think your new friend Sara is part of your class?¡± So it really wasn¡¯t random. But why? ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­ To get to know us?¡± ¡°Exactly! Jasmine thought it would be good for Sara to get to know her peers. So we decided to pull some strings and have her enter your history class as a new student. I warned her that it might be too suspicious, but Jasmine waved me off, saying her daughter would rock this. And now you¡¯re here, having exposed her after the first lesson.¡± Xin Song starts laughing. Lisa rarely heard her mother laugh freely like that. Once she¡¯s composed herself again, mother and daughter continue to order food and do some small talk. Once they¡¯re halfway through the second course, Lisa gets back to the actual topic. ¡°So what now? Do I just go on like normal or should I try to get closer to Sara?¡± Duchess Song just shrugs. ¡°It doesn¡¯t really matter¡­ Until the Valterions decide to introduce Sara to the wider Empire, the girl practically doesn¡¯t exist. So it¡¯s up to you what you want to do. Personally, I think it would be good if you manage to become friends with her, especially since the whole Earth adventure was made the way it is to accommodate her. I think you could benefit from that once you¡¯re all there.¡± So she wasn¡¯t joking when she said the Emperor included other colleges besides RMA for her. Hearing it from Mom really drives it home. That¡¯s crazy¡­ Mom¡¯s advice is probably for the best. Oh wait, I almost forgot! ¡°Thanks for the advice, Mom. I just remembered one more thing. Sara basically exposed someone else.¡± ¡°She did? Who is it?¡± Xin sounds very interested again. ¡°Sara said someone else on her team took care of her spot on the Earth competition. She said he¡¯s a Noble in disguise but she doesn¡¯t know who he is. So when we were talking and I mentioned the missing Timothy Silvani, she stopped in realization. Apparently, her teammate calls himself Tim Skadi¡­ It would be fitting, don¡¯t you say?¡± The Duchess starts laughing again. ¡°Oh, that¡¯s just the cherry on top! I can confirm your suspicions, when we all learned about it, the bad disguise was the joke of the week. Still, you¡¯re actually the first one to expose him and that is without even meeting him.¡± Lisa joins in and they both laugh a bit. Then she clears her throat. ¡°Well, actually it was Sara to expose him. I was just there with her¡­¡± ¡°True, but for the Silvanis, she doesn¡¯t exist¡­ So I think it¡¯s your turn to capitalize on it. You can share with Sara later on if you want. Now, what do you think about a little shopping trip at the Silvanis?¡± There are prizes for exposing someone? Is this all just a game to them? Crazy! ¡°Sure, I could use some new clothes¡­¡± Chapter 119: Final Tryouts Chapter 119: Final Tryouts Location: Magicon Empire; Magicon System; Terra; Imperia; FBC Friday goes by without much happening, as my taxi courses are still in their early stages where I¡¯m not necessary. We all go out in the evening though, and even Tim joins us after his long absence. I decide to ignore my suspicions about his identity for now though, and we just have a good time. When we¡¯re back in our dorm, Lucy takes me aside and asks if I¡¯m really that blind. ¡°What do you mean?¡± I reply in confusion. Lucy groans loudly and facepalms. ¡°You¡¯re hopeless! Haven¡¯t you seen all the subtle advances Tim made throughout the evening? You acted like you didn¡¯t see them at all¡­¡± Subtle advances? ¡°Uhh, would you believe me if I said I didn¡¯t notice a thing?¡± Lucy groans even louder. ¡°Hopeless! Absolutely hopeless. Next time I¡¯ll point it out right away, or this is never going to work.¡± I blush a bit embarrassed. ¡°Okay, thanks, Lucy¡­¡± She just shakes her head and lets me enter my room. In there, I pretty much fall asleep as soon as I lie on my bed.
¡°Morning, sweetie!¡± The words barely arrive in my ears, and I turn to the side to continue sleeping. That is until my bed sheets start floating away, leaving me lying there in my pajamas. I have to blink a few times to get the sleep out of my eyes. When I finally manage to open them again, I think I¡¯m still dreaming. ¡°Mom?¡± I sit up straight and stare at the woman in front of me. She¡¯s changed her hair color to a dark brown, but it¡¯s still unmistakably my mother. ¡°What are you doing here?¡± She sits down on my bed and grins. ¡°Oh, I¡¯m just dropping by. I take it you slept well?¡± I find myself nodding, I still can¡¯t believe it. What is she doing here? What about the risks of exposing me? Sure, Alina already knows, and Lucy and Lydia have known for so long¡­ But still. ¡°Just dropping by?¡± I ask in a very disbelieving tone. ¡°Yep, Dan and I currently have to deal with some things up on Benson Moon. You should come by for a visit.¡± I shake my head. ¡°Not that I¡¯m not happy to see you¡­ I am! But I don¡¯t believe that¡¯s the reason for your visit. Hell, you could have called or sent an invitation. This doesn¡¯t make sense.¡± Mom sighs. ¡°Fine, you¡¯re no fun. Yes, I¡¯m not here to talk about dinner plans or anything. Let¡¯s talk about Lisa Song.¡± Oh¡­ Of course, it¡¯s that. At least I¡¯m awake now. ¡°Okaaay¡­ What about her? Dad said everything was okay.¡± ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re not in trouble or anything. Lisa can be trusted. I just want to know what gave you away.¡± I get up and sit down next to her. ¡°Well, mostly it was because I declined both her and Bernd Schmidt¡¯s invitation to join their entourage¡­ Lisa said no one in their right mind would decline such an offer if they didn¡¯t already have something close to it. That¡¯s why she thought I belonged to the family of a Marquess.¡± ¡°Ahh, that¡¯s unfortunate¡­ I should have thought about this. Your magical talent makes you desirable. I¡¯m sorry about that.¡± I raise an eyebrow at her. ¡°So it was you who got me into that class? And don¡¯t worry, Lisa is nice. I actually don¡¯t mind that she exposed me.¡± Mom nods. ¡°Yes, I thought it would be good for you to get to know your peers. Xin even warned me that this might happen, but I didn¡¯t believe her.¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay, Mom. I don¡¯t mind. I think I¡¯ve even made friends with Lisa.¡± I stop and look at her. Then I realize something. ¡°You¡¯re upset because you couldn¡¯t stop yourself and bet on me, right? And now Xin Song is smug about it.¡± I can read it on Mom¡¯s face that I¡¯m right and start laughing. She blushes in embarrassment. There is a knock on my door, and I hear Alina¡¯s voice. ¡°Hey Sara, everything alright in there?¡± ¡°Yeah, everything¡¯s fine!¡± I call back. ¡°Okay, can I come in? I wanted to ask you something.¡± I glance at Mom, and she just shrugs, basically telling me ¡°It¡¯s your decision.¡± ¡°Sure, come in. But don¡¯t freak out, alright?¡± The door starts opening. ¡°Why would I freak out? Are you naked or someth¡­ Holy shit!¡± She stumbles and stops. ¡°Err, I¡¯m sorry¡­¡± She starts bowing. ¡°Lady Valterion! Greetings.¡± Mom stifles a laugh. ¡°No need to bow, Alina. It¡¯s alright. You can call me Jasmine.¡± Alina starts stuttering. ¡°I¡­ I, okay. S¡­ Sorry for intruding. I¡­ I¡¯ll be on my way.¡± She starts to turn around. ¡°Hey Alina, wait! You¡¯re not intruding. Everything¡¯s fine. Just come in.¡± That does it, and Alina somehow composes herself. She takes a deep breath. ¡°Alright, I¡¯m good now. Sorry for the awkwardness.¡± We both wave her off. ¡°What I actually wanted to ask is can we join your Gravity Ball tryouts in the afternoon as spectators or is it a closed event?¡± She then turns to Mom. ¡°And uhh, can I take a picture with you?¡± I start snickering when Alina blushes deeply. ¡°As far as I know, spectators are fine, so sure, you can join!¡± Mom also grins. ¡°Of course, we can take a picture. Let me just change the background to something more realistic.¡± She waves her hand, and the wall of my dorm room suddenly looks like a lecture hall. Mom stands next to Alina, and it looks like they¡¯re both next to the lectern. A small camera drone floats before them and takes a picture. ¡°There we go. Now it looks like I held a lesson and stayed for a picture afterward.¡± Alina grins broadly. ¡°Thank you so much, Lady Jasmine!¡± ¡°You¡¯re welcome, and just Jasmine is fine. Anyway, I¡¯ll leave you girls alone. Good luck with your tryouts, Sara. And let me know if you¡¯ll manage to join us for dinner tonight.¡± I tell her goodbye and promise to give her a call later on. Then she teleports away and leaves me alone with Alina. ¡°Holy shit!¡± Alina calls out and sits down on my bed. ¡°I just met a Duchess! Can you believe that?¡± ¡°Sure,¡± I grin at her. We look at each other and start laughing. The whole situation is a bit surreal. I talk a bit more with Alina, but we soon join the other two girls for breakfast, courtesy of Lucy, then I already have to rush to meet up with my teammates before the tryouts. The others tell me goodbye and that they will all be watching when I¡¯m doing my tryouts later today.The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. I¡¯m the last one to arrive at the small caf¨¦, Alec arranged for us to meet. He, Drew, and Amanda already have some mugs standing before them. I join them at the table, and we exchange greetings. I quickly order a mug of coffee myself, then we start talking about our plans for the tryouts today. ¡°Did you manage to find our remaining three players to form a full team?¡± I ask Alec who will probably be our team captain if we all manage to get selected for the team. He shakes his head. ¡°No, I¡¯ve already told the others¡­ We have to take what we can get. Everyone who has been at least decent during the first tryouts has already formed up with others for the tryout. There are a lot of goalkeepers looking for squads, but we don¡¯t need one. The coaches will probably assign one defender and two attackers to our team when we have our match.¡± Hmm, not ideal¡­ But if we can still pull this off, it will be even more impressive. I shrug at him. ¡°Nothing we can do then, I guess. But we can do this!¡± ¡°Hear, hear!¡± Amanda chimes in, and even Drew smiles slightly. We finish our coffees while continuing to talk about how we plan to enter our matches today. After that, we head off toward the Gravity Ball fields. There is already a big crowd of spectators around one of the fields, and a large group of students are doing their warmup exercises on the inside. The four of us look at each other and shrug. We might as well join them. On my way to the changing room, I notice Alina, Lydia, and Lucy. They all give me cheerful waves and I grin back at them. Then I almost stumble over my own feet when I recognize our Improvised Combat instructor Olivia next to Lydia. Are they actively dating now? Anyway, after changing, we all walk toward the entrance of the field which is on the opposite side from where the changing rooms are. Actually, that¡¯s pretty inconvenient! On my way, I even notice Tim and Nick standing around the field. It¡¯s crazy, everyone is there to watch me play! ¡°Hey Tim!¡± I call out and he turns around. Upon seeing me, he grins broadly. ¡°The others are over there,¡± I point toward the changing rooms where Lucy stands right at the waist-high fence surrounding the field. ¡°Thanks, Sara. We¡¯ll probably join them before the matches start. Good luck, not that you¡¯ll need it.¡± He winks at me, and I roll my eyes. Then I hurry to catch up with Amanda. The boys were faster and are already doing some warmup exercises when we enter the field. We are quick to join them. It doesn¡¯t take long until coach Zero and coach Dalton arrive together with their assistants. Zero is the one to speak up with a loud bellow. ¡°Alright everyone, let¡¯s get this show on the road! Welcome to the final tryouts for the new first-year teams of FBC. If you¡¯ve already formed teams, please form up to my right. If you don¡¯t have a complete team form up to my left. And lastly, if you¡¯re alone, go to coach Dalton over there.¡± She points at the opposite end of the field just when coach Dalton teleports there. We students are quick to follow her orders, as no one wants to make a bad impression. My squad finds itself at coach Zero¡¯s left side shortly after. After she talks a bit to the complete squads, she comes over and starts talking to the incomplete teams. She must be using a Communication spell with coach Dalton, as every time she finishes talking with a team, a few people from coach Dalton¡¯s group walk over and join them. Then she stops before us and tilts her head. ¡°Alright guys, please state your roles so that I can fill up your team.¡± Alec speaks up. ¡°Amanda here is a hybrid, Drew¡¯s our controller, Sara is the jumper, and lastly I¡¯m the boring defensive player.¡± Coach Zero nods and flashes a grin. ¡°There¡¯s nothing boring about being defensive! But that means you¡¯ll need one offense, one defense, and a goalkeeper, right?¡± I shake my head. ¡°No, actually, we¡¯d like two offensive players and another defensive player.¡± She raises an eyebrow, and for the first time looks at us in interest. ¡°Is that so? It¡¯s been a while since I saw a team that bold. I look forward to seeing you on the field. Make sure to include your new teammates in your tactics!¡± We all nod at her and she continues to the next squad. I turn around and notice three people walking toward us. They have various expressions on their faces. The boy in the front looks hopeful, while the two in the back have slight frowns on their faces. They stop before us. The blonde, hopeful young man holds out his hand. ¡°Hi, I¡¯m John, like the Emperor,¡± he winks before continuing. ¡°I¡¯m an offensive player and I¡¯m very excited to try out your tactics. You do have a plan, right? Coach Dalton said you¡¯re playing without a goalkeeper?¡± Alec grabs his hand and shakes it, then continues to introduce the four of us. ¡°¡­ and yeah, we do have a plan. The four of us even trained it successfully against a training program that the Terran Spartans are using.¡± That washes the frowns off the faces of the boys in the back and they introduce themselves as well. The broad and tall guy is called Ivan and the smaller one¡¯s name is Jackson. Surprisingly, Jackson is the defensive player and Ivan is the attacker. ¡°Did you really play against a simulation of the national team? And did you win?¡± Jackson asks in slight disbelief after introducing himself. Alec grins and nods. ¡°Yes and yes. Hey, Sara, do you have a recording to show them? This might be easier to introduce them to our tactics.¡± ¡°I have a recording, but it might be better to show the others on a tablet,¡± Clara replies in my ear. I cast a fragment of my newest Utility spell and send her a feeling of gratitude. I can¡¯t do more than slight feelings right now, but it¡¯s progress! ¡°Does someone have a tablet? I do have a recording, but I think it¡¯s better to use a tablet instead of our interfaces. That way we can point out the details much easier.¡± Drew opens his bag and pulls out an extra-large rolled-up tablet tube. ¡°Here you go,¡± he says and hands it to me. I roll it open, and it comes alive. It¡¯s like fifteen steps above the one I had back in the Estriduros Republic, but luckily, Clara has no problem with it. Seconds after powering up, it now shows a recording of our training game back on Monday. We watch the recording together and our three new teammates get wide eyes. ¡°That might actually work!¡± Ivan calls out with a smile on his face. ¡°Yeah, let¡¯s do this,¡± John says. It still takes a bit until our team is up for playing. We watched the other games together and there were some impressive players already. Especially one girl who played as an offensive player. She completely wrecked her competition with her unconventional moves and fast gameplay. I¡¯d be lying if I said I didn¡¯t want her on my team. Then it¡¯s time for us, and coach Zero calls out Alec¡¯s name. We follow him onto the field and take a look at our opponents. They¡¯re a mixed team consisting of three men and four women. They¡¯re also in the classic lineup with one goalkeeper, two offensive and defensive players each, one controller, and lastly one jumper. Our missing goalkeeper causes more than one raised eyebrow from our opponents, and the spectators outside are loudly commenting on our lineup. Some are curious while others practically dismiss our team. I block them all out and concentrate on the game. Coach Zero whistles, then we¡¯re off. In the end, everything worked out as planned, and we completely wiped the floor with our opponents. Drew and I defended our goal perfectly, and even Amanda had a short episode where she jumped in as our goalkeeper. With one additional offensive or defensive player courtesy of Amanda switching, we¡¯ve always had our opponents outnumbered. Add in my expert jumping and Drew¡¯s exceptional catchers, we steamrolled the opposing team. When coach Zero calls for the match¡¯s end, we win with a comfortable ten to four and a lot of cheers from the spectators. After that, we watch the remaining matches and I¡¯m almost getting restless until the coaches tell us their decisions. Finally, the last whistle sounds, and the final game ends. Coach Dalton calls everyone together, and we line up before the coaches. ¡°Alright, that was some impressive gameplay, everyone. You can all be proud of yourself for getting this far. Unfortunately, there are only 36 spots on the team which means we have to cut your numbers down.¡± What follows is a brutal cut of young sportsmen. More than half of the players on the field are cut. Their heads hang down when they leave the field and join the spectators. I look around and estimate that there are now about 70 students remaining. I gulp as that means there is another big cut coming. Only half of us will make it into the team! Surprisingly or probably not that surprisingly after our performance, our whole team is still standing on the field. Alec gives us all a reassuring nod. Then coach Zero takes over and explains the next phase of the tryouts: We have to show our skills directly against the coaches! And that all alone! No more teams, just one player against the coaches and sometimes the assistants, depending on our role. One after the other, the remaining students pair off against the coaches and obviously, they get completely wrecked. Not a single one of us manages to either score or defend against them. There are a few promising showings, and I almost manage to outplay coach Dalton before he does a weird move and outplays me instead. After each match, the student who had just played gets a short feedback and is told to wait at the side. Then, finally, Alec is the last one to play and obviously loses as well. After that, the coaches tell us they¡¯d need an hour to make their final decisions. We¡¯re free to do what we want in the meantime. I¡¯m too excited to do anything and so I walk toward the edge of the field where my friends are waiting. ¡°Sara, you were so close! Matching up against the coaches was so unfair,¡± Lucy cries out as soon as I arrive. ¡°Yeah, that was brutal, but you still almost had it. I think you made it on the team,¡± Tim tells me with a big smile. I continue to chat with them and before I know it, the hour is over and the coaches step back on the field. ¡°It is time,¡± coach Dalton starts before coach Zero picks up. ¡°To decide on our final team for this year.¡± She waits till every noise dies down and everyone waits in anticipation. ¡°Our first team slot goes to Sara Green who did a splendid performance and almost managed to win against coach Dalton.¡± I miss the rest of her praising me, as I¡¯m cheering out loud and my whole team is congratulating me. ¡°Miss Green, please come up and join us.¡± Coach Dalton interrupts my celebration. I grin sheepishly and walk up toward the coaches. Who would have guessed that I¡¯m the first one to be called up? That¡¯s amazing. I glance at my interface and silently read the congratulations message I¡¯ve just got from my friends. I smile and enjoy the moment. The coaches call out the next name. A woman named Frieda Breno. I notice someone celebrating. It¡¯s the woman who I noticed earlier. The one who plays offense. After her, the coaches call out Drew who is quick to join me. I give him a high five. The coaches continue to call out names until finally the 36th name gets called out. It¡¯s John from my team, which means that except for Jackson and Ivan everyone from my team made it. With five spots on the squad, we¡¯re the biggest group who played together in the first matches today. I can¡¯t wait to start playing for real! Chapter 120: Vexton System Exploration Chapter 120: Vexton System Exploration Location: Magicon Empire; Song Duchy; Vexton System; BCS (VS) Stargazer It¡¯s been months of studying and learning new spells. I¡¯ve finally settled into college life and things started to turn into routine. I¡¯ve learned so many new spells that I can barely count them anymore! Otherwise, things have been quiet. I¡¯ve finally started to notice all those slight advances Tim made all the time, but I don¡¯t think now is the right time for stuff like this¡­ I think Tim noticed as well, as he has almost completely stopped. For now, we¡¯re good friends and we¡¯re both happy. Speaking of Tim! I asked my cousin Vic if he was Timothy Silvani, and she confirmed. Which means she now owes me a favor! I didn¡¯t tell Tim and the others that I know though, as it¡¯s too funny to see all his slip-ups. He¡¯s so bad at hiding his identity! Other than that, I continue to meet Lisa Song. It¡¯s refreshing to talk to her and to be just Sara without concealing parts of myself. Sure, I can do the same with my roommates but somehow, it¡¯s just different with Lisa. She just understands some of my struggles better as she has the same ones. After about a month and so many annoying Nobles who tried to connect to me, Lisa had enough of my constant complaining. She made a rather interesting proposal which I gladly accepted after some consideration and talks. I¡¯m now officially part of her retinue, at least on paper. It changed nothing between the two of us, as we both know the truth, but it almost immediately stopped every Noble from approaching me. Sure, there are a few obligations, but so far, they¡¯ve been fun. I went to dinner with important people and Lisa and I both went to a fashion show where we had front-row seats. I confess that I bought more than one expensive dress that evening. Also, no one else exposed my real identity after Lisa did, which made everyone in my family very happy as they didn¡¯t have to deal with any more fallouts. Oh, and we had our first Gravity Ball matches. We completely wrecked the team of another local college and won most of our other games against colleges from planets close by. Currently, we¡¯re standing undefeated at the top of the table! But we also haven¡¯t played against Lisa¡¯s team from RMA yet.
Anyway, none of that is important right now, as I just made the final jump into the Vexton System ¨C the star system we chose for our Exploration course mission! The six of us are all standing on the bridge of the temporarily renamed BCS Stargazer and taking in the view beyond the window. There are only four planets here and three of them are gas giants so completely useless for any kind of settlement. The second planet from the sun though looks promising. Sure, we¡¯ll still check out the gas giants as our job is to explore the whole system. Who knows, there might be some rare resources. But I think our focus will be on the planet that even features an atmosphere from how things look. ¡°We¡¯re being hailed,¡± Clara interrupts my thoughts and shakes everyone out of their stupor as well. ¡°Alright, showtime, guys. Lucy, how are our shields looking? Lydia, please take the call.¡± I call out orders and sit down on the captain¡¯s chair. Lucy just gives me a thumbs-up, and Lydia taps her console to take the call. I notice a hologram of a man in a Peacekeeper uniform appearing before her and decide to link into the audio. His voice is very deep. ¡°Greetings, Stargazer, I¡¯m captain Tulip from system security. I¡¯ve got you on my list as a student vessel from FBC. Can you confirm?¡± ¡°Good day to you, captain,¡± Lydia replies. ¡°We¡¯re indeed from FBC, here on a mission for the Exploration course. I¡¯ll send you the permits and identification, one moment please.¡± It takes a few seconds until the captain replies. ¡°Got it, thank you. It¡¯s been a while since we¡¯ve had an Exploration course over here. Good luck, I¡¯ll think you¡¯re gonna have some fun here.¡± He actually winks at the end before saying goodbye. I wonder what that was about. Lydia turns her seat around. ¡°Okay, we¡¯re checked in with system security. We¡¯re free to do our thing whenever we¡¯d like to start.¡± Lucy gives her a high five while we others nod. ¡°Oh, one more thing. I guess you all saw the wink at the end¡­ He wished us good luck and told us we were going to have a lot of fun. But somehow, I think he was ironic¡­ Does anyone have an idea? I know, we¡¯re not supposed to know anything about the system here beforehand, but maybe someone heard something?¡± We all shake our heads, then Nick clears his throat. ¡°Hey, do you guys remember the look and grin Sam gave us when we told her that we wanted to explore the Vexton System? Maybe that¡¯s connected? I guess there is something special here¡­¡± I shake my head, I don¡¯t remember¡­ Too much was happening in between. Lucy tilts her head though. ¡°I¡¯m not sure¡­ Maybe? Now that you said it, I vaguely remember something, but nothing specific. I guess we¡¯ll see soon?¡± Tim agrees. ¡°Yeah, let¡¯s just check it out and we¡¯ll see. Even if it¡¯s dangerous, it can¡¯t be too dangerous as Sam wouldn¡¯t have allowed us to go there.¡± ¡°You¡¯re right,¡± I say. ¡°So what should we check out first? I know we decided on this place because of the habitable planet, but how about we check out the other planets first? That leaves the best for last.¡± The others agree with me, and I ask Clara to set a course for the outermost planet. Then we have to wait for a few hours until we arrive. Lucy decides to cook something in the meantime, and so we find ourselves in the dining room shortly after. After cooking, Lucy shows off her Telekinesis and floats the plates over to our table. She¡¯s made burgers. How did she make them so fast?Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! Anyway, Lucy¡¯s food was delicious as always, but now we¡¯ve arrived at the outermost gas giant. It has the imaginative name of Vexton 4 and is also the biggest planet in the system. It¡¯s deep blue in color with reddish-brown streaks through it. 7 moons are orbiting the planet, but from what I can see, they are only floating rocks. ¡°Clara, can you do a scan, please?¡± She confirms, and the Stargazer¡¯s sensors send out a few scanning pulses. It¡¯s a good thing that Conor Valterion built this ship with sensors in mind. That way we don¡¯t have to get close to the planet and can practically do a drive-by scan and that¡¯s it. The Stargazer¡¯s sensors are completely overkill, especially after my parents replaced them with new state-of-the-art sensors and kept their numbers the same. The Stargazer is practically a deep space scout now. ¡°And done. I¡¯ll put the results on the main screen. It¡¯s as we expected. Not much to gain¡­¡± A hologram of the planet with its moons appears before us. ¡°The moons are as they look: pure stone, no valuable resources. It¡¯s also way too cold out there for any kind of settlement. Sure, one could keep it warm with a lot of money, but what for? There¡¯s nothing out there. The planet¡¯s the same. There¡¯s a lot of ice and a few rare materials. But the quantities are so low that it would be unreasonable to set up a mining operation.¡± ¡°Thanks for the summary, Clara. So, I guess we¡¯ll head to the next planet?¡± The others agree and Alina jumps up from her seat. She¡¯s been rather quiet so far but now she¡¯s full of energy. ¡°I¡¯ll start writing our report for Vexton 4! Sara, can you spare Clara for a moment? Her help would be great.¡± ¡°Sure, Clara¡¯s more than capable of multitasking,¡± I reply with a grin. And multitask she does! While she¡¯s helping Alina with the report, she¡¯s also maneuvering the Stargazer toward the next gas giant in the system. Before that, we have to cross an asteroid belt though. Let¡¯s see if we can find something interesting there¡­ ¡°Sensors are on full power. We enter the asteroid belt any moment now.¡± Clara announces through the overhead speakers, and we ready ourselves at our stations. The front-facing window highlights the closest asteroids. They are big, almost bigger than the moons of Vexton 4. There¡¯s also a lot of space between them. It¡¯s a wonder that this is still called an asteroid belt. Now that we¡¯re inside, it doesn¡¯t look like a belt at all. ¡°Jackpot!¡± Clara calls out and highlights the left asteroid with a green border. ¡°It¡¯s almost pure tristanium. That¡¯s worth a fortune.¡± Tim starts frowning. ¡°That doesn¡¯t make sense¡­ Why would they leave such an asteroid untouched? Also, if there¡¯s one like this, there¡¯s a good chance that there are more.¡± ¡°You are right, I just detected three more. They are the same, almost pure tristanium.¡± I look at Tim. ¡°What should we do? We could put it in our report and be done with it, but I¡¯ve got the feeling that this would earn us a bad grade¡­ Like you said, why didn¡¯t they mine those asteroids?¡± ¡°What if we fly over and check one of them out?¡± Nick calls out, and everyone looks at him. ¡°I mean, if they aren¡¯t mined something has to be wrong with them. Let¡¯s just take a look at what.¡± He shrugs. It¡¯s a good idea. We have everything we need here on the Stargazer. I nod at Nick. ¡°Sounds like a plan. Tim, Alina, can you join him? Just take the yacht and don¡¯t forget the spacewalker suits. Who knows what¡¯s out there.¡± Alina looks at me. ¡°What about you?¡± ¡°I think it¡¯s better if I stay here on the ship¡­ If anything happens, I should be able to teleport you back aboard and then the ship somewhere else. Other than that, the three of you have all the magic you need. Tim with Space, you¡¯ve got your A&D, and Nick specialized in investigative spells, so he should be able to find out what¡¯s wrong with our asteroids.¡± She nods. ¡°Alright, if you say so¡­ Let¡¯s go boys, we have an asteroid to conquer.¡± That earns her a few laughs and they leave the bridge. Ten minutes later, Tim connects the six of us to a Group Call spell, and the yacht leaves the hangar. I decide to speak out loud despite the spell, as it would be pretty weird between Lucy, Lydia, and me if we¡¯d just looked at each other while talking mentally. Or at least I think so. ¡°Everything okay with you?¡± Alina is the fastest to answer. ¡°Yep, everything¡¯s fine¡­ We¡¯re fifteen minutes out, so you can make yourself a coffee or something.¡± I chuckle in reply but when I look at the others, I notice their pleading expressions. ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll get some¡­.¡± When I arrive back on the bridge with three steaming mugs floating before me, they both thank me and we return to watching the yacht. I timed it perfectly, as the smaller ship is just setting down on the tristanium asteroid. The airlock opens a few minutes later, and Alina is the first one out. She looks ready for anything and after a quick check of the surroundings, she signals for Tim and Nick to join her outside. All three of them wear the bulky spacewalker suits and start walking away from the yacht. Nick is the one to direct their movements. From time to time, he kneels to check the ground but every time he mumbles something incomprehensible and shakes his head. Then, finally, he shouts in triumph. ¡°That¡¯s what I¡¯m talking about!¡± ¡°You found something?¡± Tim asks from next to him. ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s the first spot where the tristanium is close enough to the surface for my spell to reach. I¡¯ll get started right away. Please step back a bit.¡± Tim and Alina follow his instructions while Nick casts a spell. It looks like he¡¯s magically drilling into the ground. A minute later, he casts another spell, and a cylinder-shaped piece of ground floats out of the hole he just drilled. I notice the glint of tristanium at the bottom of the cylinder. Nick has it floating before him and waves Tim and Alina closer. ¡°Can one of you take over the Telekinesis? The Analysis spell still takes my whole concentration¡­¡± Alina nods, her massive helmet bobbing back and forth. ¡°Sure, not that something will attack us here anyway.¡± They count themselves in and make the switch. The cylinder barely even drops when Alina takes over the spell. Then Nick closes his eyes and holds one of his hands close to the tristanium without touching it. Seconds later his eyes open wide, and he starts swearing. ¡°Shit, shit, shit! Tim, get us back to the yacht, now!¡± Tim doesn¡¯t hesitate and casts a Teleportation spell. The three vanish from the asteroid¡¯s surface and reappear inside the yacht. Clara reacts quickly as well and closes the airlock. Thirty seconds later, she has the yacht back in the air. ¡°What¡¯s happening? Nick, what¡¯s wrong?¡± I call out for the third time, then I remember that the spell collapsed due to the teleportation. Finally, Tim recasts his spell and I repeat my question for Nick. He replies with a panicked voice. ¡°It¡¯s contaminated! The whole flippin¡¯ asteroid is made out of contaminated tristanium. That stuff is highly radioactive. We need some decontamination once we¡¯re back.¡± I gulp. That sounds dangerous. How the hell were we allowed to go here? ¡°The spacewalker suits should have protected you, right?¡± Lucy asks. She¡¯s right! Maybe that¡¯s why Sam didn¡¯t forbid us from going here. I mean she drilled us for months to always use the spacewalker suits when we exit our ships. ¡°They should have,¡± Nick replies. ¡°But I¡¯d say better being safe than sorry.¡± ¡°I agree. But we don¡¯t have a decontamination chamber or something similar. Lydia, can you call captain Tulip a call and ask for decontamination options? We might have to go through the yacht as well.¡± She nods at me and leaves the Group Call spell. Then she gets to work. Five minutes later, she gives me a thumbs up. ¡°They were only waiting for our call¡­ Apparently, every student group here for Exploration lands on the asteroids sometime. They do have a decontamination chamber though. We¡¯re also allowed to jump over to their station if we want to speed things up.¡± I pass on the information to the three on the yacht and they agree that it¡¯s better to jump there. So, I coordinate with Clara, and she brings the yacht close to the Stargazer. Then I encompass both ships with my space bubble and jump us over to the system security station. Chapter 121: Contaminated Chapter 121: Contaminated Location: Magicon Empire; Song Duchy; Vexton System; BCS (VS) Stargazer We arrive close to the system security station shortly after. Captain Tillip is quick to hail us again. This time Lydia puts him on the main screen and the three of us on the bridge talk to him directly. ¡°I¡¯ve heard you¡¯re in a bit of a pickle¡­¡± I glare at him accusingly. ¡°You could have warned us. Now we have three possible contaminated crew members.¡± He lifts his hands in appeasement. ¡°It¡¯s not so bad. The asteroids are contaminated, sure but if you have working spacewalker suits nothing has happened to your friends. And I know for sure that FBC won¡¯t let you leave without checking your suits at least five times. Also, we have a healer at hand, so even if you somehow managed to come into contact with the contamination, we¡¯ll patch you right up.¡± I grumble under my breath. The captain is way too cheerful. This could have ended way worse! ¡°Fine, be ready to receive our yacht. What even is the contamination? And is it widespread or only out there at the belt?¡± The grin slips from Captain Tulip¡¯s face after my first question. ¡°Tell them to dock at bay three, or better have them contact Lieutenant Barnes to coordinate their docking. As for the contamination, that¡¯s need to know, sorry. But I can tell you that only the region of the asteroid belt is affected. The inner planets are safe to explore.¡± Need to know? What system have we landed in? Is that some military secret? I still don¡¯t understand why we¡¯re even allowed to explore here¡­ ¡°Alright, thank you, captain. I¡¯ll call you again when we¡¯re ready to depart. Please take care of my friends.¡± He bids us goodbye as well and cuts the call. Lucy looks at me in concern. My thoughts must have shown on my face. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. This whole system doesn¡¯t make sense¡­ Why would Sam let us go to this dangerous place? And now the information is need to know? How are we supposed to write a report? Oh, and Clara can you tell Tim that he¡¯s supposed to contact the lieutenant to coordinate docking?¡± ¡°Already done, they¡¯ve been in contact with Lieutenant Barnes the whole time. The yacht is just waiting for the green light to approach the station.¡± I magically send her a feeling of thanks and concentrate back on Lucy. Lydia has joined us as well. Lucy shrugs. ¡°Maybe that¡¯s what we¡¯re supposed to write in our report? You know what Nick told us about Sam¡¯s grin. Maybe that¡¯s why?¡± Lydia chimes in. ¡°Or we weren¡¯t supposed to explore out there. Maybe only Vexton 2, the habitable planet is relevant, and system security forgot to tell us? You know how amused the captain was at the beginning. They both bring good arguments¡­ ¡°Yeah, that could be it. It¡¯s probably a combination of everything. I guess we¡¯ll find out when we¡¯re back. But we should put everything in our report. Even if it gets insanely long, just put everything in so that we¡¯ve got every angle covered. I¡¯d hate to fail the course because of things like that.¡± ¡°Agreed, between Alina and me, we¡¯ve already got a lot of work done.¡± ¡°Thanks, Lydia. I guess now we¡¯ll wait. I¡¯m in my cabin¡­ I need a shower.¡± ¡°Have fun! Lydia and I stay here on the bridge in case something happens.¡±
I stand under the shower head and let the water run. The water is warm, just the way I like it. I let out a long sigh. Nick, Tim, and Alina are going to be fine. Clara keeps me updated on their decontamination process. The yacht is being thoroughly cleaned at the same time. Still, it bothers me. All the uncertainty¡­ Sure, exploration is never without risks, I get that but that doesn¡¯t mean I have to like what¡¯s happening here. Finally, I turn off the shower and step back outside. A few quick Telekinesis spells have fresh clothes floating over and another few spells I learned during my Utility lessons take care of my hair, eyebrows, lashes, and face. Then I leave my room and walk toward the kitchen. On the way, I take a few deep breaths and compose myself. We still have three planets to check out. No need to brood over past things. Still, there¡¯s one more angle I haven¡¯t tried. While cooking some soup, I talk to Clara. ¡°Hey Clara, can you do a bit of research on those asteroids? Maybe use our scanning results or something or work with Nick once he¡¯s back. His spell must have given him some results.¡± ¡°I¡¯m already working on it. It¡¯s something that bothers me as well. It¡¯s similar to something I¡¯ve seen before¡­ I think I have some results for you tomorrow. I¡¯ll keep you updated.¡± ¡°Thanks, Clara, you¡¯re the best!¡±
Two hours later, I wait inside the hangar and watch the yacht floating inside. It crosses the energy barrier and sets down to land soon after. The door closes, and the engines of the yacht spin down. A minute later, the airlock opens, and a grinning Alina steps outside. She¡¯s followed by Tim and Nick. Tim looks just annoyed while Nick has a worried expression on his face. ¡°Welcome back,¡± I call out and wave. ¡°Let¡¯s talk on the bridge. I¡¯m guessing that everything is alright with you, right?¡± Alina answers. ¡°Yeah, we¡¯re good. The spacewalker suits worked just fine. They also took care of the decontamination for us. You should see the inside of the yacht. They spent an hour just cleaning it. It looks better than ever now.¡±Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. I let out a chuckle and follow them toward the elevator. At least one of them was enjoying all this¡­ When we exit the elevator, Nick slows down and lets Alina and Tim walk before us. He looks at me with a pointed look and I nod. ¡°Tim, Alina, you can go ahead. We¡¯ll meet you in a minute.¡± They let out affirming grunts and continue walking. I open the door to my right and enter one of the workrooms. Then I turn around and look at Nick expectantly. He takes a deep breath, he¡¯s clearly distressed. ¡°The asteroids,¡± he starts before pausing again. I wait patiently. ¡°There¡¯s more wrong with them that system security admits¡­ I don¡¯t know why they downplay it so much but when I used the Analysis spell, it blew the freaking scale! I¡¯ve never seen something like this. The tristanium, hell, the whole asteroid was radioactive. And that on a scale that blows all the scales. I don¡¯t know how our spacewalker suits managed to hold it off¡­ It shouldn¡¯t have been possible. We should have been dead as soon as we opened the airlock.¡± I stare at him with my mouth open. It¡¯s that bad? ¡°Are you sure that your spell worked right?¡± Anger enters his features. ¡°You don¡¯t believe me¡­ Just like the Peacekeepers.¡± I lift my hands to stop him before he continues on that train of thought. ¡°No, I do believe you. And that¡¯s the issue! If this is really as bad as you said, how are we allowed to be here?¡± He gulps. ¡°You¡¯re right! That¡¯s completely unreasonable. But I¡¯d say I¡¯m 95% sure that my spell worked as intended.¡± Even more worry enters his features. ¡°What should we do now?¡± I shrug slowly. ¡°Not much we can do right now¡­ They told us the other planets are safe¡­ If we can trust them on this. I sure hope so at least. But we should also take a look at our spacewalker suits before we use them again. Maybe they added something to make them safer when they checked them at FBC? I don¡¯t know, but something must have happened if they managed to hold back so much radioactivity that your scale was blown. And lastly, I think it¡¯s best if you work with Clara. She said something about the contamination being familiar¡­ Maybe you can get to the bottom of this together. Feel free to use one of the rooms here if you need to. But first, let¡¯s get back to the others.¡± Nick nods slowly and sighs. A bit of color has returned to his face as well. ¡°Thanks, Sara! I look forward to working with Clara.¡± With that, we return to the bridge, just to hear Alina finishing her retelling of the decontamination process. I smile at them. ¡°Ready to check out the next planet?¡±
A quick chat with Captain Tulip later, we¡¯re on our way again. Annoyed about the lost time, we push the Stargazer and even use Engine Enhancement. That way we arrive close to the second gas giant in under two hours. A few quick scans prove disappointing, as the planet is mostly made of hydrogen, a resource we have in abundance¡­ There aren¡¯t even any moons to consider and the small ring around the planet is only loose rock. A quick report later, we¡¯re flying again. This time we¡¯re heading toward the closest planet to the sun. We decided to do the second planet last as it¡¯s the only one that could be habitable. This means that we¡¯ve got a twelve-hour flight ahead of us, as Vexton 1 is currently on the other side of the system¡¯s sole sun. Vexton prime is quite a bit bigger than the sun in the Magicon System. I think it has about two times the mass. Still, the scans we¡¯ve made so far indicate that the star burns a lot less hot. Therefore, Vexton 1 hasn¡¯t vaporized yet, despite its rather small distance from the star. That said, I¡¯m glad that we don¡¯t have to exit our ship to get a reading on Vexton 1 as it will be extremely hot despite all that. Anyway, I¡¯ve decided not to shorten our trip with a Starship Jump spell, as it¡¯s getting late, and we could all use a bit of sleep after everything that happened today. Lucy volunteered to make us dinner again, and we all gladly accept. She¡¯s getting better every day!
The next day starts rather boring. There are still three hours remaining until we arrive at our destination. That changes about half an hour after breakfast when I hear Clara¡¯s voice in my ear. ¡°Sara, can you join us in the lab? Nick and I have the first results.¡± I immediately jump up from my seat on the bridge, as I¡¯m bored as hell. Finally some variety. ¡°I¡¯ll be back soon. Clara and Nick have something to tell me.¡± I¡¯m about to turn around and leave when I notice all the others getting up as well. ¡°Can we join you?¡± Lydia asks when I tilt my head at them in question. ¡°It¡¯s so boring. We¡¯ve got nothing to do until we arrive at the planet.¡± I shrug. ¡°Sure, I don¡¯t see why not¡­ Follow me.¡± And so our short procession walks down the hallway until we arrive at the room Clara and Nick commandeered for their research. I knock once and wait for the ¡°come in¡± from either Nick or Clara. It¡¯s Nick who answers, or rather who opens the door for us. His eyes widen slightly when he sees the whole squad standing there, but he just shrugs and waves everyone inside. He stands at the central worktable and we join him. A hologram of the asteroid we investigated earlier floats above the table. It¡¯s slowly turning and the spot where Nick did his Analysis spell is marked in red. Nick clears his throat. ¡°Alright, I¡¯m not gonna talk around the bush here, so here we go. How familiar are you with the concept of a Worldender Ship?¡± Tim blanches, and before I can stop myself, I shout out a loud ¡°No!¡± Lucy looks at me in concern, while Lydia gulps. Alina is the only one who doesn¡¯t show much of a reaction. Clara chimes in and manages to calm us down, at least a little. ¡°Nick is not telling you that one of those ships exploded here, just that we¡¯ve got some similar readings. We¡¯ve got a few theories, so please listen.¡± Clara finishes in my ear so that only I can hear her final words. ¡°That¡¯s what I meant with something that felt familiar. I finally managed to connect the dots.¡± I take a deep breath. ¡°Okay, thank you, Clara. Now, I guess you have more to tell us, Nick?¡± He¡¯s about to start speaking when Alina interrupts him. ¡°Err, while I heard the name Wordender Ship before, I¡¯m currently coming up with a blank¡­ From your reactions, I¡¯m guessing the name is to be taken literally?¡± ¡°Yeah, you could say that. Those ships are extremely rare. I think there haven¡¯t been twenty yet in total, but the results are always devastating. Those things are system killers. The last one killed the previous Valterion Duke a few hundred years back. The first one destroyed Earth, so I¡¯m quite curious what awaits us there.¡± Alina looks at Tim with wide eyes, but her eyes lock onto me more than once. She gulps. ¡°That doesn¡¯t fill me with confidence for our Earth expedition¡­¡± Nick clears his throat. ¡°Anyway, we¡¯re not talking about the Worldender Ship here. As Clara said, we¡¯re certain that none of these exploded here. The contamination is too localized for that. For now, we decided to trust Captain Tulip which means only the asteroids are contaminated. Therefore our working theory is that those asteroids are some site of experimentation¡­¡± Clara takes over when he trails off. ¡°I¡¯ve run some research in the databases and found some samples from a hobby archeologist who managed to teleport a drone into and out of one of the fallout zones. Then I worked together with Nick and we compared the samples from his Analysis spell and the archeologist. The results are very familiar. As Nick said, we think the asteroids have been used for experiments. Maybe to recreate a Worldender Ship, which I hope wasn¡¯t the case, or to examine the fallout on a smaller case and find some countermeasures or something. Anyway, currently we can¡¯t find out more, as everything concerning the asteroids here is considered top secret¡­¡± I¡¯ve got the feeling that the archeologist part was a lie¡­ Clara has access to firsthand information concerning Worldender Ships after all¡­ But it¡¯s also something we can¡¯t advertise. I think all this affects her deeply¡­ I have to talk with her later. But what she just told us is concerning¡­ I have to talk with my parents as soon as possible. ¡°That doesn¡¯t sound good¡­ But I guess, we have to ignore it for now. It¡¯s way over our heads anyway,¡± I reply through gritted teeth. ¡°Let¡¯s just put it into our report and move on.¡± The others agree reluctantly, and we return to the bridge. I excuse myself before we arrive though, and go down to my cabin to talk with Clara. Chapter 122: Discovery Chapter 122: Discovery Location: Magicon Empire; Song Duchy; Vexton System; BCS (VS) Stargazer I sit down on my bed and cross my legs under me, then I take a deep breath and let it back out. ¡°Clara,¡± I say into the empty room and wait. I do not pressure her, but I think she can guess what I want to talk about. The tone in my voice should have been clear enough. Still, I don¡¯t pressure her and wait patiently. Finally, after almost five minutes of silence, she responds. Her voice is barely a whisper, and it sounds weak, almost brittle. ¡°Yes¡­?¡± I sigh silently. ¡°I¡¯m sorry that you went through all this again¡­ I can¡¯t even imagine how hard it must have been for you. You didn¡¯t have to do that. We would have been fine without it. I don¡¯t want to see you hurt again!¡± She is silent for another minute. ¡°I know¡­ It¡¯s just¡­ I didn¡¯t want to let you down. I had the information you needed¡­ What kind of AI would I be if I didn¡¯t give you that information?¡± ¡°You¡¯re my friend, Clara. I don¡¯t care what your nature is. I just don¡¯t want to see you hurt. So, please talk to me next time, okay? Don¡¯t just push through it.¡± ¡°Okay¡­ I will. But I¡¯m fine now.¡± ¡°No, you¡¯re not! But that¡¯s okay. We¡¯ll get through this, together. We have all the time we need, so why don¡¯t you tell me a bit about Grandpa Valterion?¡± Clara starts chuckling. It sounds still a bit weak, but I think she¡¯s made some progress. ¡°Alright, alright, you win. Talking about him might actually help¡­ Let¡¯s see, I should probably start with his name. I can¡¯t have you call him Grandpa Valterion after all. His name was Liam Valterion, I met him the first time on his tenth birthday¡­¡± Clara continues her and Grandpa Liam¡¯s story for the next few hours. I can hear in her voice how much it helps her. When she arrives close to the end, she almost sounds like her old self again. That¡¯s when I decide to interrupt her. ¡°That¡¯s enough, Clara. I know the rest¡­ There¡¯s no need for you to go through it a second time today. Thank you for telling me about him!¡± She sniffs one final time. ¡°No, thank you, Sara! I needed this.¡± ¡°You¡¯re most welcome. That¡¯s what friends are for. Now, I believe we¡¯ve arrived at Vexton 1. Are you ready to head back up?¡± ¡°Yes, let¡¯s go. The others are already waiting for you.¡± ¡°True enough,¡± I reply and exit my room. I take the elevator to my left and arrive at the bridge a few seconds later. ¡°Welcome back,¡± Tim greets me with a smile. He points at the viewscreen. ¡°As you can see, Vexton 1 is right before us. Behold the spectacular planet.¡± He does a twirl at the end. I have to laugh at his ridiculous antics. The planet is just a dull rock before us. Wait! Rock? Wasn¡¯t it supposed to be a gas giant? I finish laughing with a slight snort. ¡°Why is it a piece of rock though?¡± Alina is the one to answer this time. ¡°Look closer, it just looks that way.¡± She zooms in, and I notice that the grey-brown surface I identified as rock is actually a gaseous substance. ¡°Huh, you see something new every day,¡± I reply. ¡°Is there anything noteworthy or is the planet just like the others?¡± Nick taps the air a few times, and another projection appears. It¡¯s a small moon circling the planet. ¡°There might be something¡­ We¡¯ve got some conflicting readings from one of the moons. There is a strong magical signature, but it also feels kinda spotty¡­ I can¡¯t really describe it, and our sensors also don¡¯t show a clear picture. It might be worth to take a look, though.¡± I look at him and shrug, then I step closer to the projection and spin it around its axis. ¡°We don¡¯t have anything else to do, and we still have five days until we have to head back. So I guess we¡¯re exploring a moon. Who wants to join me?¡± Tim clears his throat. ¡°How about you, Lucy, and Lydia? It¡¯s only fair, I¡¯d say.¡± I look at them, and they both grin. ¡°I¡¯d like that, as long as it¡¯s not a repetition of the asteroid,¡± Lucy replies. ¡°I sure hope not. But we better get going then. I think once the moon circles the planet and enters the sunny side it will be hot as hell. Better go now before we get sunburnt. Can we teleport there, Clara?¡± The others all laugh at my dumb joke while Clara replies through the speakers. ¡°As Nick said, there is some magical interference. I think it¡¯s better if you take the yacht¡­ Just to be safe.¡±The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. ¡°Alright, the yacht it is. Let¡¯s go!¡± It¡¯s a 30-minute flight until we arrive at the moon. We use that time to put on our spacewalker suits and thoroughly check every single seam. Then, finally, the yacht lands and we exit through the airlock. I¡¯m the first one out and jump. I sail through the air for a few meters before I land on the moon¡¯s surface. Gravity is much weaker here, and it takes me a bit to get used to it again. Lucy and Lydia are the same though and windmill their arms while floating closer to me. I stifle a laugh and help them get their feet on the ground. Then we set out to explore. We landed close to where Nick discovered the anomaly, and after about one kilometer, we arrive at our destination. I frown. ¡°Does this look like ruins to you?¡± I ask my friends through Tim¡¯s Group Call spell. ¡°I was about to ask you the same¡­¡± Lydia answers, while Lucy just nods. Before us lie pieces of stone and metal, if you use a lot of imagination, this could have been some kind of structure before it fell to time. I step forward and take a closer look. Then I feel it. There¡¯s something below that rubble. But as Nick said, it¡¯s kinda spotty. Like the magic is there and also not? If that makes any sense. I cast a Telekinesis spell and focus on the rubble. Then with little effort, I lift it all up and then to the side. What I see makes my breath catch for a moment. Then I hiss in anger and disappointment. Because what I see below the rubble is what I most desperately need! A freaking Artifact core! Or at least I think that¡¯s what I¡¯m seeing. Unfortunately, it is quite broken and therefore quite useless for me. ¡°Is this¡­?¡± Lucy asks, only to be interrupted by me forcefully cutting off the Communication spell. Then I scream my frustration into my helmet. Afterward, I have Clara connect our suits with a wireless connection so that we can talk again. Lucy repeats her question. ¡°That¡¯s an Artifact core, right?¡± ¡°I think so, yeah¡­ But it¡¯s useless. The dumb thing is broken.¡± ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s kinda obvious¡­¡± Lydia hugs me. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Sara.¡± I sigh audibly. ¡°It¡¯s okay¡­ There¡¯s still more than enough time for me to find one.¡± Lydia releases me from the hug and walks closer to the broken core. Suddenly, she stops. ¡°Hey guys, there¡¯s something below it. It looks like¡­ What the hell?¡± A hologram of a grinning middle-aged man appears above the core. A ping on my interface alerts me that the hologram wants to connect with it. I ask Clara, and she tells me the signal is safe. So, I tell the others and press yes. The hologram starts speaking. ¡°Welcome students of the Exploration course or whatever else the course is called at your college. My name is Professor Daniel Cheng, and I¡¯m currently teaching about Artifacts at RMA. Well, at least I was doing so when I recorded this video. Who knows when you get to see it? Anyway, if you¡¯re seeing this, this means you¡¯ve found the hidden objective in the star system you are exploring. Congratulations! In case you don¡¯t recognize what¡¯s before you, let me explain. What you are seeing is an Artifact. Depending on which system you are exploring, they are quite different. We¡¯ve put out whatever we had at hand back then. So you might find a shield Artifact, core enhancements, anti-magic zones, or in rare cases even an Artifact Mage core.¡± Professor Chen pauses for a dramatic effect. ¡°They all have one thing in common, though. They are all broken and therefore useless, as we still don¡¯t know how to repair Artifacts. Therefore, I ask you to leave the Artifact behind and restore the place where you found it to its original condition. To get credit for your discovery, simply put it in your report and add in the number you find at the back of the Artifact for reference. With that, I wish you all good luck in your future explorations. Professor Cheng out.¡± The hologram vanishes, and we continue to stare at where it has just been. Lydia is the first one to move, and she steps even closer to the Artifact. Then she reaches out and grabs the largest piece of the shattered core. She turns it around and shouts in triumph. ¡°I found the number! I¡¯m sending it up to Alina for the report. Uhh, Sara, do you know what happened to our Group Call spell? It was just gone earlier¡­¡± ¡°Good job, Lydia and yeah, I cut us off from the spell.¡± Lucy joins into our conversation and I notice the frown on her face. ¡°Why would you do that? The others are probably worried to hell and back.¡± I look at her and point at the broken Artifact, then at me. Lucy¡¯s eyes widen and she slaps the visor of her helmet as if she¡¯s face palming. ¡°Oh¡­ Right. They don¡¯t know that this is exactly what you need. So how do we explain the broken spell? Hell, how did you even do that?¡± I grin at her. ¡°One hundred points for you! Hey, Lydia, can you call someone on the Stargazer and tell them what we found? And tell them that the magic of the broken Artifact caused some weird interference which caused the spell to disconnect or something.¡± Lydia gives me a thumbs-up. ¡°Sure, no problem. I¡¯ll handle it.¡± I nod at her in thanks and look back at Lucy. ¡°To answer your second question: It¡¯s a new spell. I recently learned it in my Space lessons. The advanced ones, so don¡¯t worry about Tim knowing what I did. The spell is called Spatial Disruption or just Disruption if you want to be fast. It¡¯s used to disrupt spells that are cast on people by moving them a fraction of a millimeter to the side. The movement is too little to notice, but it¡¯s enough to disrupt any spells that are not specifically reinforced against that technique. You remember when I told you about the connection issues I had with Maja after teleporting?¡± Lucy nods. ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s why you¡¯ve been using S-57 for your return teleports.¡± ¡°Exactly, the Disruption spell uses the same principle. Due to the minuscule teleport, consistent effects are broken.¡± ¡°That¡¯s cool, but also scary. What would happen to my shields if you¡¯d use that spell against me?¡± She shudders a bit. I shrug. ¡°The short answer is that it would be dispelled. The longer answer is that you could probably resist the teleport now that you know about it. If you want, we can train your resistance when we¡¯re back at FBC.¡± She nods eagerly. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯d like that very much. Thank you!¡± I feel a new Communication spell trying to connect, as this can only be Tim, I accept. ¡°Can you hear me now?¡± I hear Tim¡¯s voice. ¡°Loud and clear! We¡¯re about to head back now. I take it Lydia has explained what we discovered?¡± ¡°Yeah, a freaking Artifact core! That¡¯s huge, even if it¡¯s broken. But putting this there as a bonus objective? That¡¯s kinda cool. I¡¯m just glad that we found it. That should save our grade. After all, we didn¡¯t have many opportunities to really explore so far.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true, but we do have one more planet left. Maybe that one¡¯s better. Anyway, we¡¯ll see you soon!¡± I ignore the talks between the others on the Group Call and look back at the rubble I put away earlier. Professor Cheng said to put it back the way we found it. With a shrug, I cast the Telekinesis spell and slowly float everything back. When I¡¯m finished, the Artifact is hidden again, and everything looks like before. Well, mostly¡­ The stones are placed a little differently as I pretty much just dropped everything in place. If they want it to look exactly as it was before, they can do it themselves! I dust off my hands and look back at Lydia and Lucy. ¡°Ready to go?¡± ¡°Yes, let¡¯s explore the last planet!¡± Chapter 123: Vexton 2 Chapter 123: Vexton 2 Location: Magicon Empire; Song Duchy; Vexton System; BCS (VS) Stargazer We decide to take things slow again and don¡¯t teleport to our last destination here in the Vexton System. Instead, after arriving back on the Stargazer, we ask Clara to plot a route toward Vexton 2. Then we activate the autopilot and retire in the living room. Clara can notify us if anything happens. The others obviously have a lot of questions, and Lucy, Lydia, and I do our best to answer them. The evening continues with a nice meal courtesy of Lucy, and some board games. After that, we go to sleep in our respective cabins. Well, most of us go to their cabins, as Lucy and Nick have come a lot closer over the past months. After breakfast the next morning, I enter the bridge and find everyone already there. ¡°Morning sleepyhead,¡± Alina greets me with a big smile. I return her smile and greet everyone else as well. ¡°So, are we there yet?¡± Instead of answering, Alina points at the window, and I notice the Stargazer turning slowly. Little by little, a planet starts entering our field of view. I laugh. ¡°Never mind then. Let¡¯s get started then. I want the full program of scans and if possible be down on the surface by noon.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve got it!¡± Nick replies and starts working at his console. I have my chair floating over and join him. When Lucy and Tim join us as well, he sighs. ¡°I¡¯ll put it on the main screen. You¡¯re crowding me.¡± Tim chuckles. ¡°Sorry, mate, we don¡¯t have that much to do until you¡¯ve got some results for us.¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay¡­ But I¡¯ll be faster if you give me some space.¡± We collectively float our chairs a meter back, which causes everyone to laugh again. Even Nick joins in this time, then he shakes his head and gets back to work. He¡¯s always been scholarly but watching him work with Clara and the Stargazer¡¯s sensor suite feels like he never did anything else. It¡¯s like he¡¯s born for this job. That reminds me that I still have to talk with him about his hyperspace theories. I just don¡¯t know how to address the topic without telling him about my own hyperspace adventure. And I can¡¯t talk about that¡­ At least not yet. We watch in fascination for a little more than an hour. Screens change all the time and show different readings. He then taps them and mumbles something to Clara, then he looks at another screen or projection and does the same. Finally, he leans back in his chair and takes a deep breath. He turns around and startles when he sees us still sitting behind him. ¡°Huh, you¡¯re still there?¡± ¡°Anyway, I¡¯m finished with my preliminary analysis. I¡¯m taking you want to hear my verdict?¡± I nod at him. ¡°Yeah, that would be great. And good work, Nick!¡± He gets up from his chair and walks toward the big window at the front. A quick gesture with his hand has it change into a holographic screen. It now shows the planet below us much closer with a lot of notes from Nick all around it. He clears his throat. ¡°Alright, if you¡¯d come over, please. There are a few things we have to talk about, as they might influence how we proceed from here on out.¡± That catches my attention, and I raise an eyebrow while walking over. Tim is right behind me, while Lucy takes a little bit longer. Alina and Lydia just turn their chairs around as they are already close to Nick¡¯s projection. As soon as we are comfortable, Nick dives into it and points at the holographic planet. ¡°As you can see, this is Vexton 2, the only planet that isn¡¯t a gas giant here in the system and therefore possibly habitable. Most of the time, something like that means that there still is extensive terraforming to do until humans can live on such a planet.¡± Alina interrupts him. ¡°If you¡¯re saying it like this, I¡¯m guessing this is not the case here?¡± ¡°Exactly! The scans we did upon entering the star system already indicated something in that direction, and the scans Clara and I just did, confirmed it. Vexton 2 is right in the Goldilocks zone of Vexton Prime. This means the planet is just the right distance from the sun for water to remain liquid. And not only that. The atmosphere is also stable, and the air is breathable. In fact, we basically could go down there without any protection at all. Hell, we wouldn¡¯t notice a difference from Terra¡¯s air.¡± This time it¡¯s me who interrupts him. ¡°Okay, so far everything sounds nice¡­ That makes me wonder why nobody lives here. But you also said you had some readings that could influence if we go down there?¡± He shakes his head slowly. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ve asked this myself as well. It doesn¡¯t make sense¡­ At least at first. And that¡¯s where our further readings come in. I actually didn¡¯t mean IF we go down there, rather HOW we go down there, as it could possibly be more dangerous than we expected.¡± A slight frown finds its way on my face. He¡¯s skirting around the point, and he seems to enjoy it! But what could be dangerous down there? He said the planet is in perfect condition and no one lives there¡­This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Nick continues. ¡°This is where things get a bit stranger. After confirming that the planet is actually habitable, we proceeded to scan for life signs. Why? Well, maybe some pirates made the planet their base without anyone knowing or some hermits settled there. Who the hell knows? Neither Clara nor I expected any results, as everyone always told us the systems, we explore for the exploration course are empty. Well, we did get positive results¡­ And this is where things get strange. First, the scans came back fuzzy, as if there was some kind of interference emanating from the planet. I guess if we had worse sensors, we wouldn¡¯t have gotten anything at all. And second, what we could identify from the fuzzy readings made it even stranger. See for yourself.¡± The projection changes and now shows a table filled with numbers. There are two columns next to each other. The headlines say human and Vexton 2 respectively. The strange thing is that the numbers don¡¯t match! As if the life signs Nick and Clara found aren¡¯t human! ¡°Aliens?¡± Lucy blurts out with wide eyes. Nobody laughs, as we¡¯re all thinking the same. Clara takes over the speakers to respond. ¡°No, as unfortunate as this might be, there are no aliens. At least as far as we know. What we have here on Vexton 2 are animals, or better reptiles. I can¡¯t say more, as this is where everything gets fuzzy as Nick said so nicely. ¡°We don¡¯t know their size or what kind of reptiles are down there. We don¡¯t even know for sure if there are any at all. It could also be that our sensors show us faulty data. But we should prepare for the worst and assume that those reptiles are hostile and prepare accordingly. ¡°Therefore, I¡¯d recommend that you all go together to bring our full magical weight to bear. You all have either A&D magic or shield Magitech, so if worst comes to worst, you are protected, and Tim or Sara can teleport you back to the Stargazer. I also recommend that you descend with the yacht to save your magic for emergencies. I¡¯ll hold her in the air after you depart or bring her back up to space depending on what awaits us down there.¡± Reptiles, huh? I wonder if it¡¯s a planet full of geckos. That would be so cool. Those small little things are so adorable. But I hope it¡¯s not snakes! They are a bit creepy. When Clara finishes her report, I stand up and walk toward the hologram of Vexton 2, then I nod at Nick, who looks relieved and sits down. I make a full turn and look at the others. Time to be the captain now! ¡°Thank you, Nick and Clara, for the analysis. You gave me a lot to think about. I agree with your assessment. We should treat this as a hostile environment and do not take things lightly. Which means we go down fully shielded and our A&D Mages will be ready to blast everything that moves into oblivion.¡± I nod at Lucy and Alina. ¡°The same goes for our Space Mages. Tim and I will be prepared to teleport us off the planet if necessary.¡± Lastly, I look at Nick and Lydia. ¡°That means the two of you will be doing the actual exploring down there while we others protect you. We need everything, ground samples and analyses, air quality, plants, and probably some samples of the local fauna. We should also discover why there seems to be some sensor interference. But that¡¯s basically only the bare minimum. I guess as soon as we¡¯re down there, we¡¯ll find a lot more things to inspect. Now, questions?¡± Tim winks at me. ¡°When do we start?¡± I grin back at him and shake my head. ¡°One thing after the other. We still have to prepare.¡± Lucy is the next to speak. ¡°You said we¡¯re going down shielded¡­ While I can easily do that, this will take a lot out of me, especially if I have to keep the shields active for a long time. I¡¯m not sure how effective my attacks will be then, especially as I¡¯m still learning the more advanced ones.¡± I hold up my left wrist where I wear the successor of my old shield watch. ¡°I know. Both Alina and you should only shield yourselves for most of the time. I do have this to keep me safe and Lydia can have my old shield watch. This leaves Nick and Tim. Thanks to Olivia from our Improvised Combat course, we have a few shield rings. While they don¡¯t offer complete protection, they dull incoming blows by a lot. This should be more than enough I¡¯d say. We¡¯ll also be wearing our spacewalker suits.¡± Tim holds up his wrist. ¡°I actually have a protection device as well.¡± Of course, he has one¡­ ¡°Alright, then it¡¯s just Nick. Sorry about that¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay, I¡¯ll stay close to Lucy then,¡± he replies. I flash him a grin. ¡°Good, anything else, or can we start loading up the yacht?¡± ¡°Yeah, one more thing,¡± Alina chimes in. ¡°Where are we staying at night? I¡¯d prefer camping on the planet, as the nightlife could be completely different than what we can see during daylight.¡± ¡°I agree, if it¡¯s safe enough, we¡¯ll definitely be camping¡­ Otherwise, I¡¯ll probably teleport us back to the Stargazer.¡± ¡°Okay, then let¡¯s get loaded up!¡± Alina answers and rushes out of the bridge with a spring in her step. We follow her, laughing. I haven¡¯t seen Alina that happy in a long time. Sure, my parents¡¯ interference worked out pretty well and she¡¯s now something like a retainer to my family. I don¡¯t know all the details, but they made it look like Christopher caught notice of her determination and told Adrian. He in turn petitioned my parents to take her under his wing as they both follow the same path magically speaking. All this was enough to make it believable for Alina¡¯s parents and they backed off looking for suitable partners for her. On the other hand, her relationship with her parents is still strained, and I can see how much it bothers her. So it makes me very happy to see her so elated right now. We follow her toward the hangar where she already started loading up supplies. We join her and so the yacht gets loaded up pretty quickly. Luckily, we have a big crate with a grav generator, otherwise we¡¯d have to carry everything by ourselves down on the planet. That would have been literal hell, as our stuff weighs a lot. Especially those devices we got from Sam, that will help us with various analyses. I¡¯m also very fond of our Magitech tents we got from Tim. They build themselves as soon as we press a button and come fully furnished with almost all amenities. I finish with a mid-sized magical battery, just in case. It¡¯s going to stay inside the crate, but who knows when we might need some extra magical power. Then the yacht is ready to go and we close the airlock behind us. I sit down in the cockpit and take over the controls. Sure, I could have let Clara do the flying but sometimes I just want to do it myself. I don¡¯t want to get rusty after all. I enter the coordinates of our landing site ¨C which Clara picked out earlier ¨C into the navigation software and follow the projected route. The trip down is smooth and barely takes more than half an hour. There¡¯s only a slight shudder that goes through the yacht when we breach the atmosphere. When we¡¯re almost at the landing site, I reluctantly give over the controls to Clara and join the others in the main room. It¡¯s time to suit up. Our six spacewalker suits stand neatly on the rack, and one after the other we each grab one and put them on. Right when we¡¯re finished, Clara¡¯s voice sounds through the suit''s speakers. ¡°We¡¯ve successfully landed on Vexton 2. You may exit the yacht as soon as you are ready. As of now, there are no life signs around the yacht in a one-kilometer radius.¡± We do another round of checks for our suits and when everything looks fine, I have Lucy take point. She steps toward the airlock and gives a thumbs-up for Clara toward one of the cameras. With a slight hiss, the airlock opens. Time to explore a planet! Chapter 124: Camping Chapter 124: Camping Location: Magicon Empire; Song Duchy; Vexton System; Vexton 2 Lucy is the first one to leave the yacht, I¡¯m right behind her, followed by Tim, Nick, and Lydia. Alina brings up the rear. Both our A&D Mages have defensive spells ready to cast, but so far nothing has ambushed us. According to Clara, the coast around the yacht is clear, but one can never be too careful. After one tense minute of waiting for ambushes, we slowly calm down and spread out a bit. When still nothing happens, I signal to Clara to get our supply crate out of the yacht. It barely fits through the airlock, but another minute later, it floats right beside us. Nick looks like he¡¯s ready to plunder the crate for his science equipment, and Tim does a very short teleport to test if everything works as it should. As soon as he gives me the go-ahead, I speak into the spacewalker suit¡¯s intercom for everyone to hear. ¡°Alright, guys, looks like we¡¯re secure for now. If you need anything else from the yacht, now¡¯s the time. Otherwise, Clara can get her back up to space and we can get started.¡± They all shake their heads, and Clara takes her clue. Slowly and silently, the yacht lifts off the ground. Once she¡¯s far enough away from us, the main drive ignites and the ship zips away. Nick immediately opens various shutters at the crate and takes out his equipment. After that, he gets to work. Lydia joins him to assist ¨C just as we planned. I stroll over toward Lucy. ¡°Hey, what¡¯s your assessment of this place now that we¡¯re actually here? Is it good to set up camp?¡± She looks around and slowly shakes her head. ¡°No, not really¡­ There are too many trees and bushes all around us. We don¡¯t have clear lines of sight. Hostile fauna could basically approach unseen until they are right on top of us. While it¡¯s technically not necessary for us to have access to fresh water, it would still be something nice to have¡­¡± She points at the nearby small stream to our right. ¡°Unfortunately, this one doesn¡¯t qualify. Its flow rate is way too low, and the water is full of algae and other things we don¡¯t want in it. Sure, we could cook it but combined with the other factors, I¡¯d say it¡¯s not a good idea to set up our camp here.¡± She has some valid points here. With our spotty scans, this place looked actually decent but now that we¡¯re here¡­ Well. While we would probably be okay here, I think we can find someplace better. ¡°Alright, then we move as soon as Nick is done here.¡± ¡°Agreed, can you get Clara¡¯s drones out to scout? I¡¯d rather stay vigilant.¡± I nod and turn around to walk back toward the crate. Once I¡¯m there, I take out a mid-sized suitcase and set it down on the ground. I flip it open and look at the small black balls. Inside, there are six of them, all about the size of an orange. I tap each of them to activate them. They start hovering above the suitcase, waiting for instructions. I take the shortcut and talk to Clara. ¡°They are all yours, Clara. Please use four of them for close surveillance of our surroundings and the other two to scout for a suitable camping spot.¡± She replies with a grin in her voice. ¡°Aye, captain! Actually, three drones should be enough to cover all angles around you. That way, I have an additional drone for scouting.¡± ¡°You¡¯re the expert. If that¡¯s really enough, do so. The faster we find somewhere to camp the better.¡± Alright, I¡¯ll keep you posted.¡± ¡°Thanks, Clara!¡±
During the next two hours, I circle our perimeter a lot while coming back to Nick and Lydia every few minutes. I think they are annoyed by my constant presence, but they keep it to themselves. It¡¯s just that I don¡¯t have anything to do right now¡­ Clara¡¯s drones are still out scouting, and Lucy has security well in her hands together with Alina. Even Tim found something to do and is now playing assistant to Nick and Lydia. They have him running back and forth, putting things in and out of the crate. At least they tell me what they¡¯ve found so far every time I ask. For now, it¡¯s mostly the confirmation of things we already knew: The air is clean and breathable, which means we technically wouldn¡¯t even need our spacewalker suits. Of course, taking them off would lead to an automatic fail of the Exploration course. There are expectations of course, but this is not one of them. Other than that, they took a lot of ground samples. Mostly, it¡¯s just plain earth or stone, but at least Nick found something interesting here. Apparently, Vexton 2 wasn¡¯t always like this. Within the ground samples, Nick discovered traces of a terraforming process, which means this planet was made to be like this. Lydia ran a few more tests and managed to narrow the timing down to somewhere between two and one thousand years ago. Normally, this means the planet was meant to be inhabited, otherwise nobody would have bothered with terraforming¡­ So what went wrong? This also brings the whole reptile theme into focus. If the planet was terraformed, someone placed the reptiles here after the process was finished. It all doesn¡¯t make sense. At least not yet.Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. I¡¯m about to join Nick and Lydia for another round of questions when a buzzing sound interrupts me. I look up and notice one of Clara¡¯s drones returning. As she¡¯s already linked into our suit¡¯s comms, she just starts talking to everyone. ¡°I think I found a good spot to set up camp for tonight. It¡¯s about three kilometers to the west and on a small plateau. There is only one way up, which should make it easy to defend. But don¡¯t take my word on it, as some reptiles are good climbers. Unfortunately, there is no running water nearby, but this place is the best I was able to find.¡± A plateau sounds good, especially if there is only one way up. I also don¡¯t think we have to worry that much about climbing reptiles. I can only think of geckos again, and they should be harmless. The water is a bummer, but I guess we have to just accept that¡­ Not that the water here is useable. ¡°Thanks, Clara, that sounds like just the spot. Nick, how long do you think you¡¯ll need to finish up here? I think we should move sooner rather than later before it gets dark. Who knows what comes out at night.¡± Nick gives me a thumbs-up. ¡°I hear you. I¡¯d say twenty minutes tops, then we can go. You and Tim can already start to load up the big guy over there.¡± He points at one of the machines they pulled out of the crate earlier. Big guy defines it rather well¡­ It¡¯s almost as tall as I am. Tim looks at me and I nod, then we walk over and start disassembling the device. Luckily, there are quick disconnects, and we manage to pack everything away within ten minutes. After we¡¯re finished, Nick wordlessly points at the next devices. They are smaller, and we¡¯re able to pack them away in one piece. Nick finishes a few minutes ahead of his proclaimed twenty and both he and Lydia help us pack away the final things. Then we¡¯re all packed up and ready to go. A short discussion later has Lucy take point again, and we slowly make our way toward the place Clara found. So far, there is still no sign of the reptiles that should be here on the planet¡­ As we¡¯re going slow, our trip takes another hour. The final ascent is hell, as it¡¯s way steeper than Clara made it sound. We¡¯re also higher up than I thought. The trees end a good five meters below the plateau, so we now actually have a very decent vantage point. Before we take advantage of that though, we first have to check the location for dangers and then set up our tents. Our resident A&D Mages do a quick circuit around the plateau and cast a few spells. When I ask them what they did, Alina answers with a big smile. ¡°You could call those kinds of spells Wards¡­ They mostly just warn us if something¡¯s crossing them. It¡¯s a good early warning system, think of them like motion sensors. Lucy put a few different Wards out as well. Hers will shock and hopefully daze anything that comes too close to our camp.¡± She pauses when she sees the worried look on my face. I don¡¯t want to be shocked if I walk around our camp after all. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we¡¯re all excepted from the spell and even if not, it¡¯s just a very light shock that wouldn¡¯t get through our spacewalker suits.¡± ¡°Alright, thanks for letting me know. Does that mean we can start with the tents? I really want to try them out after everything Tim told us about them.¡± ¡°Yeah, let¡¯s go!¡± Alina replies and grabs my arm. Then we¡¯re off toward the crate. As soon as Tim sees us giving him a thumbs-up, he jumps up and takes out three square boxes. They are around half a meter long on each side and completely black. He actually struggles a bit to lift them without a Telekinesis spell. Taking my clue, I cast the spell and float the boxes to the middle of the plateau. I¡¯m about to set them down in a circle when Tim¡¯s voice stops me. ¡°A bit further apart, Sara! The tents are bigger than they look right now.¡± I thank him and expand the circle. When he tells me the new distance between the boxes is enough, I place them down on the ground. ¡°What now?¡± I call out and Tim walks up next to me. ¡°Now I do this,¡± he waves his hand dramatically, but I notice him tapping something on his interface at the end. Suddenly, all the boxes come apart and fold out into a large square on the ground. Tim was right, even after I put them further apart, the edges are still almost touching now. Next, there is a loud whirring sound, and the squares start to inflate. Slowly but surely, the tents expand in height and stop after they¡¯ve reached three meters. The roof is slightly inclined so that rainwater can flow off the roof. The whole process is finished with a pulse of magic that encompasses the whole tent. I reach out and touch the outer wall. It¡¯s hard, not soft as one would expect from something filled with air. I look at Tim. ¡°Was that the Reinforcement spell?¡± He looks taken aback. ¡°Huh, you know that spell? But yes, it is.¡± ¡°Yeah, both Lydia and I do¡­ It¡¯s from Improvised Combat.¡± ¡°Ahh, yeah, that makes sense. Wanna check out the inside?¡± ¡°Sure, lead the way.¡± Suddenly, all the others are next to us, as if they¡¯ve just teleported. I stifle a laugh and follow Tim through the entrance of the first tent. Inside, I stop and my mouth drops open. Lucy bumps into me which shakes me out of it. But boy, I can¡¯t even call that tent anymore¡­ It looks like a hotel room and even with the six of us inside, it¡¯s still spacey. ¡°Wow¡­¡± I say dreamily. ¡°That¡¯s even better than I expected.¡± Inside the tent is everything we might need. Two beds, a bathroom, and even a small kitchen. And everything is just inflated and then made solid with the Reinforcement spell. Just crazy. ¡°Glad you like it,¡± Tim replies. ¡°Are the other tents the same?¡± Lydia asks with stars in her eyes. ¡°They are. They come like this straight out of the factory and due to the way they are made and the Reinforcement spell, we can¡¯t change anything.¡± ¡°Cool! Come on, Alina, let¡¯s check out our own tent!¡± Lydia grabs Alina¡¯s hand and they leave through the entrance. That leaves Lucy, Nick, Tim, and me. ¡°Soo, are we going to do a boys and girls tent?¡± I ask. I notice Tim¡¯s face falling, but he hides it behind a grin. ¡°Fine by me. Do you want this one? I¡¯ll take the other one with Nick.¡± ¡°Sure, thanks, Tim.¡± The boys leave as well. Once they¡¯re gone, Lucy bops my head. ¡°You¡¯re an idiot, Sara. That was the perfect opportunity for you and Tim to talk things through¡­¡± I lower my head. She¡¯s right, that was dumb. But I also still don¡¯t know how to approach this relationship stuff¡­ It¡¯s so complicated and it¡¯s not like I can¡¯t get Tim out of my head. Sure, I like him, but do I like him that much to start dating him? I just don¡¯t know¡­ And that doesn¡¯t even consider all the social ramifications¡­ With him being the Silvani heir and well me. The non-existent Sara Valterion. Ugh! ¡°I know Lucy¡­ It¡¯s just¡­ I don¡¯t know if I even want to date him. With you and Nick it all looked so easy. I feel like I¡¯m still not ready for a relationship¡­¡± Lucy hugs me. ¡°I understand. But I think you should tell him that sooner or later.¡± ¡°Yeah, I know.¡± When I step back out of our tent again, I notice Nick already working with the next analytical device. Everyone else stands around him. With a shrug, I join them. ¡°Hey guys, Lucy is cooking dinner for us, so I hope you¡¯re all hungry!¡± Chapter 125: Reptiles Chapter 125: Reptiles Location: Magicon Empire; Song Duchy; Vexton System; Vexton 2 After a nice dinner, we all go to bed rather quickly. I bid good night to Lucy, then I¡¯m asleep within minutes. Next thing I know is Lucy shaking me awake. In the background, I can hear my alarm going off. I must have slept like a stone! ¡°Morning, sleepyhead. Would you mind turning off your alarm? It¡¯s been going for the past five minutes and it¡¯s annoying as hell.¡± I let out a yawn, then I deactivate the alarm clock. ¡°Yeah, sorry¡­ I guess the bed was too nice.¡± Lucy laughs. ¡°Oh, absolutely. I slept like a baby! I almost want to cut the bed out of here and put it in my room back in Imperia.¡± That gets a laugh out of me, and I finally sit up. After a quick breakfast and shower, it¡¯s time to suit up again. After that, we join the others back outside. As we don¡¯t know if we¡¯re coming back to this place, I ask Tim to pack the tents back up. He nods and taps a button on his interface. Then, the magic supporting the tents dissipates and I hear air streaming out into the environment. The tents deflate like a balloon, and after two minutes they are flat squares again. ¡°What now?¡± I ask. ¡°Now we have to fold them back up,¡± Tim replies with a grin. ¡°No way! Don¡¯t tell me there¡¯s all this luxury and then we have to pack them back up ourselves,¡± Lydia cries out in mock outrage. Tim laughs and taps another button. Suddenly, the tents start folding themselves up, and soon there are only the three black square boxes left. Tim floats them back into the crate with a quick Telekinesis spell, while looking very smug all the way. After that, we¡¯re ready to head out. Apparently, Nick and Clara went over her drone data last night and decided that we¡¯ll probably have the best chances to find some local reptiles if we head east right through the forest below the plateau. We fall into our usual formation with Lucy up front and Alina bringing up the rear. The only difference is that Nick stops us now and then to take some samples. Lydia on the other hand carries a weird device in her hand. From time to time, it makes a beeping sound. When it beeps for the tenth time, I can¡¯t reign in my curiosity anymore. ¡°Hey Lydia, do you mind telling me what that device is?¡± ¡°Sure, it¡¯s a magical resonator¡­ Practically, it searches for magical emanations and then tries to triangulate the location.¡± ¡°Oh, so you¡¯re thinking that the weird interference we had on our scans from orbit might be magical in nature?¡± I stop speaking momentarily, a sudden realization dawning in my head. ¡°Oh! You think this might be another bonus objective just like on that moon.¡± Lydia grins back at me. ¡°Got it in one!¡± Around noon, the forest gets thinner and thinner. So far, we still haven¡¯t found any signs of animals whatsoever. I¡¯m starting to believe that the sensor readings were a fluke. We stop for a quick lunch ¨C this time consisting of protein bars that can be fed into the suit through a special hatch and are then put into our mouths by our Telekinesis spells. After that, we finally exit the forest and all stop and stare. ¡°What the hell?¡± Tim exclaims. I can only agree with him. Before us is a gigantic valley, stretching as far as our eyes can see. And down on the ground, it¡¯s teeming with life! ¡°Are those¡­ Are those dinosaurs?¡± Lucy voices what everyone is thinking. That¡¯s exactly what¡¯s down below us! Hundreds of dinosaurs of varying kinds. Some walk on two feet others on four. Some have long necks, others do not. Some are with horns, others with big bone plates. They have one thing in common though. Every single one looks peaceful. They stand together in small groups and munch on grass or leaves. A few even lie out in the open, obviously fast asleep. It¡¯s like they don¡¯t even know of predators. I can¡¯t explain it any other way. They are just too peaceful. The only case of unnatural death here is probably when one of the really big ones accidentally tramples a small one. ¡°How is this even possible?¡± Alina asks. ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­ It doesn¡¯t even make sense. Why revive a dead species and then place them on a planet in the ass end of nowhere?¡± I reply while shaking my head. I don¡¯t even see the end of the herd below us. It¡¯s truly gigantic. Come to think of it, why are those dinosaurs only in that valley and not all over the planet? ¡°Who cares! They are so cute,¡± Lydia exclaims from almost halfway down the slope. She looks at a trio of particularly fluffy dinosaurs right where the slope meets the ground closest to us. As we were all looking at the absurdity below us, we didn¡¯t even notice Lydia walking toward them. Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. When we notice, it¡¯s too late to catch up before she reaches the reptiles below us. We try anyway and rush after her. ¡°Lydia, wait!¡± Nick calls out. She doesn¡¯t listen and continues downward. That changes when she¡¯s two-thirds down the slope. Suddenly, she stops and looks at the magical resonator she¡¯s still carrying. A frown enters her face, and she looks back up at us with a sheepish expression. ¡°Sorry, guys¡­ I got carried away.¡± At least she comes to her senses now. That doesn¡¯t stop Lucy from chewing her out. I¡¯ve never heard that many curse words out of her mouth before. Holy smokes! Lydia flushes in embarrassment and apologizes again. Finally, Nick points at the device in her hand. ¡°You found something?¡± Lydia''s face brightens a bit again. ¡°Yeah, right here, there¡¯s something like a barrier¡­ Not exactly the same but I guess this is what keeps the dinosaurs inside the valley. Some sort of signal that drives them away from the borders of the valley. It also sends out some kind of diffusion signal. Probably that¡¯s what messed our sensors so much.¡± I frown. This sounds weird. Almost like an enclosure in a zoo. Suddenly, my eyes widen and I stop all the other conversations by letting out a shout of disbelief. ¡°Guys, has anyone of you watched those ancient movies about an amusement park with dinosaurs? I¡¯m somehow getting the same vibes from here.¡± I¡¯ve watched all the movies back when I was little together with Thomas. Those were the best moments back at the orphanage. It¡¯s still crazy how such movies survived. I mean they were made on Earth. And I know best just how long ago that was. Lucy and Lydia both shake their heads. Nick scratches his head in thought. Alina and Tim on the other hand grin broadly. ¡°Of course,¡± Alina says and face palms. ¡°That¡¯s exactly how this looks! Why didn¡¯t I think of this sooner?¡± Tim is a bit more subdued. ¡°If I remember correctly, everything went wrong in the movies¡­ Do you think this is what happened here as well?¡± Huh, that might just be it. Maybe they lost control and wrote off the whole planet. With those contaminated asteroids, the whole system is rather worthless anyway. But the dinosaurs here are so peaceful. How can you lose control of that? Or are there predators somewhere? I nod at Tim. ¡°Maybe, yeah. Clara, can you send out the drones for long-range recon? We¡¯re looking for other kinds of dinosaurs¡­ Probably predators. Also, Lydia and Nick, try to get as much information from the dinosaurs here as possible. You have as long as Clara needs for her recon.¡± Together with Lucy, Nick and Lydia approach the closest dinosaurs. Luckily for Lydia, those are also the fluffy ones, she ran toward earlier. Surprisingly, the reptiles aren¡¯t shy at all. They look at the approaching trio, curiously. Lydia puts away her device and starts cuddling one of the little dinosaurs. ¡°Aahh, so soft!¡± Her voice rings through our communication network. Nick clears his throat, and I can imagine her blushing furiously. ¡°Should we head down there too?¡± Lucy asks after we watched them for five minutes without anything happening. ¡°Yeah, I guess so¡­ Tim, can you join the others in case we need to escape? I think I¡¯ll take a look at the bigger ones with Lucy.¡± He shrugs. ¡°Sure, but be careful!¡± ¡°Always.¡± I stand close to Lucy. ¡°Ready?¡± She voices her agreement, and I cast a Teleportation spell. As I don¡¯t want to bother Clara with coordinates, I choose a destination in line of sight. We reappear roughly in the middle of the valley pretty close to one of the big ones. Up close it¡¯s even bigger! Its four legs are as thick as tree trunks, and I could walk comfortably below its belly. The long neck puts the head almost twenty meters above the ground and it munches on some leaves of a nearby tree. ¡°Whoa!¡± Lucy exclaims and reaches out to touch one of the legs. The dinosaur doesn¡¯t even twitch and continues with its meal. ¡°Can we ride it?¡± The question shakes me out of my thoughts, and I look at her with wide eyes. ¡°Are you serious?¡± Actually, I don¡¯t see a reason why we couldn¡¯t ride it¡­ ¡°Yeah, why not? I mean look at it. It isn¡¯t bothered by our presence at all. I guess it wouldn¡¯t even notice our weight on its back¡­¡± ¡°Alright, fine¡­¡± I answer with a shrug and cast the Teleportation spell for the second time today. We reappear on the beast¡¯s back and sit down. Lucy was right, it doesn¡¯t even react. ¡°Oh, this is nice! Does Clara still have a drone here to take a picture? Jack¡¯s never gonna believe it.¡± Imagining Jack¡¯s face is the final straw, and I completely lose it. I burst out laughing. ¡°Say cheese!¡± Is the only warning we get when one of Clara¡¯s drones suddenly flies by to take a picture of us. I¡¯m dreading the result, as I¡¯m probably looking like an idiot while laughing so hard. When Clara sends the picture to our interfaces, I inwardly sigh in relief. The picture is taken from far enough away that it looks like I¡¯m just smiling very broadly from behind Lucy. After another few minutes, I teleport us back toward the others. ¡°Good, you¡¯re back! We¡¯re pretty much finished here, wanna hear what we found out?¡± Nick greets me when he notices that we are back. I nod at him to go ahead. He tells me and Lucy a lot of scientific details. Most of them are way over my head, but I don¡¯t want to interrupt him by telling him I¡¯ve got no clue what he¡¯s talking about. So I just smile and nod. I can see how much he¡¯s enjoying this. The gist of things is that the dinosaurs they examined were born naturally from eggs. They¡¯re about fifteen years old and are almost fully grown. Nick estimates another twenty centimeters in height until they stop growing. Other than that, they are very healthy and seem to completely miss any feelings of fear. Nick concludes that those dinosaurs have lived here for hundreds of generations in complete peace. Otherwise, the natural fear of predators wouldn¡¯t be bred out of them. That¡¯s thousands of years in the past! It¡¯s like their first generation was put here, and everyone forgot about them. The magical ward around them is the only sign of at least semi-regular maintenance. Though, I don¡¯t know anything about such things¡­ It could very well be self-sustaining. Who knows what kind of weird Artifacts are out there? Hell, I don¡¯t even know if this barrier is from an Artifact. ¡°Thanks, Nick. Not to dismiss your work, but what use is all this for our assignment?¡± Nick starts laughing. ¡°Oh, I know this question would come. I saw you zoning out a lot just now. Don¡¯t worry, I get it. Anyway, what I managed to find right here is not directly relevant for the assignment, but I would still put it in there, at least in the appendix. Indirectly, we can argue that this planet could be seen as a nature reserve for an endangered species and therefore shouldn¡¯t be inhabited by humans. Combine this with the contaminated asteroids and I think we¡¯ve got some good reasons why this system isn¡¯t worth any colonization or industrialization.¡± I nod at him. ¡°That¡¯s a good point. It will probably be our leading argument as long as we don¡¯t find anything groundbreaking in the remaining days we¡¯re here. Nice job!¡± That¡¯s when Clara¡¯s voice sounds in all six of our helmets. ¡°Guys, I think I found our predators!¡± Chapter 126: Predators Chapter 126: Predators Location: Magicon Empire; Song Duchy; Vexton System; Vexton 2 We all stop what we are doing when Clara announces her discovery in our helmets¡¯ speakers. ¡°You found them?¡± I ask her with a mix of excitement and a little bit of uncertainty in my voice. I mean we¡¯re talking about predators here. Who knows what kinds are there¡­ The ones in the movies were pretty scary after all. Especially the big one! ¡°Yeah, I did. It¡¯s pretty far away though. But I found a good place to teleport to where we can set up camp for the night as well.¡± ¡°Perfect, thank you, Clara!¡± I reply, then look at Nick. ¡°Are you all done here?¡± ¡°Yeah, we just have to pack everything back up. But with you all helping, it shouldn¡¯t take more than a few minutes.¡± With that, we all help him pack the equipment back into the crate. Once we¡¯re finished, we do another short talk about our exploration report. Both Alina and Lydia tell us that it¡¯s coming along nicely. I thank them both, then have everyone and the crate gather around me. ¡°I¡¯m ready, Clara. Do you have the coordinates?¡± ¡°Coming right up¡­¡± She locks them in, and I cast the Teleportation spell. Less than a second later, we arrive at our destination. It¡¯s dark outside. Are we on the other side of the planet? ¡°Ugh, where are we?¡± Lucy asks the obvious question. ¡°This is the other continent on Vexton 2, sorry, I forgot to tell you that it¡¯s going to be dark here. We¡¯re on the other side of the planet, currently¡± Yeah¡­ Of course, she forgot¡­ Sometimes there are moments like this when I notice that Clara has spent way too much time with my parents. At least this means that we¡¯re safe here at the campsite. I still decide to play it safe. ¡°So we¡¯re good here to cast a few Light spells and set up our tents?¡± ¡°Yeah, absolutely. I think this spot here is dedicated to camping. If you look closely, you¡¯ll notice another of these barriers around this location. But otherwise from what I managed to check out so far, the dinosaurs are free to go wherever they want here on this continent.¡± I send a quick feeling of gratitude toward Clara with a spell and then continue to cast a Light spell. Tim and Alina do so as well, which lights up our camping spot quite nicely. It¡¯s different from the other one, as we¡¯re not in an elevated position this time around. Instead, it¡¯s just a flat, circular area, that is surrounded by bushes and trees. I walk over there, and as Clara said, there is another weird barrier, just like around the valley we¡¯ve just been. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s set up the tents¡­ Not that we can do much more in this darkness.¡± The others agree, and we get to work. This time we¡¯re much faster, as each group sets up their own. After that, I ask Clara to watch the perimeter with her drones just in case the barrier doesn¡¯t hold the dinosaurs away. Then we enjoy another nice meal made by Lucy and go to sleep right after. The next morning comes quickly and as it¡¯s the last day of our exploration in the Vexton System, we also pack up the tents again. Then we¡¯re ready to head out. Before that, Clara shows us a hologram of what¡¯s around our camping spot. Looks like it¡¯s mostly open land with a few smaller hills. Otherwise, the terrain is flat. There¡¯s a big river about two kilometers away from us and here and there are small gatherings of trees. Partly, the grass is almost waist high though, so despite the flat terrain, our view can be restricted. But we¡¯re not here for a ground survey¡­ Nick and Lydia already took care of that. We might take a few samples to compare the two continents, but that¡¯s it. No, we¡¯re here for the dinosaurs! And there are a lot of them. They¡¯re mostly close to the river, but there are also a lot of them running across the open grassland. That there are predators among them is also without question, as I notice a small herd of bipedal dinosaurs latch onto the neck and legs of a much bigger quadrupedal dinosaur. The bigger one opens its maw wide to roar in pain and it shakes itself. A few of the smaller ones get thrown off, but most hold on and bite deeper and deeper. ¡°Is this live?¡± I ask Clara and she confirms. ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s also pretty close. About 500 meters southeast of you.¡± I shudder. This is different from what we saw yesterday! The hunt or rather takedown continues. The bigger dinosaur seems to be on its last legs and desperately throws itself to the side. It crushes four of the predators and almost gets the one latched to its neck as well. It twists at the last moment and avoids being crushed. That also seals the fate of the quadrupedal one, as it¡¯s too weak to get back up. The remaining predators capitalize on that and kill it within seconds. Then they start their feast. I avoid my gaze. ¡°Brutal,¡± Tim mutters. I gulp. And we want to go out there¡­ Maybe that isn¡¯t that good of an idea after all. ¡°Do we really want to go out there?¡± I ask the others. ¡°Maybe a low-altitude aerial view from the yacht is better?¡±This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. ¡°I can get the yacht down here if you want.¡± I deactivate my microphone and answer Clara. ¡°Please do so, but keep the ship in the air for now.¡± Meanwhile, Lucy answers my first question. ¡°I¡¯d really like to go for a quick trip there at least. I mean when if not now are we able to see something like this? Also, I¡¯m able to hold back a full-on assault by multiple starships with my magic¡­ Sure, down here without a ship, my magic is weaker, but what¡¯s a few dinosaurs compared to that?¡± ¡°She¡¯s got a point there,¡± Lydia chimes in. Everyone else nods along. I sigh in defeat. ¡°Fine, but when I decide it¡¯s too dangerous, we¡¯re out of here! So please don¡¯t try to resist when the spell reaches you.¡± Not that I need them to, as I should be able to overpower them quite easily. But besides Lucy and Lydia, no one knows about my true power level. The others are quick to agree, and we start to form up in our usual formation with Lucy up front. ¡°Alright, here¡¯s what we¡¯re going to do!¡± I call out right before we cross the barrier, and our small group comes to a halt. ¡°We¡¯ll be slowly heading toward the river as there will be the most dinosaurs to see. Before that, we¡¯ll check out the place where the takedown just took place. Maybe we¡¯re lucky and Lucy manages to catch one of those bipedal predators while they¡¯re still there. I think that would be a good specimen for Nick to study. If not, it¡¯s not that big of a detour. Now, let¡¯s go!¡± Lucy crosses the barrier first and we¡¯re quick to follow. I¡¯ve got my shielding device ready to activate at a moment¡¯s notice. Tim, Nick, and Lydia ready theirs as well. Additionally, Lucy goes all out this time and has the whole group hidden behind a low-powered transparent Shield spell. Then I suddenly remember something. I¡¯ve got the perfect spell for this situation! How could I forget this? ¡°Guys, hold up for a moment. I can hide us with the Cloaking spell. That should make it easier for us to approach the dinosaurs.¡± ¡°Brilliant idea, Sara! Please do so. I think I should take the time and learn it myself once we¡¯re back¡­¡± Tim replies. I nod at him and cast the spell. It¡¯s kinda difficult to cloak the six of us in such a way that we can still see each other, but after a few moments, I manage to tweak the spell enough and make it work. Unfortunately, now the spell isn¡¯t perfect anymore and there is a slight distortion in the air around our group. It shouldn¡¯t be too obvious though, at least as long as we move slowly. But hey, better than nothing. Still, I should probably talk to Professor Flood if there is a better way to do this. Probably another spell, I guess. Anyway, now we¡¯re ready to head out, and I tell Lucy to do so. She follows Clara¡¯s map, and we get closer and closer to the recently killed dinosaur. The tall grass is very annoying, as every step we take sends ripples in every direction. So much for approaching unnoticed. Once we¡¯re only 150 meters away, Lucy lifts a fist to make us stop. ¡°I don¡¯t know how sharp their senses are, but I think we should be more careful now. So please follow in my footsteps and move slowly! Sara¡¯s spell doesn¡¯t prevent the sound that the grass makes when we strife through it.¡± Nobody disagrees with her assessment, so we follow her in a single file. We make it to about 50 meters distance from the carcass when one of the bipedal predators suddenly stops feeding and lifts its head into the air. Lucy immediately lifts her fist again and we stop moving. As the grass is trampled down before us from the earlier fight, we get a good look at the dinosaurs. The dead one is even bigger than I thought earlier. It¡¯s about ten meters from head to tail and has massive spikes along its back ¨C not that they were of much use as the small dinosaurs attacked its unprotected neck and legs. Speaking of the smaller ones, they stand at about one and a half meters in height and are between two and three meters long. They¡¯ve got vicious claws at their hands and feet, and their teeth look dangerous. Especially with all the blood, there is now. The one on alert looks around, but thanks to my Cloaking spell, it doesn¡¯t notice us standing some 50 meters away. Still, it stays alert for a few minutes and even walks around a bit. Here and there it sniffs, and I¡¯ve never been so glad that we¡¯re all wearing airtight spacewalker suits, as we¡®re all sweating buckets! Finally, the dinosaur gets back to feeding but I don¡¯t think that we manage to get any closer without alerting them again. Nick clears his throat and says exactly what I thought right now. ¡°I don¡¯t think we can get any closer¡­ But I¡¯ve got an idea.¡± He takes out a large syringe from his suit¡¯s pocket and points it at a small boulder to our right. ¡°Lydia can lift this boulder over there with her Telekinesis. Then she can throw it toward the dinosaurs to scare them away. At the same time, Tim or Sara can teleport one of them over to us, while Lucy or Alina put a small cage of barriers around it as soon as the teleportation is done. Then I can sedate it with my tranquilizer here.¡± Alina nods along. ¡°That¡¯s a good plan, Nick! I can cast the barriers, that way Lucy can react if one of the scared dinosaurs runs in our direction after Lydia throws her boulder.¡± She looks at Tim and me. ¡°So who¡¯s going to do the teleporting and to where?¡± I look at Tim. ¡°It¡¯s better if you do it¡­ That way I can still function as our escape plan in case everything goes south. And how about close to Nick? That way he doesn¡¯t have to move too far with his syringe.¡± Tim nods and points at the ground close to Nick. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll be putting it right there then. Just tell me when you¡¯re ready to go.¡± Lydia lifting the boulder is the signal to start. She throws it toward the carcass, then everything happens almost at once! The boulder lands with a loud thud, and the dinosaurs all jump as a reaction. Or maybe even a bit earlier. It¡¯s hard to say, as everything happens so fast. As we¡¯re still cloaked, they decide to run away and regroup¡­ At least that¡¯s what it looks like. Pretty smart of them, I¡¯d say. Anyway, Tim catches one of them with his Teleportation spell and places it close to Nick who¡¯s already moving his syringe into position. The dinosaur is quick to react and tries to bite Nick¡¯s arm. Alina is faster though and encases the reptile with a set of barriers. Everything is already done after a few seconds. Waiting until the tranquilizer works actually takes the longest. Still, the dinosaur is unconscious in under one minute. The plan was a complete success! Nick and Lydia both take out a lot of measurement devices and start examining the dinosaur. Up close its teeth look even sharper, especially once Nick pries open its maw and measures their length. Once they¡¯re finished with their devices, Nick also casts a few spells. I recognize them as variants of his Analysis spell. All in all, it takes about thirty minutes until we¡¯re finished with examining the dinosaur. After a quick talk with the others, I teleport it back toward the carcass of the bigger one, then Nick casts a spell that dissolves the tranquilizer in its blood so that it¡¯ll wake up almost immediately. We don¡¯t want it to suddenly become prey after all! Next, we slowly backtrack our steps until we¡¯re far enough away. Then we fall back into our formation and head toward the river. Along the way, Nick informs us of his findings. Apparently, our small predator is very closely related to the ancient Velociraptor just a lot bigger. Nick muses that whoever created the dinosaurs here took the example shown in the movies to model his dinosaur after. He switches into full-on nerd mode and explains for a solid ten minutes that the real raptors were much smaller in ancient times on Earth. The other information isn¡¯t that important and goes straight into our report. Then, after thirty minutes of walking, we¡¯re almost at the river and slow down again. Chapter 127: Consequences Chapter 127: Consequences Location: Magicon Empire; Song Duchy; Vexton System; Vexton 2 The grass starts to get shorter as we get closer to the river. Sometimes, whole patches are missing completely, instead, there are big mud pits, and a few times even a few dinosaurs are lying inside. Other than that, we have to take more and more short detours to get a clear path toward the river. There are just so many dinosaurs. At least most of them seem to be herbivores, as they are all munching on the grass ¨C That¡¯s another reason why it¡¯s so short here. Whenever we get too close to one of the smaller dinosaurs here, they immediately become frightened and shy away. And that¡¯s all while we¡¯re still invisible! Just us moving the grass a bit causes such a reaction from them. That¡¯s so different compared to the dinosaur valley on the other continent! Lydia is fascinated by their behavior. ¡°That¡¯s amazing! I wish I could stay here and do a real survey¡­ Their behavioral differences are just too crass. The others didn¡¯t even know fear and here they¡¯re on the run at the first movement.¡± ¡°Maybe that¡¯s exactly what someone is already doing here¡­ Why else would that one group be so isolated?¡± I answer her, then cast a quick Communication spell to connect to her privately. ¡°If you want, I can ask around. Maybe there really is a team investigating the behavior of the dinosaurs here.¡± ¡°That would be great, thanks!¡± Suddenly, I notice something else. Every dinosaur in a 100-meter circle is suddenly on its feet and looks around frantically. Some even go so far as to run away immediately. There¡¯s a general feeling of fear in the air. ¡°What happened?¡± Lucy asks and looks around for a threat. ¡°I don¡¯t know!¡± Nick and Tim say at almost the same time and look around. I look at Clara¡¯s camera streams but don¡¯t notice anything around us that could have caused it. Was it my spell? But we¡¯re constantly using magic for the shielding and cloaking? ¡°I did use a spell just now¡­ But that can¡¯t be it, right?¡± Alina shakes her head, voicing the same thoughts I just had. ¡°Nah, that can¡¯t be it. I mean if so, it would have happened way earlier. We¡¯ve got a lot of spells running all the time after all.¡± This is when Clara interrupts us with a cough. ¡°I¡¯m gonna stop you right here, as this is one of the rare occasions where I¡¯m allowed to intervene. For those of you who don¡¯t know, we AIs are not allowed to help with new information in most situations because this would be considered cheating. There are some exceptions though, for example when unknown information becomes necessary for the students¡¯ safety. Now, back to the topic¡­ ¡°What happened here is a phenomenon that will be discussed as part of your advanced magical theory class during your second year at FBC. Whenever a new spell is being cast, a certain amount of magical power gets released into the environment. This only happens during the initial casting and not when a spell is channeled. Spell detectors for example use this energy to detect if spells are being cast. Or in your case, the dinosaurs picked up the energy from Sara¡¯s spell and became alarmed by it.¡± I groan in annoyance. That would have been good to know in advance¡­ ¡°Thanks, Clara,¡± Lucy says and then continues to address the rest of us. ¡°So what do we do now? It looks like Sara unwillingly pathed us a straight way to the river¡­ But do we go there, or should we head back? It might be dangerous¡­ Who knows what else detected the spell.¡± ¡°I think we should at least take a look¡­ Worst case, Sara can teleport us out,¡± Nick replies with a shrug and Lydia nods along. Then they all look at me in expectation. I sigh, the burden of a leader¡­ ¡°I think Nick is right¡­ We¡¯re so close to at least taking a look and if things go south Tim or I can get us out. Maybe we can catch another dinosaur along the way, as I¡¯m curious how they even managed to detect my magic.¡± Lucy nods. ¡°It¡¯s decided then, follow me!¡± Without anything obscuring our way, we cover the final stretch toward the river rather quickly. Lucy stops right at the edge of the riverbed. It¡¯s rather fast-flowing with a lot of rapids. I notice a smaller dinosaur slipping at one of the stones. It falls into the water and immediately gets washed away by the flow. It struggles mightily and finally manages to get back on its legs and out of the river. But now it¡¯s more than 100 meters past us. We decide to just wait and watch for now. Mindful of what Clara told us, I don¡¯t cast my telekinetic benches for us to sit down. Instead, Tim takes out a set of folding chairs from our crate that still follows our every step. Then we sit down and watch what¡¯s happening around us. It doesn¡¯t take long for most of the dinosaurs to return to where they¡¯ve been earlier. They still stay away from our position; it almost feels like they are subconsciously aware of our presence and what threat we might be. Still, they come pretty close, and Nick starts taking notes again. He swears under his breath that he can¡¯t use his spells though. When one of the smaller ones with four legs and a long tail comes very close to us and lies down to relax, Nick looks at me pleadingly. ¡°Can you expand your cloak to include this one?¡± He points at the dinosaur which just closed its eyes. ¡°I¡¯d love to take a closer look. Maybe I even manage to find out how they detected your magic.¡± Ugh, that last part immediately plays with my own curiosity. I can¡¯t decline his wish, as I want to know too! ¡°I don¡¯t know, but I can try¡­ Be ready for anything, though, and use your syringe before I try.¡± Nick nods and produces another large syringe. The others gather closer around me and look for threats. Nick slowly steps forward and stops at every twitch of the dinosaur. After five agonizingly long minutes, he stands right next to it and uses his tranquilizer. It¡¯s fast-acting and besides one larger twitch, the reptile doesn¡¯t react at all. Seconds later its breath evens out and Nick informs us that everything worked out.Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. We pack up our chairs again and slowly walk over to join up with Nick and his specimen. Then it¡¯s my turn. I close my eyes and start trying to modify my Cloaking spell even more. And all that while I continue to channel it. It¡¯s hard! Sweat starts appearing on my face and I groan in exertion. I don¡¯t think that the Cloaking spell was ever intended to be used like this. I feel my control slipping more than once and immediately backtrack. Still, I make slow but steady advances. The minutes fly by, and I can feel that I¡¯m close. I¡¯ve constructed the basic framework and now just have to fill everything with power. Then, if nothing goes wrong, the sleeping dinosaur should be included in our six-person cloak. I take a deep breath and notify the others to be ready for anything. Then, with a leap of faith, I let my power flow into the modified addition to the Cloaking spell. That¡¯s where things go wrong! I almost immediately notice that something isn¡¯t right. Then, just a second later the whole spell collapses and the released magical power hits me like ten fists to the guts at once. I cry out in pain and fall over. Dinosaurs all around us lift their heads and look at us and the downed dinosaur before us. Most of them see us and start running away, but a few others practically lick their lips and start approaching. Everyone curses out loud with Lucy being the most vocal. ¡°Shit, shit, shit! Sara, are you alright?¡± She doesn¡¯t turn around but stays focused on the approaching reptiles. I manage a reply. ¡°Ugh¡­. Ouch! Dammit, that wasn¡¯t the plan. But yeah, I think I¡¯m okay.¡± With Lydia¡¯s help, I slowly stand back up. The first dinosaur is currently rebuffed by Lucy¡¯s shield. ¡°How¡¯s it looking, Lucy? Can you hold it?¡± She is quick to answer. ¡°Yeah, so far there¡¯s barely any strain at all. But can you cloak us again? There are a lot more coming.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t see why not. Give me a moment.¡± I close my eyes again and focus on my core. The backlash hit me hard, but I don¡¯t think there¡¯s any damage. I sigh in relief when I notice that everything looks fine. My magic still flows smoothly. That could have been bad. ¡°If your cores hadn¡¯t merged, I¡¯d say your magic would be out of action for at least a week. Please try to be more careful in the future!¡± Clara delivers some much-needed context, and I can barely suppress a shudder. That was even closer than I imagined. After confirming that my core is fine, I start casting the Cloaking spell again. All the work I¡¯ve done with it in the past minutes has one advantage at least: It¡¯s so much easier to modify it to cloak the six of us and the dinosaur than it was this morning when I tried it for the first time. It doesn¡¯t even take a minute this time, then I release it and fill it up with magic. We¡¯re invisible again! The new magic pulse of a freshly cast spell frightens most of the dinosaurs close to us even more, and they move even further away. Even the ones attacking Lucy¡¯s shield stop in their tracks for a moment. They are quick to shake themselves out of it though, and we hold our breaths. Then they tilt their heads in confusion and look around. Their target is suddenly gone! Most of them turn around and leave. Only a single one stays and starts pacing. It walks up and down looking for us. I hold my breath whenever it gets close to Lucy¡¯s shield. But surprisingly, it never bumps into it. Finally, after five minutes it snorts out a puff of smoke and turns around to leave. I can almost smell the frustration emanating from it. Tim breaks our silence. ¡°That was way too close! I think we should go back.¡± I nod along. ¡°Yeah, I agree. We¡¯ve tempted fate once already, let¡¯s not stay here any longer.¡± Nick starts to protest. ¡°I just need five minutes¡­¡± But Lucy interrupts her boyfriend. ¡°No, be reasonable¡­ We¡¯ve already got so much data, that¡¯s enough. It¡¯s getting too dangerous here. Who knows what all our magic just now attracted.¡± A shudder goes through Nick. He probably just thought of the same big ass dinosaur I had: The king of dinosaurs in the movies, the Tyrannosaurus Rex! He sighs. ¡°You¡¯re right, let¡¯s leave.¡± As if it was waiting for that moment, the silence is interrupted by a titanic roar! ¡°What the fuck was that?¡± Alina cries out and looks around frantically. The ground starts to tremble in a rhythmic pattern, and every dinosaur I can see starts cowering in fear. That¡¯s not good. ¡°I don¡¯t know, but we¡¯re leaving!¡± I answer her and start whispering to Clara afterward. ¡°Clara, I need the coordinates for the shuttle.¡± She provides them, and they lock into my magic. Just when I¡¯m about to start casting my Teleportation spell, I catch a glimpse of something big running through the bushes on the other side of the river. A head the size of a car appears, followed by a bipedal body with stubby arms. It¡¯s a T-Rex, holy shit. I stop in awe. Nick gasps, while everyone else starts swearing. Alina¡¯s shove shakes me out of it. ¡°Get us out of here,¡± she cries out. She¡¯s right, we¡¯re leaving! The T-Rex is way out of our weight class. Suddenly, it opens its mouth and roars again. A horrible feeling goes through my body. It feels just like it felt in the Estriduros Republic. Just like the Mage collar! Even my Space Sense is restricted. Lucy gasps and takes a step back as if punched. Her shielding spell is suddenly gone. Everyone else grimaces as well. A second later it hits me too, and I feel the Cloaking spell shatter. My Teleportation fizzles out as well. Fuck! Did the freaking T-Rex just release an anti-magic pulse with his roar? The dinosaur''s gaze snaps onto us and it starts growling. It takes a slow step into the river. We need to get out of here! ¡°Run!!¡± The others don¡¯t need to be told twice and start following me. Clara provides a map back toward the camping spot. I hope we¡¯re fast enough. ¡°Use the crate to hold up the T-Rex, Clara!¡± Lydia calls out when Clara¡¯s livestream of the dinosaur shows it almost halfway through the river. She makes an affirming sound, and the crate flies up into the air. Seconds later, it drops onto the T-Rex¡¯s head. It submerges into the water and I¡¯m about to cheer. But the head resurfaces, and it looks angrier than ever. We continue to run, and I finally catch sight of the circle of trees around the campsite. We can make it! The T-Rex though stops being careful and speeds up. It crosses the final stretch of the river and exits it. We still have a lot of ground to cover. Shit, it¡¯s going to be close. ¡°Faster,¡± I cry out and explode in a burst of speed. My friends pant into their microphones but they keep on running right next to me. We need more time. The crate comes along for a second round and slams into the dinosaur¡¯s side. It lets out an enraged roar and swats the crate away with its tail. It lands to the side dented and smoking. That¡¯s it with our distraction. The T-Rex starts running again and gets faster and faster. We¡¯re not going to make it! What can we do? Magic is gone and we¡¯re not fast enough. Are our suits enough? They have to be! I can¡¯t die! ¡°Scatter!¡± Lucy shouts when it¡¯s almost upon us. She and Nick turn to the left and Tim and Alina run to the right. That leaves Lydia and me running mostly straight ahead. Of course, the dinosaur decides to keep on running and focuses on the two of us. I can basically feel it breathing down my neck and ready myself for the inevitable. I jump onto Lydia and throw the two of us to the side. We crash on the ground, and I see a set of jaws snapping close right where we¡¯ve just been. My Space Sense saved our life¡­ For now. Wait! Space Sense is suddenly working completely fine again! I feel for my core. Magic is back! I immediately cast a Teleportation spell and have Lydia and I appear close to Lucy and Nick. At almost the same time I cast a Communication spell toward Tim and tell him to teleport to the yacht. Then I cast another Teleportation and get the four of us up to the ship as well. Seconds later, Tim and Alina appear too. We all fall over as we are and try to catch our breath. Clara¡¯s drones reconnect and now show a raging Tyrannosaurus Rex down on the planet. That was too close! Chapter 128: Revelations Chapter 128: Revelations Location: Magicon Empire; Song Duchy; Vexton System; BCS (VS) Stargazer I immediately have Clara fly us back to the Stargazer. I just want to leave! Now we have the reason why that planet isn¡¯t considered for inhabitation. Dinosaurs and humans just don¡¯t mix. This was just too close. If the anti-magic pulse had lasted just a moment longer, we would have been dead! No second chances, just gone. I shudder and sit back up. Next, I start taking off my spacewalker suit and collapse on a sofa afterward. Lydia lands next to me a few seconds later. She looks quite distressed as well. It only takes one look, and then we¡¯re hugging each other and Lydia starts sobbing. ¡°I thought we¡¯d be goners¡­ I¡­ Thank you, Sara, for saving me!¡± ¡°Always,¡± I whisper back at her. We¡¯re all completely exhausted now that the adrenaline ebbs off and so we immediately head toward our rooms once we¡¯re back on the Stargazer. Lucy and Nick are closely huddled together when they enter their shared cabin, and Tim gives us a silent nod when he leaves as well. I look at Alina and Lydia, they are still quite pale¡­ Not that I¡¯m looking any better. ¡°Do you want to join me? I don¡¯t think I want to be alone tonight.¡± ¡°Yay, a sleepover!¡± Alina false cheers. This brightens my mood a bit and I smile slightly. Lydia quietly chuckles as well. It¡¯s a good thing that I have such a big bed. Otherwise, it would have been very cuddly. I sleep surprisingly well, and the next morning arrives quickly. I¡¯m awoken by Alina getting up right next to me. A look to the other side reveals a still-sleeping Lydia. I get up slowly. ¡°Morning, Alina.¡± ¡°Good morning,¡± she replies. ¡°How are you? Did you sleep well?¡± I nod. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m better¡­ I think not being alone helped a lot, thank you!¡± She smiles. ¡°You¡¯re welcome. I don¡¯t think I¡¯d be this good if I was alone last night¡­ So thank you too.¡± We decide to let Lydia sleep, and I enter my bathroom to take a quick shower. Alina goes to her cabin and does so as well. We meet up in the kitchen right after. Tim is there as well and after asking him, he confirms that he¡¯s now fine too. Once we¡¯re finished with breakfast and back in the hallway, Clara speaks up in my ear. ¡°Now that you¡¯re better, I think it¡¯s a good moment to tell you¡­ You¡¯ve got a message waiting from system security.¡± I tilt my head. ¡°I have? What do they want?¡± Alina looks at me curiously. ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°A message from system security.¡± ¡°It¡¯s better if you watch it for yourself. I can show you now if you want?¡± ¡°Hmm, okay¡­ But I¡¯d rather watch it on the bridge.¡± ¡°As you wish.¡± Tim stops at the elevator and presses the button. ¡°We¡¯ll join you. I¡¯m curious what they want from us¡­¡± There¡¯s a slight frown on his face. I guess the Silvani heir is not happy at all with how things played out on the planet. We arrive on the bridge and take a seat. I have Clara activate the main projection at the front-facing window and she starts playing the message. Captain Tullip¡¯s face appears before us. This time he¡¯s frowning and looks rather annoyed. ¡°Didn¡¯t I tell you to have fun? Why didn¡¯t you stay with the peaceful dinosaurs? Your AI specifically picked a location close to them so that you weren¡¯t in any danger! There you should have concluded that the planet should be seen as a natural reserve for this ancient species and therefore shouldn¡¯t be populated by humans. Hell, you could have had so much fun with the dinosaurs¡­ That¡¯s what this valley is there for. Two of you even rode one. Why didn¡¯t you leave it at that?¡± I have Clara stop the recording and just stare at Captain Tulip¡¯s face. Did he keep a tab on us? And almost everything about our first stop on the planet was staged? The hell? Tim clearly thinks the same and turns to look at me, or rather at the chip behind my ear. ¡°I think you¡¯ve got some explaining to do, Clara!¡± She sighs through the overhead speakers. ¡°I do, and I¡¯m sorry for not telling and deceiving you¡­ Unfortunately, this also fell under the no-cheating rule. I know this is a bad excuse, but it is how it is¡­ To keep things simple, the Vexton System is dangerous, period. ¡°To be allowed to go there requires special permission that you all gained after the college staff did a lot of background checks and observations of your capabilities. If they had deemed you unfit, Sam would have told you to look for another system to explore because the Peacekeepers would need the Vexton System for a training maneuver during your exploration week. ¡°That said, you obviously qualified and were allowed to come here. I got special instructions to keep you away from most of the dangers here in the system. That¡¯s also why I led you to one of the asteroids specifically. It¡¯s the one reserved for student explorations as it¡¯s for whatever reason the most uncontaminated. Almost every other asteroid would have required extensive treatment at the system security station despite your enhanced spacewalker suits. What I didn¡¯t know before was the Worldender Ship connection¡­ This came as a surprise for me too and I¡¯ll be protesting heavily about that fact once we¡¯re back¡±The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. While Clara is talking, my eyes go wider and wider. It was basically all fake? But why did she lead us to the other continent with the dangerous dinosaurs then? I glance at Tim and Alina. They both mirror my expression of shock. Before I can reply anything, she continues. ¡°Most students in the past packed their things and left after all this contamination stuff, but I¡¯m very proud of you that you stayed. Not only did you stay, but you also found the hidden objective on Vexton 1¡¯s moon! ¡°That led to my decision to give you the full experience on Vexton 2. Of course, I stayed on track at the beginning and gave you a soft introduction to everything dinosaur with the peaceful reserve. If you hadn¡¯t asked for it, I also would have let things be. But as Sara specifically asked me to scout, I decided to show you what my drones discovered on the second continent instead of ignoring it as my orders told me to do. I didn¡¯t plan for the T-Rex to appear. It was very far away when I was scouting the location, but I guess all your magic attracted it to your location. Again, I¡¯m sorry¡­ But now you should continue with Captain Tulip. He¡¯ll fill you in with the last pieces of the puzzle.¡± I nod slowly. In a twisted way, everything Clara did makes sense. Not that I like it, but I can understand why it was done this way. Captain Tulip¡¯s angry face starts moving again and he sighs. ¡°But no, you decided that wasn¡¯t enough¡­ I don¡¯t even know why your AI led you to the other continent as it was instructed not to do so. I¡¯ll be putting that into my report as well¡­ I wouldn¡¯t even have cared if you stayed at the campsite. That¡¯s what it¡¯s there for after all. A secure place on the wild continent for overeager students who discovered it by themselves or actual scientists.¡± He starts shaking his head and sighs again. ¡°But no, even after seeing our little raptors ripping apart their prey you still didn¡¯t stop. I¡¯m starting to wonder if you¡¯re related to the peaceful dinosaurs who lack the feeling of fear¡­ Anyway, you decided to go out there and take a look, while thinking it¡¯s a good idea to throw out so much magic to support a small city¡¯s grid¡­ Again, as you were actually very careful and made a solid plan to catch a specimen, I was willing to let it slide. But then you still hadn¡¯t enough and continued to blast out magic as if it was nothing. ¡°That was enough to attract Gina, and you know best how that played out in the end¡­ I was almost forced to pull her kill switch! That would have put the research back for years! Do you even know how close I was to ruining my career?¡± He sounds genuinely angry now. ¡°Gina?¡± Tim asks in confusion. ¡°Probably the T-Rex,¡± I reply while Captain Tulip continues to ramble. In the end, he finishes by telling us that all this will be in his report for FBC, and he wants us to leave as fast as possible. Not that I¡¯m planning to do anything else. His final words are a bit softer though. ¡°¡­ But please don¡¯t worry too much, I know you¡¯re young¡­ I¡¯ve been young myself all those years ago and know how it is. Still, you displayed some impressive capabilities magically and not and I¡¯m actually impressed. While parts of my report probably will influence your grade a bit because of the unnecessary danger you put yourselves in, this shouldn¡¯t be too bad, as you¡¯ve actually done a very good job here! Now off you go before you cause more trouble. Tulip out.¡± Clara deactivates the projection, and I lean back in my chair. ¡°Holy shit!¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± Alina agrees. ¡°That¡¯s a lot to digest¡­ So it was all fake, basically?¡± Tim shrugs. ¡°I¡¯m not so sure, actually¡­ I mean, yeah, we were guided a bit, but is it so bad? We still made our own decisions and it¡¯s not like Clara held us back¡­ Hell, she¡¯s even going to be in trouble now because she ignored part of her orders.¡± Alina scratches her chin in thought. ¡°I don¡¯t know. Maybe you¡¯re right¡­ But I still would have liked everyone to be more up-front on things. What about you, Sara?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure¡­ I think you¡¯re both right¡­ Imagine we knew all this in advance. We probably would have dawdled through everything, and I don¡¯t think we¡¯d have found the extra points on Vexton 1¡¯s moon. On the other hand, everything feels fake now¡­ Like how are we supposed to detect dangers for real in the future? Especially with the asteroid. There has to be a completely different method to approach this without endangering ourselves.¡± ¡°What do you mean fake?¡± Lucy¡¯s voice asks from behind me and when I turn around, I notice the other three standing in the doorway with confused expressions on their faces. I wave them over to join us and the three of us start explaining. It takes a while and we even show them Captain Tulip¡¯s recording. In the end, their reactions are as varied as ours were. While Lydia is relieved that we had that hidden safety net all the time, Lucy is a bit more annoyed. ¡°It¡¯s like they don¡¯t trust us¡­ Either with information or our capabilities. I don¡¯t know if I should be angry or just annoyed,¡± she sulks. Nick just shrugs. ¡°Honestly, I don¡¯t care. Well, I do care as I want to come back here someday¡­ I hope Captain Tulip won¡¯t reject us then.¡± That gets a laugh out of all of us, and we slowly return to a normal routine. It¡¯s still weird thinking back now¡­ Actually, I don¡¯t think we were supposed to know about all those things happening in the background. So to view it from this point of view, it was actually good that we attracted Gina the T-Rex. Otherwise, we would never have learned about all this. Now we know where we have to get better at least. In the end, we send a short message to acknowledge Captain Tulip¡¯s word, then I teleport us out.
Location: Magicon Empire; Song Duchy; Song System; BCS (VS) Stargazer Our way back leads us through the capital of the Song Duchy, and I¡¯m rather surprised when our ship is hailed directly from planet Ji¨¡. Huh, I wonder what that¡¯s about. Didn¡¯t Lisa tell me that it¡¯s rather sparsely populated? Who would call us from there? It can¡¯t be Lisa¡­ She¡¯s busy all week at RMA. ¡°Lydia, can you answer them, please?¡± ¡°Sure, one second, it¡¯s video.¡± She straightens her shirt and puts some loose strands behind her ear. Then she activates her console and takes the call. A female face with long black hair appears before her and smiles. ¡°Her voice is light when she speaks. Looks like Lydia took the call on speaker. ¡°Greetings Stargazer, I¡¯m calling you on behalf of the Duchess. She¡¯d like to invite you to dinner down here. I can send you the details and a location to dock your ship as soon as you accept¡­ You are going to accept, right?¡± That¡¯s a rather direct invitation from the woman¡­ But I guess we¡¯d be fools to reject Duchess Song¡¯s invitation. Lydia looks rather shocked and turns to look at me. I give her a nod. She smiles in understanding and turns back. ¡°Err, yes, we¡­ We accept, please thank the Duchess for her invitation and we¡¯re looking forward to meeting with her.¡± The dark-haired woman grins. ¡°Sweet, see you later, I¡¯ll send you all the details, bye!¡± The call cuts off, and everyone starts talking at the same time. It¡¯s utter mayhem but also understandable. Getting an invitation from a Duchess isn¡¯t something to casually happen. At least I do have an excuse now as a retainer to the Duchess¡¯s daughter. Other than that, I¡¯ve no clue what she could possibly want from us. But I guess we¡¯ll find out soon. Chapter 129: Issues Chapter 129: Issues Location: Magicon Empire; Song Duchy; Song System; BCS (VS) Stargazer When the discussion gets wilder and I don¡¯t understand a single word anymore, I raise my hands and shout. ¡°Guys, stop! Calm down, I can¡¯t understand you!¡± ¡°Who cares? The flippin¡¯ Duchess of the Song Duchy just invited us for dinner! How the hell are we supposed to react? I don¡¯t even know why she would invite us.¡± Nick immediately starts talking again after the others quieted down. I look at him. ¡°You know that I¡¯m close to Lisa Song¡­ It has to be about that, I don¡¯t have any other explanation.¡± Tim nods along. ¡°That would make sense. Maybe the Duchess needs you to do something¡­ That should be one of your responsibilities as a retainer after all. What I don¡¯t understand is why she would invite all of us. We¡¯re just random students from FBC after all.¡± I laugh inwardly when he manages to say that with a straight face. Of course, we¡¯re just random students¡­ Especially with the greatest magical talent of the Silvani family right next to me. ¡°I don¡¯t know, but I guess we¡¯ll find out. Perhaps she wants to meet the people who convinced me to decline to join Lisa¡¯s Earth team?¡± Alina snorts. ¡°Because we¡¯re the best of course!¡± That gets a laugh out of everyone and even Nick looks more accepting. I wonder if he can keep his composure once we meet with Lisa¡¯s mom. Hell, I wonder if I can keep my composure. It¡¯s not that I interacted much with her. We basically only exchanged a few words when I first met her and when Lisa and I finalized the retainership. Anyway, at least the tension is broken, and we¡¯re mostly back to normal. Everyone is still a bit shocked, but I¡¯d say that¡¯s completely normal. Now we just have to wait until we arrive at our parking slot and take the yacht to fly down to the planet. Sure, we could teleport, but Lisa told me to enjoy the view if I would ever be here. It takes a little more than an hour which we use to get something to eat and to put on some nicer clothes, then Clara announces that we¡¯ve arrived and can now enter the yacht for our trip down to the planet. We quickly walk to the hangar and enter my yacht, then Clara flies outside and heads for the planet below.
Location: Magicon Empire; Song Duchy; Song System; Ji¨¡; Valenia Well, Lisa didn¡¯t exaggerate a bit. The view during the descent to Ji¨¡ truly is breathtaking. The city of Valenia also is so much more than Lisa was able to describe in words. With all the organic growth and whatever, the whole city truly looks as if it¡¯s part of the surrounding nature. Clara flies our shuttle to a landing platform at the edge of the city. Once we exited the ship and walked away a bit, the platform descends and stores the yacht in an underground hangar. After that, a new empty platform arises to take care of the next arriving shuttle. It¡¯s convenient, I¡¯d say as all the shuttles are out of sight but still easily accessible. Additionally, the shuttle port doesn¡¯t look like a giant eyesore in the surroundings. Right next to the port is a grav train station. While it¡¯s called the same as back on Acordus 3, the trains here are very different. For once, the carts are much shorter, they only fit about 20 people each. However, I see graphics where many carts are coupled together. I guess that depends on how many people want to take the train at a given time. The second difference is that even the trains blend in with the surrounding nature. The roofs are covered with greenery, and the colors are brown and green. Once we¡¯re inside, they are silent, clean, comfortable, and pretty much everything those on Acordus 3 weren¡¯t. We sit down and continue to enjoy the view. Clara only notifies us once when we have to change trains. It takes about 30 minutes until we arrive close to the hotel that Duchess Song¡¯s assistant booked us in. We decide to walk the final stretch. And what a final stretch it is! The buildings look even cooler up close and I can very much see how much love to detail went into them when they were built. Our short trip finishes with a walk over a small suspension bridge that leads us across one of the three rivers flowing through the city. After that, we check into our hotel and go to our respective rooms to freshen up. According to the receptionist, a shuttle will collect us in one and a half hours. The shuttle arrives as promised and the six of us enter it. It slowly lifts and flies us across the city. It is even more spectacular now with the final stands of sunlight illuminating the city in a red-golden hue. We land on a small platform and a middle-aged man in a black suit welcomes us outside. He leads us through a doorway, and we enter the building. While our hotel went with the exterior vibe of the city, this restaurant obviously goes a different way. It reminds me of the top-floor restaurants in Imperia with the elegant and modern design scheme. This restaurant, which is called the Golden Star according to the sign at the entrance, features a lot of black and gold metal combined with lots of glass and dark wood. Anyway, the man stops before a closed door and knocks once. Seconds later another, though much younger-looking, man opens the door and invites us inside. It¡¯s a private room with a single large table in the middle. The seat at the head of the table is occupied by a black-haired woman with Asian features. Duchess Song looks up and smiles slightly. ¡°Welcome, please sit down. We have a lot to discuss.¡± We have? I still have no clue what this is about. I¡¯m the first one inside and after a short curtsy which she acknowledges with a nod, I take the seat to the Duchess¡¯s right. Lucy sits opposite me and the others take the seats further away from the Duchess after showing their own signs of respect. The Duchess snaps her fingers which causes the waiter to come closer with a stack of menus. He hands them out and fades into the background again. My eyebrows raise slightly. If this follows the same scheme, this is a top-notch restaurant! ¡°Please order whatever you like, it¡¯s my treat,¡± the Duchess¡¯s voice is soft but carries to each of us. We don¡¯t need to be told twice and dive into the menus. A few minutes later, we¡¯re ready and the waiter happily takes our orders. He tells us that it¡¯s going to take about 30 minutes, but he¡¯ll be back with our drinks shortly. Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. After he delivers them, Duchess Song casts a spell and all surrounding sounds vanish. She looks at me expectantly with a hint of respect. ¡°You do have a lot of control¡­ Aren¡¯t you curious why I invited the six of you?¡± Of course, I am! What do you think? But I don¡¯t have a clue. Still, everyone looks at me and I have to respond. I look at her and shake my head slightly. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, your Grace, but I don¡¯t know why we¡¯re here today¡­ My only guess is that it has something to do with my connection to your daughter.¡± She nods once. ¡°Alright, then let me explain¡­¡± At the same time, I feel a Communication spell trying to connect to me. I didn¡¯t notice any magic being cast around me, but I catch something in the Duchess¡¯s eye. Like she¡¯s expecting me to do something. That probably means the spell is hers. That also means that she¡¯s an expert at hiding her spells. But I should expect that from an Archmage. I should be able to do it as well after all ¨C if someone told me this was a thing¡­ Curiously, I accept and hear the Duchess¡¯s voice in my head. ¡°Sorry to ambush you like this, but you came conveniently close to my home, so I had to take this opportunity. First, you have my gratitude that everything worked out well with Lisa. She¡¯s much happier now that she has a female friend who is her peer and doesn¡¯t try sucking up to her. But this is also where today¡¯s issues lie¡­ I¡¯ll explain later so that the others get a genuine reaction from you. So please play along. Or do they all know your real identity? This would let us cut things short.¡± Seems like things are getting interesting¡­ My connection with Lisa is causing issues. I wonder what¡¯s that about. ¡°Thanks for the warning¡­ As for my friends, most of them do know, but Tim and Nick don¡¯t. I also would like to keep it that way for now, please.¡± ¡°I understand. Then we¡¯ll continue like this. I¡¯ll talk to you later.¡± As our mental communication with the spell is so much faster than talking, barely a second has passed since the Duchess started speaking. Therefore, she continues with practically no pause. ¡°You are Lisa¡¯s retainer. With that comes a certain set of responsibilities as I¡¯m sure she has explained to you before signing the contract.¡± She asked me to play along, so I nod once. ¡°Yes, she did, your Grace.¡± She lifts her cup of tea and takes a sip. ¡°Good. One of those responsibilities is accompanying Lisa to certain events where she has to show her good standing. This goes especially for strong Mages in her retinue. One such event is the Earth expedition that starts in a few months.¡± Ohh! That¡¯s the reason. Duchess Song looks at me sharply, and I lean back with wide eyes. That¡¯s something we should have known months ago! I guess Clara was forbidden from interfering again. Both Lisa and I didn¡¯t think about it at all. Sure, we knew about the accompanying, and I also went to a fashion gala with Lisa, but we didn¡¯t see the Earth adventure like this. Especially, as we both knew that I already had a team. ¡°I see¡­ So that¡¯s why we¡¯re here. Is there a way to resolve this issue?¡± The Duchess nods. ¡°Indeed, we are. I intend to get to know the people who managed to make you choose them instead of Lisa. We¡¯ll see about resolving this later.¡± She lets her gaze wander and looks at each of my friends. ¡°So tell me, why did Sara choose you?¡± The others look taken aback and suddenly very uncomfortable. I¡¯d laugh if the situation wasn¡¯t so tense. Tim awkwardly clears his throat. ¡°Err, I don¡¯t know¡­ We basically formed the team before Sara even learned about Miss Lisa¡­ I guess Sara¡¯s loyal?¡± He really doesn¡¯t sound sure. The confident Tim is suddenly nowhere to be found. I wonder if he¡¯d be the same toward me if he knew who I am. Lucy picks up after a bit of silence. ¡°Yeah, both Lydia and I have known Sara for a very long time. We did everything together. It would be very weird to suddenly be without her.¡± The Duchess starts chuckling. ¡°Oh, I made you squirm alright. But enough of that. Lisa already told me that you are quite the group. I do not intend to rip you apart, but it does cause some issues when Lisa¡¯s strongest follower leads her own team in the competition and who knows, she might even win. How would that make Lisa look? What do you think?¡± Not good at all¡­ Dang it. I just wanted all those random Nobles to stop bothering me. When Lisa came up with the idea of joining her retinue on paper for appearance''s sake it sounded so good. Too good, I guess. ¡°Oh,¡± Alina winces and voices all our thoughts. ¡°Indeed,¡± the Duchess replies. ¡°But don¡¯t fear, I¡¯ve got a solution for you.¡± She looks at me, and another Communication spell comes knocking. ¡°Sometimes you have to live with the consequences of your choices.¡± That sentence is so multi-layered¡­ Dammit, now everything I did to make things easier for me comes biting me in the ass. Right now, I wish I¡¯d never decided to disguise myself. But I guess there would have been a whole stack of different problems and issues then¡­ I¡¯ll never know. ¡°I understand¡­¡± ¡°The proposal I¡¯m about to make will take away a lot of the glory you might get if you manage to win the competition, but that¡¯s just how things are, I¡¯m sorry. But, from what I heard from the Emperor and your parents, there is something big for you planned after you reveal your identity. So maybe the little loss right now won¡¯t be that bad¡­¡± I let out a mental sigh. ¡°I¡¯ve brought all this onto myself, so hit me with it, I guess.¡± I manage not to show too much of a reaction after our mental communication. The Duchess continues to speak out loud. ¡°I know you already have a greater team extending your core group for the Earth adventure. You¡¯re actually quite well covered on most angles with the six of you specializing in exploration and your other friends doing archeology. Lisa also heard you mention other friends who will take care of your supplies. I must applaud you on that, as most people would forget about such things. As you know, you will get a single Peacekeeper ship added to your group for protection.¡± She pauses for a moment and sips her tea again. She¡¯s frighteningly well-informed! ¡°So that leaves one angle that you don¡¯t have covered right now. Well, you could cover it yourself with a bit of extra work, but it also gives us the possibility to resolve our issues quite easily. You¡¯re lacking an administrative group who can coordinate all your work during the adventure in the Solar System. That¡¯s where Lisa and her small team comes in.¡± She leaves the sentence hanging in the air and looks at our reactions. Now I know what she meant with the lost glory¡­ If Lisa takes the administrative role, most people will see her as our leader. Not that I care much about glory¡­ It would be glory for Sara Green anyway and she ceases to exist after I graduate. But it still stings a bit. Also, the Duchess asked me to play along. I let out a long huff of air, voicing my annoyance. ¡°Is there no other way? That means Lisa swipes in and gets all the fame if we manage to do well¡­ While we¡¯re doing all the work!¡± The others don¡¯t look that happy as well, but I guess they still have a bit of fear to openly criticize a Duchess. I hope I didn¡¯t go overboard myself. Duchess Song chuckles. ¡°Others would have seen that as insubordination, you know?¡± There¡¯s this glint in her eyes, as we both know this is all for show. Still, I manage to react accordingly and put my hands to my face in shock. ¡°Uh¡­ I¡¯m sorry?¡± ¡°But you are right. The six of you did all the work and could have done it all by yourself. That¡¯s why we¡¯ll announce you and Lisa as co-leaders of your group, Sara, and set up a contract that entitles the six of you and others of your choosing as the sole owners of everything you might discover in the Solar System.¡± That¡¯s actually not too bad¡­ Allowing Lisa to do the administrative stuff opens up more time for us to do the real fun stuff. I can¡¯t react too happily though, but her offer with the ownership makes it acceptable for Sara Green, I¡¯d say. Also, she¡¯s the Duchess so her word is final anyway. Then there¡¯s the fact that Lisa is my friend. And why should I care about a bit of lost fame when I¡¯m bound to be a hundred times more famous once I¡¯m introduced to The Empire as the sole discoverer of Earth? Yeah, I can live with that quite well. Now I just have to show a halfway disappointed acceptance. I lower my head and answer the Duchess with a low voice. ¡°Then there¡¯s no other way than to accept, I guess.¡± I look back at my friends and find them nodding as well. Then I focus back on Duchess Song. ¡°Okay, your Grace, we accept your proposal and will sign the contract once it¡¯s finished.¡± Chapter 130: Back to School Chapter 130: Back to School Location: Magicon Empire; Song Duchy; Song System; Ji¨¡; Valenia Our food arrives soon after I agree to Duchess Song¡¯s proposal. It tastes delicious and makes me forget the bad taste of the deal we just made. At least a little. The good thing is that nothing will really change after all. I guess, I can survive sharing the fame with Lisa. Even if it stings a little that she doesn¡¯t have to do that much for it. At least I do like Lisa. I¡¯d be horrified if I had to share it with that Charles Junbun idiot for example. While we eat, the Duchess uses another Communication spell to talk to me privately and explains a few more details that led to her reasoning. It is basically what I found out by myself: When Lisa took me in as a retainer, it was basically a lose-lose situation for her. At least considering the Earth adventure. Otherwise, there are only benefits in binding such a strong Mage like me to oneself. It would be a benefit for the Earth adventure as well ¨C If I was on her team¡­ With me going separately, she¡¯d look like she has no control over her retainers. And that doesn¡¯t even consider me possibly placing higher than she does ¨C Which is certainly a possibility! On the other hand, if she dismisses me as a retainer, it makes her look bad as well because she didn¡¯t manage to control a strong Mage like me. That¡¯s where Duchess Song¡¯s solution comes in. Including Lisa in my existing team circumvents our issues at least for the most part. On the one hand, Lisa looks good, as she managed to fetch a very good retainer who basically did all the work for her. On the other hand, I get a lot of credit too because, well, I did all the work. It¡¯s not perfect, but the Duchess thinks it¡¯s still the best solution. She also assures me again that I get all the credit that I¡¯m due for discovering Earth as soon as I shed my disguise. That helps my mood a lot. While I don¡¯t really care about getting first place at the Earth adventure with the accompanying Noble title, getting recognized for discovering our long-lost origin planet is on a different level! At the Duchess¡¯s insistence, we stay for the night at our hotel and watch the sunrise from the place she recommended. It¡¯s breathtaking, and I¡¯m glad we stayed the night. The city looks even more beautiful in the morning! After that though, it¡¯s time to leave. We¡¯ve already said our goodbyes to the Duchess after we signed the contract last evening. I had Clara analyze every millimeter of it, but she couldn¡¯t find any duplicity. The contract was exactly as the Duchess promised. I guess Grandpa John would have ripped her a new one if she tried to trick me¡­ I¡¯ve got the permission to teleport us back to the Stargazer, and so I grab everyone with my spell, and then we¡¯re gone. Clara has already flown the yacht back up during the night.
Location: Magicon Empire; Magicon System; VS Stargazer Our return trip is pretty fast with Tim navigating through wormholes and I directly teleporting most distances in between. Therefore, we arrive late Saturday afternoon instead of sometime on Sunday. This enables us to relax for a whole day before we¡¯re back at school on Monday. As Monday¡¯s schedule also features the Exploration course, this could also mean that we have to present our results already. I don¡¯t know yet as Sam was very tight-lipped about it. Honestly, I can¡¯t imagine that she expects a full-on presentation of everything we found right after we¡¯re back. Others might even still be on their return trips, depending on the distance they have to travel. So at most, I think she wants to hear a short summary. But we¡¯ll see. Alina and Lydia both took care of our report on the way back and Nick prepared some practical examples of his findings. So I¡¯d say even if Sam wants to throw us under the bus on Monday, we should have most angles covered. Anyway, Clara and I park the ship back at the space station where most of our Exploration lessons take place and we all exit the ship. Somehow, Sam must have heard of our arrival, as she¡¯s waiting right on the other side of our airlock in the docking arm. ¡°Welcome back! I hope you had a good time. The Vexton System is something special, right?¡± She asks with a big smile on her face. I frown a little. ¡°Yeah¡­ But I wouldn¡¯t call it fun, exactly. Let¡¯s just call it an experience we¡¯d rather not repeat in the near future.¡± Her face falls, and she looks shocked. ¡°What? Why? Didn¡¯t you explore Vexton 2 and ride some dinosaurs? That¡¯s like every child¡¯s dream!¡± ¡°Yeah, we did. That was kinda fun, true. But we also flew through a radioactive wasteland, had to get decontaminated, and in the end, had a very close run-in with Gina¡­¡± Her mouth drops open. ¡°Gina¡­? No! The T-Rex? But how? You¡¯re not supposed to come even close to her. Or did you attract her somehow?¡± I shake my head. ¡°Yeah, the T-Rex¡­ Let¡¯s say we got too curious, and it backfired. We¡¯ve got it in our report, but right now, I¡¯d rather go to sleep for a bit. I don¡¯t think the others would mind some relaxation either.¡± I point at the tired faces of my friends. ¡°Yeah, of course. Still, do you think you¡¯re ready to do a short presentation on Monday? Nothing major, I know that takes more time, but I¡¯m very curious, about where things went wrong. The Vexton System is supposed to be a fun one after the little shocker with the contamination.¡± I nod at her. ¡°Yeah, we should be able to do that. See you then!¡± She says goodbye as well, then I teleport us back down to Terra. The boys exit my room soon after, saying they¡¯ll get some sleep as well.A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. Lydia asks if we want to go out to grab something to eat, but the three of us are all too tired. I¡¯m practically lying in my bed already as all those teleports really took their toll. Lydia just shrugs and then proceeds to call Olivia. Five minutes later, she¡¯s clothed in something nice and leaves our dorm. Then I¡¯m asleep. I wake up the next morning with a message blinking on my interface. Yawning, I stretch and then open it up. The message manages to wipe away the remaining sleep quite nicely. It¡¯s from Grandpa John! He asks to meet me for lunch today. Considering that we just arrived back in the Magicon System, this probably is also about our recent exploration adventure. Crazy how fast the word spreads in some circles. But with Grandma Amelia¡­ Yeah. Anyway, Alina, Lucy, Lydia, and I go out for breakfast somewhere on campus. Lucy asks if we want to watch a movie afterward and both of the others immediately say yes, as the sequel of one of their favorite movies just released. When they catch me shaking my head, their expressions fall. Why not?¡± Lydia asks with sad eyes. ¡°Come on, you¡¯re gonna like it, even if it¡¯s a romantic comedy. Donald Gambit is such a good actor¡­ And he¡¯s soo hot!¡± Alina basically drools. I sigh. ¡°I wish, I could¡­ But I¡¯ve got to meet my Grandpa for lunch. I¡¯m sorry, but I actually have to leave soon. Lucy laughs. ¡°I guess that¡¯s more important than watching a movie with us. Let¡¯s just move it to the evening instead. That way you¡¯re not gonna miss it.¡± She turns to the others with a big grin. ¡°How about we rewatch the first movie in the meantime?¡± Both girls¡¯ faces brighten and Lydia responds. ¡°Oh, yeah, I¡¯d like that!¡±
Location: Magicon Empire; Magicon System; Benson Moon After a quick stop in my disguise chamber on the Stargazer, I arrive in one of the jump rooms close to both my great grandparents¡¯ offices. When I step outside and am immediately tackled by Vic, I start to think that this might actually be an official meeting with Grandpa John instead of a chilled get-together. I mean all the other times I just jumped there and walked to my destination myself. So why is Vic there, looking like she¡¯s here to escort me? She hugs me fiercely. ¡°Sara! I was so worried when the news came through. Are you okay?¡± I have to take a step back to stabilize myself, then I hug her back. ¡°Hi Vic, I¡¯m fine¡­ It¡¯s all good, why are you so worried.¡± ¡°What do you mean? You almost get eaten by a crazy experiment and that¡¯s your reaction? You can¡¯t just brush it off, you know? That eats you from the inside!¡± She releases me from the hug and scowls at me. ¡°You almost died. I saw the video. Don¡¯t do stupid shit like this again!¡± There is a video? Uh, oh. Now I¡¯m dreading my meeting with Grandpa John. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Vic. I didn¡¯t mean to. The T-Rex surprised us, that¡¯s all. I mean who lets an animal use anti-magic pulses? How is this even possible? It¡¯s stupid!¡± She just shakes her head and turns around. I notice a small smile on her face though. ¡°Follow me, they¡¯re already waiting for you.¡± They? Double uh, oh! She leads me down the hallway until we arrive before a nondescript door. There are two beefy men standing guard. Vic stops beside them and makes an inviting gesture. ¡°After you.¡± I gulp and stop before the door. Taking a deep breath, I open it. Then I immediately stop at the threshold. There are five people inside, frowning at me. Everyone¡¯s there. Shit. Even Chris found his way up from the planet. The only one missing is Adrian, but I know that he¡¯s currently out on a mission, so he doesn¡¯t count. ¡°Uhh, hello, everyone,¡± I hesitantly say and fully step into the room. Vic closes the door behind me but stays outside. A heavy silence descends upon the room. After a moment, Grandpa John points at one of the empty chairs at the table. ¡°Please sit, Sara.¡± I swallow some spit and comply. No one says a word, and with a snap of Grandpa John¡¯s fingers, plates of food appear on the table. ¡°Please eat, we talk later.¡± Everyone grabs their food and starts eating. It¡¯s so weird, the silence is deafening and I inwardly sweat buckets, as I know that they¡¯ll probably chew me out any moment now. Every time I find the courage to speak and start to open my mouth, their stern looks make the words die in my throat. So I continue to eat. At least it tastes superb, but I guess no one here would drop so low and actually serve me bad food. Food is sacred after all. Finally, we¡¯re finished and the plates vanish. I look up expectantly. Grandpa John clears his throat. ¡°I know you¡¯re young, but that was beyond stupid! Why take so many unnecessary risks? You¡¯ve basically had everything to ace your course almost ten times over. Why did you push further and further?¡± ¡°I¡­¡± He interrupts me with a raised hand. ¡°No, please let me finish. It was foolish, and I think you¡¯re starting to get it. But that¡¯s not what I¡¯m aiming at here. You¡¯ve become spoiled!¡± I what?! He must have read the confusion on my face, as his voice softens a bit. ¡°Yes, spoiled. Since you¡¯ve become a pseudo-Archmage, your reliance on your magic went through the roof. I think you barely even noticed it, but it¡¯s true. Here, take a look. These are only the things that public CCTV cameras captured, and we all know that we¡¯re even more reliant on magic in private. I¡¯m not saying that it¡¯s a bad thing per se¡­ Maybe you get it yourself if you think a bit, now watch.¡± A projection comes alive above the table and shows me arriving in various jump rooms across campus. A map on the bottom right shows the distances covered. I feel myself blushing, as some distances really are very short. The projection then switches to me casually levitating many different things around me. My hands are in my pockets almost all the time. A third switch shows me strolling through the rain with a telekinetic field above my head, and a last switch shows me using my telekinetic bench right next to a real empty bench. That one hits the hardest and I¡¯m now red as a tomato. The projection vanishes and Grandpa John tilts his head. ¡°Do you see?¡± ¡°Yeah¡­ This might come over as spoiled¡­ At least a bit. But where¡¯s the issue? Why do we have magic if we¡¯re not gonna use it?¡± Instead of saying anything in response, he taps something on his interface. Then I feel it, the heavy pressure of anti-magic tech. I also feel that I could overcome it if I tried hard enough. I¡¯m still some kind of Archmage after all and Mom didn¡¯t bother with the prison¡¯s suppression either. Wait, why was the T-Rex able to suppress my magic then? Oh! And I see now what Grandpa John meant. The suppression vanishes again, and everyone sighs in relief. ¡°I see that you get it now¡­ While you¡¯re in a unique position to ignore anti-magic, it is still uncomfortable and takes a lot more power. It¡¯s also not infallible, as you discovered during your encounter with Gina.¡± I lower my head in shame. ¡°I get it¡­ I¡¯ll lower my use of magic. But can you please tell me how it or rather she was able to do what she did?¡± Grandma Amelia speaks up for the first time. ¡°No, don¡¯t cut back on your magic. You¡¯re getting this wrong. What John tries to tell you is that you should always have contingencies in place. Your plans to teleport away in case of danger are a step in the right direction, but you should always plan on your magic failing, at least during fights or when you explore the unknown. Most of magic is still a mystery for us after all. Who knows if there is some alien behind the scenes just waiting to flip a switch and cut off our magic forever.¡± She stops for a soft chuckle and Grandpa John picks up again. ¡°To answer your second question, Gina didn¡¯t use anti-magic. She rather sent out a pulse that disrupted all ongoing spell effects in the vicinity. The backlash of that scrambled your core and made your magic malfunction for a short time. There are ways to resist this if you are interested.¡± Oh, I¡¯m very much interested! Mom winks at my great-grandparents. ¡°What those two old fools are trying to say is that we all were worried. You can¡¯t imagine how we felt while looking the possibility of losing you again in the eye. You need to be more careful! As you¡¯ve seen, we¡¯re not always there to protect you. Promise to be more careful in the future!¡± Grandma Amelia smacks Mom on the back of her head for her comment and I smile a bit. I straighten myself in my seat and nod at them all. ¡°I promise.¡± Chapter 131: Presentation Chapter 131: Presentation Location: Magicon Empire; Magicon System; Benson Moon After all the scolding and concern, things start to relax quite a bit, and my family starts questioning me about my experiences. Sure, they¡¯ve apparently seen a recording of some parts of it but hearing it directly from me is still different. When I finish with the story, they congratulate me on my first successful exploration, even though it ended in a bit of a mess. Then I finally manage to ask what¡¯s been bothering me for so long. ¡°Can you tell me why there are traces of a Worldender explosion in the Vexton System?¡± That earns me some sharp glances from almost everyone. ¡°How¡¯d you identify that?¡± Grandma Amelia asks. Right, my specific knowledge about Worldender Ships isn¡¯t common knowledge. I only told my parents. At least I¡¯ve got a good explanation for it, even if it¡¯s a sad reason. ¡°Clara told me¡­¡± ¡°Oh, right¡­ I take it was rather disturbing for her then?¡± I nod back at her. ¡°Yeah, it affected her more than she admitted. But we managed to keep on going.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good. Why don¡¯t you explain a bit more about the Vexton System to your daughter, Aidan? You¡¯re the best informed on Worldender technologies among the five of us.¡± Grandma Amelia gets up after delegating over to Dad. ¡°Unfortunately, this is also where I have to leave you¡­ I¡¯ve got an appointment I can¡¯t miss.¡± I get up to hug my great-grandmother, then she leaves through the door where Vic gives me a short wave before following Grandma Amelia. Dad clears his throat and starts explaining. ¡°First of all, what happened to the Vexton System goes back to a very dark time for The Empire. About 9,000 years ago, there was a terrorist organization that somehow got its hands on the plans for the Worldender Ship. This enabled them to build two of those ships, which they used for attacks against both The Empire and the Starseeker Kingdom simultaneously.¡± I look at him with wide eyes. Two Worldender Ships! That¡¯s two star systems destroyed at the same time. ¡°Both nations worked together to bring the terrorists to justice, and the whole organization was obliterated soon after. This attack caused a new fear for those ships, as this was their first appearance after the disaster in the Solar System. Emperor Jack Benson tried to find a way to counter the Worldender Ship and therefore used the newly discovered Vexton System as an experimentation ground. There¡¯s no special reason why this system exactly besides the fact that it was right at the edge of The Empire¡¯s borders at that time. ¡°During their research, Jack Benson and his team managed to miniaturize the ship and reduce the resulting explosion to a fraction of its initial size. That¡¯s why only the asteroids are contaminated, and the contamination isn¡¯t that strong. Each asteroid represents a miniaturized Worldender explosion.¡± I decide to interrupt Dad at this point, as what he¡¯s telling me right now is rather confusing. ¡°But why would they try to miniaturize those horrible things? Wouldn¡¯t that make it easier for terrorists to use them?¡± ¡°True, that¡¯s why the experiments were only made by Jack Benson himself and his closest friends. They also kept every single technical record strictly on paper and burned everything after they finished their experiments. As for why they miniaturized it in the first place¡­ It should be obvious. A full-sized ship takes a year to charge, kills off a whole star system, and makes it impossible to set foot into said system for millennia. How can you experiment on such scales?¡± Huh, that makes sense. ¡°In the end, it was all for nothing though, and the experiment was shelved. The only result they could produce was a slight reduction in radiation ¨C an example of this is the asteroid you visited. Instead of trying the impossible,¡± he gives me a pointed look and continues. ¡°Emperor Jack Benson rather focused on evacuation plans and processes on how to deal with all the refugees. Modified versions of those plans are still in use today.¡± He finishes and I look at him in silence for a while. Then I shake my head. ¡°Wow, that¡¯s scary. I hope we¡¯ll never have to deal with such a ship again.¡± Dad nods with a sad expression. ¡°I hope so too, but we can never know¡­¡± We wrap things up quickly after that as all the others have meetings to attend. I teleport back to the Stargazer and disguise myself again. Then it goes straight back to my dorm room where the other three girls are already waiting. We have a movie to watch!
Location: Magicon Empire; Magicon System; Terra; Imperia; FBC Monday morning greets me with newly found free time. Beginner Space magic stopped being helpful, as I learned all the basic tricks very quickly. So I talked with Instructor Renner right before we left for the Exploration mission. We both concluded that it¡¯s better for me to fully focus on the Advanced Space magic course and drop out of the beginner one. As I¡¯m not getting a grade anyway, it didn¡¯t even cause any issues. Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. The result is that my Mondays are now pretty relaxing as the only course I¡¯ve got to visit is the Exploration one in the afternoon. Therefore, I treat myself to a nice breakfast in one of the coffee shops on campus. I sit in a quiet corner and activate my interface. It shows Lydia and Alina¡¯s report of our week in the Vexton System. As I¡¯ve got nothing else to do, I decide to try my best on some holographic supplements, showing the things we did there. I have to praise both girls later for their report. It¡¯s way too good, which makes it very easy for me to create something we can show the others during our presentation. We all meet up for lunch again and go over the final details before I teleport us up to the space station where the Exploration course takes place. While we wait for Sam to arrive, I look around and nod at the other students sitting around me. There are a lot of them, but if I¡¯m not mistaken, quite a few are still missing. Probably the ones with a less powerful Space Mage, or they simply chose a destination that¡¯s further away from here. Sam is late! But the reason becomes obvious when she enters the room ten minutes after the lesson originally should have started: She¡¯s followed by a group of students. I guess, they¡¯ve just arrived and Sam received them right after docking. ¡°Sorry for being late, guys, but Pia¡¯s group was just docking their ship, so I decided to wait for them. I hope you didn¡¯t become too bored, but apparently, we have quite the report to listen to today. Sara, do you want to start right away?¡± ¡°Yeah, sure. But we only have the short version prepared. The main presentation has to wait until we¡¯re done with it.¡± Sam nods in understanding. ¡°That¡¯s totally fine! Your presentation today won¡¯t even be graded, but I think you¡¯ve managed to explore some interesting things from what I¡¯ve heard.¡± I chuckle a bit darkly. ¡°You could say that, sure.¡± My friends and I get up and line up at the front of the classroom. A few taps on my interface have it connecting to the room¡¯s holographic suite, and the visuals I created earlier start to appear right next to us. It starts with a schematic of the Vexton System, and Alina starts to give everyone an overview of the star system. She continues with our initial long-range scans which classified Vexton 2 as a planet in the habitable zone of the local star. As it¡¯s only a short version of our actual report, Alina ignores both our trips to Vexton 4 and 3 and finishes with us approaching the asteroid belt. This is where Nick picks up and explains his analysis of the giant piece of tristanium. He goes into more detail and also explains a few of his thoughts behind everything. Meanwhile, I change the pictures to a closeup of the asteroid we investigated and a picture of how Nick pulls out the cylinder of solid ground right before casting his Analysis spell. Nick finishes with his shocking discovery and Lucy smoothly picks up. She glosses over the whole decontamination with system security and mainly focuses on our discovery on Vexton 1¡¯s moon. With my visual support, she explains how we found the broken Artifact core and how we learned that this was a hidden objective afterward. That earns her some knowing nods from more than a few other students in the room, while a lot of others silently start to swear. Tim picks up where Lucy stopped and explains how our powerful sensors got some strange reading from Vexton 2¡¯s surface. He also tells the others that the planet actually was terraformed hundreds of years ago. He finishes with the question we all asked ourselves at this time: Why make the planet habitable if no one¡¯s living there? Lydia continues with how we tried to solve the mystery and reports about our trip down to the surface. I grin broadly when she starts talking about the dinosaurs. Then I tap my interface, and the room is flooded with dinosaur holograms in all sizes. One even shows how Lucy and I ride the big one. There are gasps and shouts of disbelief throughout the whole room. It takes a while until everyone calms down again. Then it¡¯s my turn and I start talking about how we managed to find the second continent and how different its inhabitants were. I don¡¯t mince my words and tell them what went wrong in the end. It was way too dangerous, and they should know it! I finish the presentation with a bang and have the projectors show an almost life-sized Gina in the middle of the classroom. This time, it takes much longer for everyone to calm down again. Sam sits down in her chair and looks at me. ¡°Okay, now I understand why you don¡¯t want to repeat your experiences in the near future and also why I¡¯ve got such an angry message from Captain Tulip¡­ Anyway, if your finished report is half as good as your quickly put-together presentation right now, you have nothing to fear in this course. Thank you!¡± While we walk back to our seats, Sam addresses the whole class. ¡°Does anyone else want to quickly present their experiences during the exploration week? I promise I won¡¯t bite.¡± A few other students lift their hands, and Sam calls their groups to the front one after the other. They all give their presentations, and I do my best to listen. So far, the groups had a much more normal exploration group than our group. The first group explored a system where every planet was just a big rock floating in space. While terraforming could have made them habitable, there weren¡¯t that many resources to find so the group decided that it wouldn¡¯t be economically viable to put that much effort into the Star System. It reminds me of the story Mom told me about the Silvani System, but so far no one had a good idea to make something out of that star system. The second group had the opposite experience. Their system was actually perfect with rich resources, a planet in the Goldilocks zone where only the air composition needed to change a bit. Their verdict was that The Empire should start inhabiting the system as soon as possible. Sam tells them that they were actually the last group allowed there for exploration, as Duke Valterion decided a few months ago that the Duchy¡¯s next expansion would start with this star system. Go, Dad! Everything changes when the third group starts their presentation. They also fire up the holographic projectors and we¡¯re immediately greeted by a big red star. The team captain chuckles with his starting words. ¡°As you can see, our system, System UX317, was quite different. We thought a system that doesn¡¯t have a name yet would be a newly discovered one¡­ Turns out it wasn¡¯t, it was just that useless for The Empire that no one bothered with giving it a proper name.¡± He points at the red star next to him. ¡°Turns out that it is a twin star system, and while our good boy here is a fine star to probably support life without much terraforming on the third planet, his twin causes a few issues.¡± He puts his hands together and the star shrinks with it until it¡¯s only as big as a melon. Suddenly, a second star appears in the air, and it basically fills the room from the ground to the roof. ¡°You see, his brother is a red giant that will go supernova in the next few hundred years.¡± They continue with their presentation but I¡¯m suddenly very distracted. A few hundred years¡­ With Song Medical''s longevity treatment, I should be very much alive when it happens. I wonder if there is a way to watch it¡­ But I also should hit up my parents to give me the treatment. Otherwise, I¡¯ll look older than them soon! Chapter 132: Longevity Chapter 132: Longevity Location: Magicon Empire; Magicon System; Terra; Imperia; FBC Tuesday goes by rather quickly. First, I¡¯ve got another lesson in The Empire¡¯s history, where Professor Bishop forces a strained smile when the lecture hall keeps getting emptier every week. Now, more than half of the students are constantly missing. The professor keeps up her interesting lecture and I listen with rapt attention. We¡¯re already 6,500 years into The Empire¡¯s existence, and things still don¡¯t get boring. So much has happened over the years in our nation and Professor Bishop can even make the most boring things like a tariff treaty sound interesting. The older woman is one of my favorite professors here. I tried to convince Lisa to join me at today''s lesson, but unfortunately, she declined and invited me to another get-together at her place. As I¡¯m her retainer now, I can¡¯t really decline her invitations, and so I find myself inside her private jump room right after the history lesson. When Donnie falsely identified me as the pizza guy for the third time in just that many weeks, it became something like a running gag between us. As always, he¡¯s the first one to arrive and opens the door of the jump room for me. ¡°Hi, Sara,¡± he grins. Then he turns around and shouts. ¡°Guys, pizza girl is here!¡± Laughter erupts from the main room, and I follow Donnie inside to greet the others. We laugh and talk until the real pizza guy arrives shortly after. Things wind down when most of the others have to leave for their classes which leaves me alone with Lisa. First of all, she apologizes that her mother forced her into our Earth team. I wave her off and tell her that I don¡¯t mind. She looks happy after this. Afterward, we discuss a few more details until I have to leave for my Secondary Utility course. It¡¯s nothing special, as I keep on practicing with one of the countless vanity spells. I already know a lot of them, but this one caught my eye right before we left for our Exploration week. It¡¯s called Gloss and adds a bit of a glossy sheen to any other make-up I¡¯m wearing, be it normal stuff or spell-based. It¡¯s nothing I absolutely need to know, but I didn¡¯t find anything else that¡¯s necessary for me at this point, so why not? I¡¯m able to cast the spell for the first time right when the lesson ends, so I exit the lecture hall with a glossy smile and head home. I¡¯ve put it off long enough today¡­ Time to call my parents! I lock myself in my room and lie down on my bed. Then I start casting my Video Call spell and aim for Mom. It takes a few minutes but then her face appears before my mind¡¯s eye. ¡°Hello, Sara, how are you?¡± ¡°Hi, Mom! I¡¯m fine, thanks. Uhm, could you add Dad as well, please?¡± She looks a bit surprised but nods. ¡°Sure, give me a moment.¡± Her head turns to the side, and I can see her mouth moving in a silent shout. Silent for me at least. She turns back to look at me and concern enters her features. ¡°Is something wrong, dear?¡± I shake my head. ¡°No, not at all¡­ It¡¯s just, I have to talk to you about something important. Something I forgot when we met on the weekend¡­¡± I blush a little as I¡¯m now feeling kinda dumb. Why didn¡¯t I think of it when we all were in the same room? Mom chuckles at my discomfort. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, that¡¯s why we have magic, right? Also, Dan¡¯s gonna join us any minute now. Ah, there he is.¡± A new presence enters my Communication spell and adds itself to it. Then the screen in my mind splits and now shows Dad¡¯s face right next to Mom¡¯s. There is still so much I have to learn about Communication spells¡­ ¡°Hi, sweetheart, nice to see you again!¡± ¡°Hi, Dad! Nice to see you too.¡± After a little more small talk, I clear my throat and focus on both of them. ¡°So with everything happening during my Exploration week, especially the encounter with the T-Rex, I thought a lot about mortality¡­ I know it doesn¡¯t make me immortal or invincible, but I think now is the right time for my longevity treatment.¡± Mom looks understanding. ¡°Yeah, I can see that. I think it¡¯s a good idea to get it sooner rather than later¡­ There are no downsides anyway. You¡¯re not getting younger after all.¡± She winks at the end. Dad on the other hand trembles with barely contained laughter until he blurts out. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you found your first grey hair!¡± I scowl at him in mock outrage but his laughter is too infectious, so both Mom and I join in. It takes a while, but then Dad gets serious again. ¡°You said it yourself. The treatment won¡¯t protect you from violence or foolish decisions. You still have to be careful.¡± I nod in understanding. ¡°That said, we both were anxiously waiting for you to ask about it. You¡¯re still our daughter and we can¡¯t have you look older than us! Anyway, you have two options now. Option one is you come home, and Doc Philipps will do the actual treatment. Option two is you reach out to Lisa and have one of her family¡¯s doctors do it. It¡¯s your choice, though we both would prefer to be with you when you get your longevity treatment.¡± My choice is obvious. While I do like Lisa, I see her more often than my parents. So why not use the opportunity and visit them even if I just saw them a few days ago? I smile at them both. ¡°I¡¯m coming home!¡±The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Mom flashes a toothy smile. ¡°Great! Also, if you want, you can ask your friends as well. While we can¡¯t gift them the whole deluxe treatment, we can at least start them on the longevity road and slow down their physical aging¡­ This won¡¯t prolong their actual lifespan, but they will stay young-looking for a long time. Anything more, they have to buy for themselves whenever they can afford to.¡± ¡°Why not more?¡± I ask in slight confusion. ¡°It¡¯s the same reason why I didn¡¯t advance all of them to Grandmaster when we were at the doctor¡¯s the last time. I don¡¯t want to coddle them too much and bring out bad tendencies. I¡¯m probably over-cautious, but I don¡¯t want to risk it. It¡¯s better that way, trust me.¡± ¡°But what about me?¡± Dad takes over with a sad smile. ¡°We lost you for 20 years. Hell, you basically lost 20 years of your life. You deserve to get them back and more. Also, you¡¯re our daughter and you deserve to be spoiled by your parents! And don¡¯t tell me you will suddenly stop pushing forward just because you can live longer.¡± Huh, well, that¡¯s true. I don¡¯t plan to ever stop. I also still need my A&D core. And while I don¡¯t think my friends would slack off either, I can understand Mom¡¯s concerns. Also, I can buy their treatments myself once I graduate, so nothing to worry about. ¡°That¡¯s true, Dad. I will never stop! I¡¯ll go ask my friends then, see you soon. I can probably make it by Thursday morning if I push things, bye!¡± I cut the call before they can reply and smile. I can play their game with the last word too. I exit my room and look for the others. Both Lucy and Alina are in their respective rooms. Lydia is out, probably with Olivia. I ask them both to meet me in our living room and send Lydia a message asking if she could come home to talk about something important. She replies quickly with a yes and asks if she should bring food. I ask the others and when they both voice their agreement, I message Lydia an affirmative. She arrives twenty minutes later with steaming to-go noodles. We dig in and after a few bites, I start speaking. ¡°Okay, I¡¯m just gonna say it¡­ I¡¯m leaving tonight and flying home to Nua. I¡¯m finally getting my longevity treatment which means you also have a choice to make¡­ Mom offered to get you a starting treatment as well if you want it. But you¡¯ll have to accompany me to get it, so you¡¯ll miss the remainder of the week in lessons.¡± Alina stares at me as if her body stopped working. She¡¯s completely rigid with her chopsticks halfway to her open-hanging mouth. Lucy and Lydia both wear big grins and are already nodding. ¡°Of course, we go with you,¡± Lucy laughs and slaps Alina¡¯s back to shake her out of it. ¡°Right, Alina?¡± She closes her mouth and clears her throat. ¡°I¡­ I can¡¯t accept this. It¡¯s too much!¡± I look her directly in the eyes. ¡°Nonsense, you deserve this, Alina. Also, Mom only promised the basic package that stops your body from physically aging. It won¡¯t prolong your life, so no biggie.¡± She starts eating again and ignores me for a minute. Then, finally, she answers in a whisper. ¡°Alright¡­ I¡¯m coming too, thank you.¡±
Location: Magicon Empire; Valterion Duchy; Valterion System; Nua; Alburgh I don¡¯t quite make it by Thursday morning, but I finish our final teleport right before noon. This teleport leads us straight down to Nua¡¯s surface after I parked the Stargazer at one of my parents¡¯ space stations. We arrive in my room in our mansion in Alburgh when a slightly monotonous voice greets me through the speakers. ¡°Welcome back, Sara. I see you brought friends. Shall I announce you?¡± I let out an involuntary squeal. ¡°S-57! You¡¯re still here! And yes, please announce us. You should already know Lucy and Lydia¡­ And this is Alina.¡± ¡°I do. Your parents await you in the living room.¡± They still haven¡¯t replaced S-57. That¡¯s crazy. Or did he somehow evolve and get a lot smarter? Or is it that they¡¯re at home so rarely, that they just don¡¯t care? I shrug inwardly. Not that it matters¡­ I lead my friends through the hallway and down the stairs. Alina mumbles along the way. ¡°It looks so mundane¡­¡± I chuckle but don¡¯t comment. After more than half a year she should really come along and finally internalize that we¡¯re just normal people! Anyway, the door to the living room opens automatically, and we step inside. I find my parents sitting on one of the sofas and looking at our entrance. Mom suddenly puts her hand to her mouth and stifles a laugh while Dad looks at us with amusement. I turn around and see Alina holding her side while scowling at Lucy who wears an innocent expression. Things click in my head and I can¡¯t help but smile. Dad clears his throat. ¡°Hi girls, why don¡¯t you join us? We have time to kill since your appointment with Doctor Philipps is tomorrow.¡± My friends do so and sit down opposite my parents on another large couch while I give them quick hugs. After a bit of small talk, Mom asks S-57 to order some lunch and we continue talking until it arrives. After we all thoroughly stuffed ourselves, I look at my parents and bring up the actual topic. ¡°So what¡¯s going to happen tomorrow? Does it hurt? Do we need to do anything?¡± Mom smiles at me. ¡°Relax, nothing to worry about. The procedure is completely harmless. It also only takes a few minutes for your friends. As you¡¯re getting the full program, it¡¯s going to be more like half an hour for you, but you¡¯ll be fast asleep anyway. ¡°Other than that, nothing will change for you. You¡¯ll notice the first signs in a few years when you don¡¯t age physically. Once every decade, there will be a quick checkup with a refreshment treatment. The same goes for your friends if they decide to invest in a longer life.¡± I tilt my head in confusion. ¡°So what¡¯s the difference between the treatments we are getting tomorrow? If we all have to do checkups every ten years, why bother? Am I missing something?¡± Dad looks at Mom and shakes his head with a sigh. ¡°Told you, she¡¯d get it.¡± Mom grins slightly and nods. ¡°Fine, you get to decide what¡¯s for dinner.¡± Dad looks smug and turns back to us. ¡°Jas didn¡¯t explain everything during our call yesterday. While the no-coddling rule is a good and valid one, it¡¯s also not the main reason why your friends don¡¯t get the full treatment right from the start. The real reason is a sub-aspect of the Noble Game that targets high-ranking Nobles specifically¡­ As you can probably guess, we do have enough money to buy everything we could ever want¡­ This includes the loyalty of pretty much every person we can think of. You see the issue here, right?¡± ¡°So you could basically buy out the brightest minds from basically everywhere and horde them under your wing¡­ Yeah, I see the issue. That won¡¯t go well for long. But how does it work exactly? Do you have a fixed number of people you can directly support? And who¡¯s supervising all this?¡± Mom is the one to answer. ¡°That¡¯s pretty much it. It¡¯s also a reason why most Nobles form a group of retainers. They¡¯re the ones they can actively support. I won¡¯t bother you with the exact workings of how everything comes together as your approximation with a fixed number of people comes pretty close. Let¡¯s just assume this is the case right now. ¡°As for who is supervising all this¡­ We are. Well, the Big Five are. While that means we could circumvent the rule of the Game, we won¡¯t do it as that would be very pathetic. Oh, and the actual difference between the two treatments that you and your friends are getting is that you are getting the real longevity treatment from Song Medical, while your friends will be getting a let¡¯s call it stopgap version. It¡¯s made by one of Song Medical''s subsidiaries, so it¡¯s fully compatible with the real thing later on.¡± She looks at my friends with a bit of a sad expression. ¡°I hope you understand.¡± Lydia gives her a thumbs-up. ¡°No worries, we get it. It¡¯s not that I was imagining ever getting any kind of longevity treatment, so this is still a win!¡± Both Lucy and Alina nod along while I scratch the back of my neck in thought. I think I get why my parents are doing it this way¡­ Dad speaks up again with a huge grin. ¡°If you listened closely, you¡¯ll see that you don¡¯t have to worry at all. You just have to graduate college.¡± Yep, I¡¯m definitely on the right track. Looks like I get my own allowance of people I can directly support once I¡¯m announced as Sara Valterion. Chapter 133: Blackout Lifted Chapter 133: Blackout Lifted Location: Magicon Empire; Valterion Duchy; Valterion System; Nua; Alburgh The next day, we¡¯re all ready for our appointment with Doctor Philipps. After breakfast, Dad has to leave for an appointment, unfortunately, but Mom agrees to accompany us instead. She teleports us close to the doctor¡¯s office and we enter it shortly after. Surprisingly, it¡¯s still the same blonde assistant who greets us and tells us to wait for a few minutes until the doctor is ready. I¡¯m starting to wonder if he¡¯s only got the single assistant employed. Ten minutes later, a door in the back opens and Doctor Philipps steps into the waiting room. He seems to be in his business persona again. ¡°Morning, you¡¯re here for longevity treatments?¡± He waits for our nods before continuing. ¡°Good, follow me.¡± Doctor Philipps turns around and walks down the hallway without checking if we¡¯re following. Alina gets up and whispers in my ear. ¡°That¡¯s your special doctor? He doesn¡¯t sound very friendly¡­¡± I just smile and whisper back. ¡°Just wait, you¡¯ll be surprised.¡± We follow the doctor down the hallway while Mom stays behind to talk to the assistant. After a few meters, we enter another room through an open door. It closes behind us and the doctor asks us to sit down. Then he explains a few more things about the longevity treatments before another door opens and Ronja enters the room. ¡°Ronja!¡± I jump up to hug her with Lucy and Lydia right behind me. We introduce her to Alina while the doctor looks a bit annoyed. ¡°Take your time with the reunion,¡± he finally says. ¡°I¡¯ll start with your friend in the meantime. Follow me.¡± He nods at Alina who stands a bit awkwardly to the side while Lucy, Lydia, and I exchange news with Ronja. I feel a bit bad, but we haven¡¯t seen her in a while. I give Alina a thumbs-up and she follows the doctor. Once the door closes, Ronja has some bad news for us. ¡°I met Jack, Greg, and Alex a few months back¡­ They told me about your plans for the Earth adventure and how you plan to include all of us. Unfortunately, there is a problem¡­ I¡¯m too old. I can¡¯t join you.¡± Shit, I haven¡¯t thought about that! ¡°Oh no! I forgot that you are older. I¡¯m so sorry, Ronja. But I¡¯m pretty sure I could ask Grandpa John for an exception.¡± Ronja shakes her head with a slight smile. ¡°No, don¡¯t worry¡­ I wouldn¡¯t have been much help anyway. I still have so much to learn. Just send me a few pictures or something. I¡¯ve got enough time to visit Earth once it¡¯s open for everyone.¡± ¡°You sure?¡± I ask again and Ronja confirms. I leave it at that, it¡¯s her decision. We continue to talk until Alina is finished. She asks Lucy to go to the doctor after her. Then she turns back to us. ¡°Wow, you were right. It was like he switched into a completely different person! That was wild.¡± I laugh at her reaction. We were all the same the first time. ¡°So how was it?¡± ¡°Oh, it was completely relaxed. I didn¡¯t feel a thing and then the doctor told me he was done already. I¡¯ve got now the perfect foundation for future treatments and I won¡¯t look older anymore. At least for the next fifty years or something, but that should be more than enough.¡± When Lucy returns, she basically tells me the same and sends Lydia to the Doc. After she¡¯s back, it¡¯s my turn. Doctor Philipps leads me to another room next door and when the door closes behind us, he¡¯s suddenly all smiles. ¡°You¡¯re back so soon! Ah, splendid. You must like me!¡± He chuckles and points at the medical bed in the middle of the room. ¡°Please lie down, then we can get started.¡± I do as he asked while smiling. ¡°Of course, I like you, doc. You¡¯re the one who unlocked my magic after all.¡± Doctor Philipps grabs a syringe and steps close to my bed. ¡°True enough. Now, are you ready to proceed? Your treatment will be a bit different, as I¡¯m not only stopping your physical aging process but also giving you your first enhancement in lifespan. While Song Medical made the whole process as smooth as possible, they still didn¡¯t manage to make the very first treatment completely painless¡­ That¡¯s why I¡¯m offering to put you to sleep with this little thing here.¡± He indicates the syringe in his hand. I look at it and think for a moment. Yeah, I don¡¯t want to hurt! ¡°I¡¯m going to take you up on your offer, doc. Please go ahead and I¡¯ll see you once we¡¯re done.¡± He nods. ¡°As you wish, sleep well.¡± He bends down and I feel a slight poke in my arm, then a great tiredness overcomes me and I¡¯m fast asleep within seconds¡­ I open my eyes to find myself in a different room. Blinking, I look around and spot Mom sitting on a chair next to my bed. ¡°Morning, Mom!¡± Her head jerks up and she smiles. ¡°Welcome to the land of the long-living, Sara!¡± I laugh at that and sit up to hug my mother. ¡°I don¡¯t feel different, Mom.¡±Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. ¡°Perfect, then everything went right. Come on, let¡¯s get you checked out. It¡¯s almost time for lunch and I guess you are hungry after your little nap.¡± My stomach rumbles right on cue and we both laugh. We exit the room and find Doctor Philipps next door. He does a quick checkup and when everything is fine, we say goodbye. The other girls are sitting in the waiting room and talking with Ronja. We join them and chat for a little while. Turns out Jack, Alex, and Greg had their own longevity treatment a few months back. The rascals didn¡¯t breathe a word of it during our calls! Lucy immediately calls her brother and rips him a new one. Apparently, they wanted to surprise us when we see them next time. Oops, I guess. Anyway, Ronja accompanies us to a restaurant and we eat together. Afterward, it¡¯s time to say goodbye again though. We promise to see each other at least once before we go for the Earth adventure, and then Mom teleports us back to the house. Back there, we sit down in the living room and Mom looks at us with a big smile. ¡°So, what are your plans now?¡± I take a quick look at my friends. It¡¯s Friday now¡­ If we hurry, we might be back somewhere on Saturday night. That¡¯ll leave us with a day to spend with our friends at FBC. On the other hand, we could stay for the remainder of the day and go out to chill in Alburgh. ¡°I guess, we don¡¯t have any plans right now¡­ We¡¯ll be probably heading back to Imperia in the evening or something.¡± Both Lucy and Lydia nod along. Mom smiles even wider. ¡°Perfect, then I¡¯ve got something for you. How about you leave right now and make a stop in the Cintman System?¡± Cintman System¡­ Where have I heard this before? It¡¯s been a while. OH! It¡¯s the Peacekeeper system. Does that mean? ¡°Is the communication blackout finally lifted? Can we say hello to Maja, Shay, Simon, and Thomas?¡± ¡°Got it in one! You have to go there as Sara Green though. We¡¯ll put it under the guise of you meeting your Peacekeeper company for the Earth adventure.¡± I jump up to hug her. ¡°You managed to get all of them assigned to our group?¡± ¡°I did, but you didn¡¯t make it easy for me¡­ Including Lisa Song in your group made it much more difficult. But I managed to do it anyway.¡± ¡°Sorry,¡± I mumble sheepishly and step back. Mom just laughs and looks at Alina. ¡°Actually, you¡¯re the linking piece now, Alina. Both you and Maja are sponsored by the Valterion Foundation. Therefore, I asked Dan¡¯s great uncle who¡¯s the president of the foundation to pull his weight and ask that the two of you are together in a single group.¡± She blushes and looks like she doesn¡¯t know what to say. ¡°Err, you¡¯re welcome?¡± That makes all of us laugh for a while. But we find ourselves back on the Stargazer soon after. I¡¯m not wasting any second when I can finally meet my friends at Peacekeeper Academy!
Location: Magicon Empire; Armortec Duchy; Cintman System; VS Stargazer I push myself to the limits and we make record time. We arrive close to one of the wormholes leading into the Cintman System right after midnight. I¡¯m totally exhausted though and slowly walk down to my cabin to sleep. Clara takes care of the ship and Lydia volunteers to stay awake and talk with the Peacekeepers guarding the wormhole. The Cintman System is heavily secured and access is restricted. Starships can only enter through the dedicated wormholes. Luckily, they are enhanced ones. Any ship teleporting in directly is greeted very aggressively and if they don¡¯t stand down immediately, they are shot down. Mom gave us clearance codes that will allow us to enter and ultimately meet with Maja and the others. Lydia will take care of it. That¡¯s the last thought I have before I collapse in my bed. On Saturday morning, I¡¯m gently awoken by Clara¡¯s voice in my ear. ¡°Please wake up, Sara. The others need you on the bridge.¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± I groan and slowly sit up while wiping the sleep out of my eyes. I start putting on my clothes while Clara explains. ¡°Lydia brought us safely through the wormhole and we¡¯re now in the Cintman System. She proceeded with contacting Commander Lackney who is in charge of Maja¡¯s cadet ship.¡± ¡°That sounds good¡­ So what¡¯s the problem?¡± ¡°Sorry, I haven¡¯t made myself clear. There¡¯s no problem, but Maja¡¯s ship is currently on the other side of the star system. So we need you to teleport us over there if we want to make it back to FBC in time and still meet Maja.¡± ¡°Oh, sure, I can do that. But are we even allowed to do this? I mean they made all that fuss with not teleporting and everything¡­¡± ¡°Yeah, we¡¯re allowed to teleport. Otherwise, I wouldn¡¯t have suggested it, right?¡± I ignore her snark and finally exit my cabin. ¡°Sure, that makes sense. Do I have time for breakfast before I make the jump? I could use a bite.¡± ¡°Sure, you also have to talk to the commander first. I think he has something planned¡­ I can reroute a call down to the mess hall if you don¡¯t want to waste any time.¡± I ignore the bridge elevator to my left and walk down the hallway toward the mess hall. ¡°That¡¯s a great idea. It¡¯ll speed things up. Oh, and you can ask the others if they want to join me for breakfast.¡± Lydia just went to bed two hours ago. I¡¯d prefer to let her sleep for a bit longer¡­ Lucy and Alina are on their way though.¡± ¡°Yeah, she deserves some sleep, thank you. You can initiate the call whenever you¡¯re ready.¡± ¡°Gotcha! Just remember that there will be a slight light-speed lag due to the nonmagical nature of the call.¡± ¡°Oh, shouldn¡¯t I just use the Communication spell instead?¡± Now that I think of it, why would we use normal communications with them? Magic makes it so much easier¡­ Of course, Clara has a reason readily at hand. ¡°It¡¯s all about proper protocol. We¡¯re not part of the Peacekeepers and so we¡¯re technically outsiders. Forming magical connections with outsiders isn¡¯t allowed as it could compromise the affected Peacekeeper. It would be different if you were here as Sara Valterion for obvious reasons, of course.¡± That makes sense¡­ It¡¯s not that I¡¯ve dealt with light-speed lag before. I hope it isn¡¯t too much or it will be very annoying. ¡°Gotcha, thanks, Clara.¡± While I prepare my breakfast, Clara initiates the call. It connects basically the same time I sit down at the table to eat. A hologram appears before me and shows a middle-aged man with greying hair and blue eyes. ¡°Good morning, Miss Green. My name is Commander Lackney, and I¡¯m in charge of cadet Captain Yarin¡¯s recruit ship. Your crew informed me that you wish to make contact with them in preparation for the Earth mission. I assume that¡¯s still the case?¡± I swallow my cereal and smile. ¡°That¡¯s correct, commander. We were in the vicinity of the Cintman System when we heard that the communication blackout was lifted, so we decided to drop by and say hello. I hope we¡¯re not causing any inconvenience.¡± The man shakes his head. ¡°Oh no, not at all. Your arrival is actually rather convenient as this brings the possibility for a special training mission if you are willing.¡± He waits for a moment, clearly checking out my reaction to this. The light-speed lag stretches the moment even further. I just shrug and smile back at him. ¡°That sounds interesting. I¡¯m all ears, as long as my crew isn¡¯t in danger.¡± He grins wolfishly in answer. ¡°There won¡¯t be any danger for you at all. But let me explain¡­¡± Maja’s Adventures 7 Maja¡¯s Adventures 7 Location: Magicon Empire; Armortec Duchy; Cintman System; PAS Andala Maja sits in her office together with her second-in-command and close friend Ellie. They are finally back on the Andala after months of learning down on Cintman 2¡¯s main campus. Luckily, the crew on the Andala is mostly the same. Only a few dropouts were replaced, the rest are already familiar with each other after their freighter rescue mission that got them a spot on the Earth adventure. It was their first and last mission on a real starship before the cadets were separated into their respective tracks for specialized lessons in a classroom setting. Maja and Ellie from the command track had their hands full with assignments and simulations. They also had their reunion with Cadet Steven Chen who got to command his own starship and also secured his spot on Earth. A healthy rivalry developed between Maja and him which made them both bring their best at any time. As an AI, Maja has a certain advantage because she never tires, but Cadet Chen is a natural! He keeps pace with Maja and doesn¡¯t seem to stop. He even got a slightly better score at their latest assignment which secured his crew the more interesting ship mission just now. Cadet Chen and his recruit ship, the PAS Ramirez, are allowed to leave the Cintman System and are on patrol duty in one of the neighboring systems. Maja and Ellie on the other hand have to settle for second place and now patrol the outer edges of the Cintman System ¨C a system where absolutely nothing will happen because of the high Peacekeeper presence. At least we¡¯re on a starship again, I guess¡­ That¡¯s still better than the space station assignment that Devon and his crew got. Ellie¡¯s voice shakes her out of her thoughts. ¡°Did Commander Lackney send us any new orders?¡± Maja declines. ¡°No, it¡¯s the same as the past week. We¡¯re to patrol the area in sectors 63 to 74 and wait for further orders.¡± ¡°A bummer¡­ I could use some action after all those lessons.¡± ¡°True enough,¡± Maja chuckles and gets up. ¡°Let¡¯s go back to the bridge. Who knows, maybe today is the day.¡± ¡°You wish, but yeah, let¡¯s go,¡± Ellie replies and leaves the office. Maja is a step behind her, and they enter the bridge and greet the other officers. Thomas sits at the tactical station, and she smiles at him. She catches his slightly strained smile and nods in understanding. Just two more weeks, then we¡¯re back at the station. Why did they lift the communication blackout when we didn¡¯t even have a chance to communicate? I¡¯ll never understand... I mean if it was just two days earlier, we could have called Sara before our assignment on the Andala¡­ Dinnertime passes without anything happening and Maja gets ready to finish her shift. Ellie still has a few hours until she gives command to their new third officer, a young man called Kevin Opal. Maja says goodbye and leaves the bridge. When she arrives in her room, she lies down and hooks up the magical battery in her closet to charge her body. Her body then enters energy-saving mode ¨C her equivalent of sleep. Maja herself stays awake, of course, and continues to play her role as Dina, the Andala¡¯s very own AI. That¡¯s also why she¡¯s the first one to catch the message from Commander Lackney, that arrives the next morning. Upon reading the contents, Maja immediately reactivates her body and rushes to get ready. Less than five minutes later, she¡¯s back on the bridge and asks for a status report. Kevin is a bit startled at her sudden appearance. ¡°Woah, captain. What are you doing here already? Doesn¡¯t your shift start in two hours?¡± Maja chuckles and takes the offered captain¡¯s chair. ¡°It does, but Dina woke me up. It seems we have new orders for the day.¡± Kevin pumps his fist into the air. ¡°You mean the message from Commander Lackney is different this time? I was just about to read it, but I expected it to be the same as always.¡± ¡°It seems to be, but let¡¯s take a look together. Also, Dina, please inform Ellie about the changed circumstances and ask her to meet us here as soon as possible.¡± She cringes inwardly at her altered voice that responds through the speakers. ¡°Of course, captain.¡± This will never stop being strange¡­ A flick of her wrist shows Commander Lackney¡¯s message on her console. Kevin leans over her shoulder to take a look as well. He chuckles darkly at what he¡¯s reading. ¡°Well, that¡¯s not ominous at all¡­ He¡¯s asking us to investigate an anomaly in sector 68¡­ Any guesses what it might be?¡± Maja shakes her head. ¡°No, not at all¡­ It says there¡¯s been a disturbance in space¡­ Could it be a ship that jumped or something?¡± Kevin scratches his chin. ¡°Maybe, but wouldn¡¯t we have seen something? I mean we¡¯re pretty close after all.¡± Ellie, who has arrived in the meantime leans over Maja¡¯s other shoulder and chimes in. ¡°Maybe it¡¯s a cloaked ship?¡± Huh, that could be it. I mean Sara and I did a lot of sneaking with the Stargazer and the Cloaking spell. Actually, didn¡¯t Thomas learn that new spell for exactly that reason? Maja looks over to the tactical console. Thomas is still off shift, but a quick silent message courtesy of Dina asks him to come to the bridge.Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. In the meantime, Maja asks the bridge crew to get the Andala ready for a jump to sector 68. Thomas arrives soon after and Maja explains her thoughts. He grins and gets ready. A few minutes later, Simon¡¯s fellow Space Mage initiates a countdown, then he casts the Starship Jump spell and the Andala vanishes. The starship reappears in sector 68 and is ready for anything. The shields go up immediately, and Simon is on standby to teleport the ship a second time in case it becomes necessary. Maja takes in the situation and as expected, the Andala¡¯s sensors don¡¯t detect anything. She walks over to Thomas and stops behind his chair. ¡°Are you ready?¡± He cracks his knuckles and grins. ¡°I¡¯ve never been more ready! I wanted to try out this spell for so long.¡± It¡¯s a wide-range Dispel spell, that specifically targets cloaked ships in space. Thomas wanted to learn it immediately after reading about it and between the two ship missions, he finally found the time to do so. I wonder what Commander Lackney has prepared for us. ¡°Then go for it, Lieutenant Nelson.¡± Thomas nods one more time, then sits still to concentrate. Thirty seconds later, he opens his eyes again and looks at Maja. ¡°It¡¯s done, captain. Now we just have to wait if we¡¯ll catch some fish.¡± ¡°Good work. Now be ready to support Ensign Michaels with the shield in case we¡¯re running into an ambush.¡± Thomas nods and Maja returns to her own station. Ellie stands next to it and looks closely at a floating hologram of the space before the Andala. It shows a visualization of Thomas¡¯s Dispel spell, expanding in a circle around the ship. So far nothing has been revealed. Could it be a fluke and the commander wants us to experience false alarms? Suddenly, Ellie¡¯s arm shoots up and she points at a red dot that appeared on the map. ¡°Something¡¯s there!¡± Maja takes a closer look and links directly to the Andala¡¯s sensors at the same time. She¡¯s not supposed to do this while in training but as long as no one notices¡­ She calls out to her bridge crew at the same time. ¡°We have contact! Try to establish communications but otherwise assume they are hostile. Dina, full alert.¡± The bridge darkens and the consoles switch to tactical mode. Ellie sits down next to Maja with a grim expression. I wonder if she hopes for pirates¡­ ¡°They don¡¯t respond!¡± Calls out the young blonde woman at the communication station. Almost at the same time, there¡¯s another call from Thomas who oversees the sensors. ¡°Their engines are spinning up. They¡¯re trying to run.¡± ¡°Try to contact them again and match our speed,¡± Maja orders, then turns to Ellie. ¡°Commander Zekic, please coordinate a warning shot with tactical in case they still don¡¯t respond. As everyone aboard the Andala is still a recruit, the ship naturally only carries training ammunition, and the A&D Mages aren¡¯t allowed to use their heavy-hitter offensive spells. But a warning shot still speaks a universal language. Maja dives deeper into the sensor readings, as her own curiosity overcomes her. When she gets an accurate picture of the other starship, her whole body freezes. In fact, the whole Andala freezes for a millisecond when she loses control. The Stargazer! What¡¯s Sara doing here? Out loud, she exclaims. ¡°Full stop! Wait for further orders but don¡¯t fire our warning shot.¡± Everyone turns to her and looks confused. Ellie goes so far and raises an eyebrow in question. Maja clears her throat. ¡°I know that ship¡­ I need to confirm a few things before we continue. Please follow them but increase our distance.¡± She sends a single word to both Thomas and Simon¡¯s interfaces, and they both get very wide eyes when they read Stargazer. At the same time, she sends a message to Shay, asking her to cast a Communication spell and contact Sara as the ship before them is the Stargazer. Shay immediately confirms that she will do so. Maja takes a deep breath, and Ellie returns to her side. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± She asks. ¡°Remember my Mage friend at FBC I told you about? That¡¯s her ship¡­ The Stargazer.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± Shay¡¯s reply message appears before Maja¡¯s eyes, telling her that it is indeed Sara and that they were ordered by Commander Lackney to spook the recruits. The Stargazer will also stop and get ready for a rendezvous. Maja sighs and smiles at Ellie. ¡°I just got confirmation. It is my friend. Commander Lackney used them to spook us¡­¡± Before Ellie can say anything, the communication officer calls out. ¡°They answered! We have confirmation of their identity. It¡¯s a Green Industries ship, currently based at FBC. They¡¯ve excused themselves for the late reply and ask for a rendezvous. I have attached orders from Commander Lackney, telling us to do so.¡± Maja nods in thanks. ¡°Alright, make it happen, please.¡± Minutes later, Maja finds herself in her office. A scowling Ellie stands before her. ¡°Explain!¡± I guess I¡¯ve got some explaining to do¡­ Maja sighs. ¡°What do you want to know?¡± ¡°I get that you and your friends apparently know the other ship¡­ A ship that¡¯s suspicious on its own. I mean we¡¯re in a closed-off system. It¡¯s Peacekeeper only here. How is a random ship from a random company allowed to be here? Hell, they were even allowed to teleport here. I know that you are Valterion-backed, but a simple stipend wouldn¡¯t justify this. And Green Industries? I¡¯ve never even heard about them¡­ How can they have so much influence?¡± She¡¯s right¡­ Did Sara stop bothering with hiding her identity? But the Stargazer flies as a Green Industries ship¡­ So that can¡¯t be it either. Ugh, damn that information blackout! Ellie continues. ¡°And then there¡¯s the Andala freezing up when you recognized your friend¡¯s ship. Care to explain that? I can only think of one thing but that¡¯s ridiculous.¡± Ah dammit, but it was only a matter of time¡­ Maja sighs again and looks at Ellie who started pacing around. ¡°I do not know why or how they are here¡­¡± Ellie¡¯s scowl deepens, but she doesn¡¯t comment, so Maja continues to speak. ¡°But I have a guess what this might be about. You see, Sara is an exceptional Mage, and I doubt that she is far from the top of her classes at FBC. The logical consequence is that she¡¯s awarded a spot for the Earth adventure¡­ I don¡¯t know what connections she formed there, but maybe she managed to get to choose which Peacekeeper ship gets assigned to her. If I¡¯m right, then that¡¯s probably us, and that¡¯s the reason they are here. To get to know us.¡± Ellie stops pacing and sits down opposite Maja. Her scowl has almost disappeared. ¡°Hmm, maybe. I guess we¡¯ll find out soon. But that doesn¡¯t explain my other question. I¡¯m not even sure if I¡¯m not imagining things, but Dina suddenly stopped mid-sentence for a millisecond or something. AI¡¯s don¡¯t do that.¡± Maja fixes her gaze on her. ¡°Do you really want to know? If you continue down that road, it might change everything.¡± A hint of excitement enters Ellie¡¯s face. ¡°I do. You promised that we¡¯ll hunt down some pirates together after all.¡± She finishes with a weak smirk. ¡°Alright, please don¡¯t freak out¡­¡± Ellie nods in anticipation. ¡°Dina doesn¡¯t exist¡­ It¡¯s all me.¡± Maja anxiously watches Ellie¡¯s face as soon as she drops the bomb on her. Ellie¡¯s eyes twitch, then they go wide as saucers. She gulps once, then twice before she finds her voice. ¡°Then¡­ That¡­ You¡¯re an AI!¡± She gets up and starts pacing again. ¡°The Valterion connection. You¡¯re one of theirs!¡± Maja cringes and lifts her hands. ¡°Yes, I¡¯m an AI¡­ But I wouldn¡¯t say I¡¯m one of theirs¡­¡± Ellie blushes. ¡°Oh, sorry, sorry, that was so rude! I didn¡¯t mean it that way. It¡¯s just now I know what you meant by that this might change everything. Uhh, is Green Industries a VHI subsidiary? Did they build you? Is that the connection? Oh, that was rude again, sorry. It¡¯s just so amazing. Insane even. Who would have thought? So cool!¡± Maja chuckles at Ellie¡¯s string of words. ¡°It¡¯s okay. I¡¯ll explain more in the future. I¡¯m not sure what I¡¯m allowed to tell you right now, sorry. The communication blackout screwed me up¡­ But I promise to tell you as much as I¡¯m allowed. Soon. But now, are you ready to meet my friend? The docking is finished.¡± Ellie grins. ¡°Sure, let¡¯s go!¡± Chapter 134: Reunion Chapter 134: Reunion Location: Magicon Empire; Armortec Duchy; Cintman System; VS Stargazer I wonder if Commander Lackney expected things to turn out like they did. It¡¯s all a guess, but as soon as Maja recognized the Stargazer, she stopped their aggression completely and the Andala stopped getting closer to us. The commander basically drilled us an hour on how to react to their approach and the subsequent inspection of our starship. Now we have nothing of it, as Shay called me with a Communication spell and confirmed that I am visiting them. After that, Maja¡¯s crew and Lydia discussed things and now we¡¯re just minutes away from docking our ships airlock to airlock. The four of us are already waiting down in the hallway close to the airlock, while Clara does the final maneuvering. Then, finally, with a very slight shake that goes through the Stargazer, both ships connect and the docking tunnel gets filled with air. About a minute later, our airlock signals that someone wants to enter from the outside. Clara shows us a holographic projection of the docking tunnel, and I immediately recognize Shay in the front. She¡¯s wearing a modified spacewalker suit that¡¯s way less bulky than ours are. Her hands have a firm grip on a mid-sized laser rifle, that probably allows for good mobility inside tight spaces. Next to her and behind her is a full squad of Peacekeepers wearing the same things. Other than Shay who¡¯s grinning, everyone in the eight-person squad has a determined expression on their faces. ¡°Looks like Commander Lackney¡¯s instructions weren¡¯t for nothing after all,¡± Alina says with a slight chuckle. ¡°I guess so,¡± I reply and take a step back. ¡°Let¡¯s welcome them aboard, I guess. Can you open the door, Clara?¡± Instead of answering, Clara opens the airlock and it swings open with a hiss. I hold myself back from rushing at Shay, as that would have been a very bad idea with the other Peacekeepers around her. The one next to Shay starts to shout while Shay just grimaces a bit. ¡°This is Peacekeeper Unit 3451 Alpha. Crew of the Stargazer, you are hereby requested to undergo an inspection of your starship by Article 771 of the Magicon Empire Charter.¡± So far so good. Commander Lackney will be proud¡­ Article 771 is exactly what they should be referencing here. As far as they know, we did enter restricted airspace. Let¡¯s see if they know how to react to my refusal. ¡°Unfortunately, I have to decline¡­¡± The Peacekeepers besides Shay stiffen and start to raise their weapons. ¡°According to Article 778b, I¡¯m allowed to explain myself to either your captain or commanding officer over a video call or face-to-face meeting. As we showed no aggression toward you, I¡¯d like to make use of that privilege.¡± The Peacekeeper who spoke earlier suddenly looks rather uncertain. He glances at Shay who is fighting to keep a smile off her face. Before anyone can say anything though, there is a commotion at the back of the Peacekeeper squad and a voice calls out from the back. ¡°That won¡¯t be necessary.¡± Maja! The Peacekeepers part in the middle, and I get a first look at her in uniform. She looks good in dark blue! I still restrain myself from rushing toward her as that would be even dumber than rushing at Shay earlier. My gaze wanders to the tall blonde woman next to Maja. Her uniform is just a little less fancy than Maja¡¯s. Her second in command? ¡°Captain?¡± The Peacekeeper next to Shay looks back at Maja with a big question mark on his face. Maja looks at him with a grin. ¡°Those are old friends of mine. Your services won¡¯t be necessary anymore. They are also cleared by Commander Lackney as you should¡¯ve known already.¡± The man blushes a little and Shay rolls her eyes. ¡°Finally, he nods and addresses the squad. ¡°Alright guys, you¡¯ve heard the captain. Let¡¯s go back to the Andala.¡± They all nod once, turn around, and start to leave. Shay hesitates though, and the man stops as well. ¡°Lieutenant?¡± I think he likes to just use a person¡¯s rank as a question as this is already the second time he¡¯s doing so. I find his tone of voice amusing, I have to admit. Shay looks at the man to reply. ¡°They¡¯re friends of mine too, sergeant¡­ But I guess I can¡¯t leave you all alone, can I? See you later, girls!¡± The man salutes and then turns to leave. Shay is right behind him. A bummer, I would have loved to have her with me too. As soon as they vanish through the Andala¡¯s airlock, I stop holding back and rush Maja. We end up in a group hug when Lucy and Lydia join in. In the corner of my eyes, I notice both Alina and the tall blonde woman standing awkwardly to the side. Time for introductions, I guess. I slowly step back out of the hug to address the issue. Then I think better of it and look at both Maja and the other woman. ¡°Before we do introductions, can I offer you something to drink? And we should go somewhere more comfortable¡­ Can I teleport you?¡± Maja just gives a thumbs-up, while the woman nods slowly after a short glance at Maja. I take that as a yes and cast a quick Teleportation spell. We arrive on the sofas in the living room, and I immediately have some bottles of juice and water floating over to the table before us. This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. Then I look at Maja and her second in command. I wonder if she knows about Maja¡¯s nature¡­ Actually, I should probably ask her. I get back up and address everyone. ¡°I¡¯ll be right back with some snacks.¡± Then I teleport into the kitchen to grab a few things. In the meantime, I ask Clara to send a message. ¡°Can you ask Maja if the other woman with her knows that she¡¯s an AI, please?¡± ¡°Sure, no problem. I¡¯ll send her reply directly to your interface.¡± She continues to do exactly that and before I grab the final bag of crackers, I already have a reply. Turns out Maja¡¯s friend just learned about Maja¡¯s nature a few minutes ago. Perfect timing, I¡¯d say. I send back a quick acknowledgment and exit the kitchen. This time through the door. A few steps later, I¡¯m back in the living room and present my haul. I sit down and place everything on the table before us for everyone to grab whatever they want. Then I lean back and smile. ¡°I guess it¡¯s time for introductions now.¡± I look at the tall woman next to Maja. ¡°I¡¯ll start. My name is Sara Green and I¡¯m currently studying at FBC. As you probably noticed, I¡¯m a Space and Utility Mage¡­ ¡° I continue to tell her a few more facts about my Sara Green persona and finish by explaining that both Maja and I go way back. The other girl, who I still don¡¯t know the name of, tilts her head to the side and replies. ¡°Are you the pirate victim?¡± I look at Maja and raise my eyebrow. Pirate victim, huh? That¡¯s a new one. ¡°Err, you could probably call it that way, yeah¡­¡± Her eyes widen a little. ¡°Oh, that was so rude, sorry. It¡¯s just that I hate pirates and when Maja said she¡¯d hunt them with me together because her best friend had some encounters with such people too, well¡­ Here we are. And I¡¯m babbling random shit, sorry again¡­ Let¡¯s start again, hehe, my name is Ellie. Ellie Zekic and I¡¯m in the same command track as Maja is¡­ We made friends practically immediately and I¡¯m now acting as her second-in-command during training. If things go as planned, I¡¯ll be her second after graduating as well.¡± I nod at Ellie, accepting her apology. Then we continue with the introductions. Lucy and Lydia introduce themselves to Ellie, while Alina does it for both Maja and Ellie. That leaves Maja as the last. It¡¯s not really necessary, as I told Alina so much about Maja during our trip to the Cintman System, but Maja insists on doing a quick introduction as well. She takes a deep breath. And looks at Alina first. ¡°Hi, as you probably know, I¡¯m Maja¡­¡± She pauses for a moment and grins at Ellie, then back at Alina. ¡°I don¡¯t know what Sara already told you about me, but as I¡¯ve already done so today with Ellie, I¡¯m going to do a full reveal¡­ I¡¯m an AI¡­ Sara¡¯s AI.¡± Alina¡¯s mouth drops open, and she looks at me accusingly. Right, that¡¯s the one thing I didn¡¯t tell her about. I blush a bit but before I can start explaining, Alina looks back at Maja. ¡°Well, while it¡¯s certainly surprising, I have to say that concerning Sara things, that¡¯s pretty normal.¡± Lucy snorts in reaction and Alina continues. ¡°But there¡¯s one thing I don¡¯t understand¡­ How are you here with the Peacekeepers when you just said that you are Sara¡¯s AI and how do you have a human body?¡± Maja clears her throat. ¡°I''ve got my own Magitech body because I didn¡¯t want to be confined to only Sara¡¯s head¡­ Walking around by myself is so much better! As for the Peacekeepers¡­ It¡¯s what I want to do in the future. I¡¯m something like a test run if it¡¯s something more AIs can do in the future. That¡¯s where my Valterion sponsorship comes from. They want to try if ship AIs with Peacekeeper training will be even better than they are right now.¡± She says the last part while looking at Ellie. I guess they didn¡¯t have enough time to talk everything through earlier. Alina nods slowly in response. ¡°Crazy¡­ But also so cool!¡± She glances at Ellie next to Maja. ¡°How did you deal with that? I¡¯m guessing such things aren¡¯t normal with you.¡± Ellie snorts. ¡°No not at all¡­ From what you said, this is normal with Sara here?¡± She raises an eyebrow and Alina nods. ¡°Actually, I¡¯m not really done with dealing with it¡­ I¡¯ve barely known for thirty minutes.¡± Everyone besides me and Maja gasps and looks at Maja. ¡°You¡¯ve kept it secret for so long?¡± Lucy asks. Maja nods and uncertainty enters her voice. ¡°Yeah, I didn¡¯t want to ruin my friendship with Ellie in the beginning. And then there was never the right moment to tell her¡­¡± She looks at Ellie. ¡°Are we still friends?¡± The tall woman takes a deep breath and smiles before she grabs Maja in a big hug. ¡°Of course, you silly! Who cares if you¡¯re human or not? We¡¯ve been through so much together and you always had my back. What¡¯s there more to expect from a friend?¡± Maja sighs in relief and returns the hug. ¡°Thank you, Ellie. You can¡¯t imagine how much it bothered me to lie to you every day!¡± While they do their bonding session, Alina pokes my side with a raised eyebrow. ¡°Will you ever stop surprising me? Seriously, an AI with a body? What¡¯s next? Aliens in your closet?¡± I can¡¯t help but laugh. Lucy, Lydia, and Alina quickly join in. In the end, we all eat our snacks, and our little girl group continues to chat with each other. Maja looks visibly relieved after hearing that Ellie accepts her as she is, and Ellie fits seamlessly into our group. After about half an hour of chatting, Ellie clears her throat and looks at me. ¡°There¡¯s still one thing I don¡¯t understand. How do you fit into all this? I mean both Maja and Alina have Valterion backing, but Maja also said that she is your AI and you¡¯ve been together for so long. Also, you¡¯ve been kidnapped by pirates not once but twice¡­ What¡¯s it that makes you so important that you¡¯re right in the middle of everything?¡± Well, that¡¯s a very good question if you don¡¯t know who I really am, dear Ellie. Unfortunately, I don¡¯t feel comfortable sharing my secret with her as well. At least not right now. Maybe later. But I also don¡¯t want to lie to her. I look back at her to reply. ¡°Unfortunately, I can¡¯t tell you the real reasons right now. I promise to tell you one day and then everything will make sense. But for now, please trust Maja and me that it¡¯s something good. Also, the whole truth would probably break you,¡± I finish with a short wink. Ellie looks at me with a slight smile. ¡°Alright, so you¡¯re a Noble in disguise with close ties to the Valterion family, got it.¡± I stare at her, dumbfounded while everyone around me starts to chuckle. Maja puts an arm on Ellie¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Something like that, yes. You won¡¯t regret teaming up with us.¡± I sit up straight and nod at Maja¡¯s words. ¡°Right¡­ Also, speaking of teaming up, that¡¯s why we¡¯re here! Your ship will be assigned to our group as protection during the Earth adventure. As we were pretty close to the Cintman System, we decided to drop by and get to know you once we heard that the communication blackout was lifted.¡± I grin and shrug. ¡°So here we are¡­ Got any ideas on how to do it? Oh, and what about Thomas and Simon? Are they here as well?¡± Maja chuckles. ¡°They are, and they¡¯re going to kill me if I hold them back any longer¡­ They are constantly messaging me.¡± Maja looks at Ellie. ¡°Do you think we could fit everyone in the Andala¡¯s hangar? I think that¡¯s the only space aboard that¡¯s big enough for the whole crew to make an announcement.¡± Ellie thinks for a moment, then nods. ¡°Yeah, that should fit¡­ we have to take out the interceptors though, or we have to start stacking people.¡± ¡°Alright, then let¡¯s do that. I have Dina notify the crew to gather in the hangar.¡± Maja looks back at us. ¡°Can you put on something fancier and then meet us back at the airlock? Or better, I send down Thomas, Shay, and Simon to escort you. Ellie and I have a crew to organize.¡± I jump up and hug her again. ¡°Absolutely, we¡¯ll see you soon!¡± Chapter 135: Team Chapter 135: Team Location: Magicon Empire; Armortec Duchy; Cintman System; PAS Andala After Maja and Ellie left, we all rush to our respective rooms to put on something nice. Obviously, I go with a dark purple dress that almost looks black when there¡¯s no direct lighting. The outfit is finalized with my trusted magnetic heels and a few vanity spells for my hair and make-up. Some ten minutes later, I¡¯m back out in the hallway and almost collide with my waiting friends. ¡°Finally,¡± Lucy sighs and starts walking toward the elevator. She wears some dress pants and a white blouse together with the same heels I¡¯m wearing. We bought them together after all. I look at Alina and Lydia and shrug, then we all follow Lucy. Lydia went with a dark green dress while Alina also chose a pant and blouse combination. The four of us make a nice-looking quartet, I¡¯d say! A minute later we¡¯re back at the airlock and Clara opens it. We step through and enter the tube that connects the two starships. The Andala¡¯s airlock opens as soon as we¡¯re close to it and I cry out in excitement. ¡°Tommy!¡± I rush forward and grab my oldest friend in a big hug. ¡°Hi Sari, long time no see,¡± he replies and returns my hug. Lucy and Lydia exchange their own greetings with Simon and Shay in the meantime. After a few minutes, we switch and I greet the others and introduce the three of them to Alina. After that, Thomas leads us into the Andala and slowly toward the hangar bay of the ship. On the way, we talk about the things we did in the past months which causes a few laughs and shocked looks on both sides. Especially our most recent adventure in the Vexton System amazes them. Simon is the most vocal on this. ¡°Hell, now I wish I would be attending FBC as well,¡± he chuckles. Lucy playfully shoves his shoulder. ¡°Say that again when you look a T-Rex in its maw.¡± He gulps. ¡°Yeah, true¡­¡± Then we arrive at a big double door with the letters hangar bay above it. Thomas stops before it. ¡°The crew is inside, are you ready, Sara?¡± I nod at him. ¡°Yeah, let¡¯s get It over with. I¡¯d love to get to know the people who go to Earth with us.¡± He chuckles and waves his hand which opens the door. We¡¯re immediately assaulted by a clamor of lots of voices in a confined space. We step over the threshold and I notice Maja and Ellie standing atop a few crates to the right. Our gazes meet and she waves for me to come over. Ellie sees me as well and gives a sharp whistle which silences the room. ¡°Please make way for our guests.¡± A small corridor opens between the assembled Peacekeeper cadets and the four of us follow it toward Maja and Ellie. Thomas, Shay, and Simon stay behind. Maja extends her hand and helps me atop the crate. The other three stay down below. I look over the assembled crew and smile. Maja clears her throat and starts speaking. ¡°Thanks for coming here so quickly. We have an important announcement to make today. As you probably have guessed already, we made it into the Earth adventure as predicted by Commander Lackney a few months ago.¡± She waits a moment for the inevitable cheers. And cheer they do. The noise is almost deafening in the confined room. Maja smiles at her crew and waits for the noise to die down. ¡°I¡¯m proud of every single one of you! You made this possible, and without your hard work and support, I wouldn¡¯t be standing here today to make that announcement. This is for you!¡± Both she and Ellie start clapping when another round of cheers emerges from the crowd. ¡°Today¡¯s weird encounter with the other starship in sector 68 ties into that and is also the reason why I called for the assembly here in the hangar bay.¡± She points at me. ¡°This is Sara, an old friend of mine and a very strong Space Mage. She¡¯s currently studying at FBC right in the center of The Empire on planet Terra. You can probably guess why she¡¯s here with us¡­ Now without further ado, please give her a warm welcome!¡± Wow, Maja certainly learned how to rally up a crowd. The cheers are even louder than before and I give them a shy wave. Finally, the noise dies down and I clear my throat. ¡°Thanks, Maja¡­ Err captain.¡± That earns me a few chuckles which breaks the last bit of tension among the crew. ¡°As my friend pointed out already, my name is Sara Green. I¡¯m a Space and Utility Mage and also the captain of the Stargazer which is currently connected to your ship. I could tell you a lot more about myself, but that¡¯s not why you¡¯re here for¡­ Now, I can happily confirm what Captain Yarin hinted at already. The Andala and her crew will be joining me and my team on the Earth adventure as our protective detail!¡± I wait out another round of cheers and whistles before I lift my hand. ¡°But that¡¯s not all. There¡¯s one more detail that even your captain doesn¡¯t know about yet.¡± I pause for a short wink at Maja.Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. ¡°You are not the only ones who will join our group during the Earth adventure. There will also be a transportation company led by other friends of mine who will be taking care of our supplies.¡± A popup on my interface greets me. It¡¯s a text message from Maja. She¡¯s asking me if I¡¯m talking about Jack, Alex, Greg. I smile and give her a quick nod. She grins broadly. I focus back on the assembled Peacekeeper cadets. ¡°And finally, I¡¯m not the sole leader of our Earth team as it will be supplemented by Lisa Song who will also be taking on a leadership role.¡± Now that causes a reaction that almost overshadows everything that happened before. There are whispers of ¡°Big Five,¡± ¡°Lisa fucking Song,¡± and who knows what else. I¡¯m too distracted by watching Maja and Ellie¡¯s faces losing all composure as well. ¡°You¡¯re kidding me, right?¡± Ellie manages to blurt out and I shake my head. ¡°Nope, it¡¯s true. Lisa and some of her inner circle will be joining our team.¡± ¡°Why¡­? And more importantly, how?¡± Maja asks after a short moment of stunned silence. Oh boy, I¡¯m enjoying this way too much. I shrug and grin. ¡°It¡¯s a long story that started with me becoming one of Lisa¡¯s retainers and ended with Duchess Song basically forcing her daughter onto our team. So here we are.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve met a Duchess?¡± Ellie sputters. ¡°Yep, actually, it was only a few days ago, so the development is brand new as well.¡± Ellie''s mouth is working but no words come out. Did I break her? Another message appears on my interface. ¡°You¡¯ve got some explaining to do! And don¡¯t even think about revealing your identity to Ellie anytime soon. I think that¡¯ll thoroughly break her.¡± I almost laugh out loud when I read the last part. Maja is thinking the same! I give her a quick thumbs-up, indicating that I¡¯ll definitely explain as soon as I can. Things slowly wind down after that, and I find myself in Maja¡¯s office some 45 minutes later. Our group is much smaller now and only consists of Thomas, Shay, Simon, Maja, and the four of us from the Stargazer. Ellie has already left, telling us that she has to take care of the crew. We all know that she read the situation correctly and wanted to leave us alone to talk about some private stuff. No one called her out on that of course, and I made a mental note to do something for her in the future. She seems to be a good friend to Maja. Anyway, our group of friends exchanges a few more stories, and I fill in the others on everything that happened between myself and Lisa Song. We continue to talk for the whole evening. Before long, it¡¯s way past midnight which means we have to leave if we want to arrive on time for the next week of lessons. And we can¡¯t miss the Exploration course! After tearful goodbyes and promises to do weekly calls now that the blackout is lifted, the four of us find ourselves back on the Stargazer. Clara is already disengaging the docking tube and the two starships slowly start to drift apart. Then the drives engage, and both ships move away even further. Lydia does a quick confirmation call with someone from Commander Lackney¡¯s staff, then she nods at me. Seconds later, purple light swallows our ship and we move to another place, hundreds of light years away.
Location: Magicon Empire; Magicon System; Terra; Imperia; FBC It takes about a day until we¡¯re back in the Magicon System. From there, it¡¯ll take probably another six to eight hours until the Stargazer arrives at her docking station. Luckily, we don¡¯t have to wait that long, and I teleport the four of us back to our dorm on campus while Clara pilots the ship back to the station. She left something like a mini AI behind whose sole task is to reconnect with her main chip near my ear as soon as I arrive. The issue with cutting the connection with a teleport still stands after all. Clara¡¯s stopgap solution is only possible as the Magicon System is developed so heavily. There are a lot of signal boosters spread across the whole star system. Their sole purpose is to enable what Clara and I just did. Because no one wants to wait in traffic for hours if they can just teleport. We arrive in our rooms on Sunday evening, just as we planned. Lucy called ahead and asked both Tim and Nick to make a reservation in one of the countless restaurants in Imperia for the six of us. Clara informs us that they found something special and will meet us in about an hour in our dorm. That causes quite a rush among us as we all still want to take a shower before. Luckily everyone has their own little bathroom attached to their room so we manage. An hour later, the boys knock on our door and Alina lets them inside. Lucy and I take another five minutes to finalize things, then we¡¯re ready to leave. Tim teleports us to one of the jump rooms below the main city. From there, we take the subway train and travel for another two stations. If my sense of orientation is correct, we now should be somewhere at the edge of the central district of Imperia. Right where the giant towers end, and the normal-sized towers start. They are still tall as hell, but not touch-the-clouds-and-pierce-them tall. When we step out of the elevator on ground level, I see that I was right. To our left starts the city center and to our right, the smaller towers start. Nick and Tim lead us to one of them where we take another elevator. I expect it to move upward, but instead, it moves down again. ¡°Huh, what¡¯s happening?¡± I ask. Tim smiles back at me. ¡°You¡¯ll see.¡± The elevator arrives with a ding, and we enter a sparsely lighted hallway. At the end of it, there¡¯s a sliding door with a sign above it. It reads Ben¡¯s. Just Ben¡¯s in a cursive font, nothing else. Tim leads the way and the door opens before him. A waiter greets us upon entering and asks for our reservations. Tim takes care of it as well, and the waiter leads us down another hallway. It¡¯s weird, there¡¯s no big open space or anything, just doors left and right of the hallway. Finally, the waiter stops at one of them and it opens. He beckons us inside and I¡¯m surprised again. It¡¯s an antechamber with another door leading out of it on the opposite side. It immediately reminds me of an airlock. The door in the back opens once the waiter closes the other one behind us. Then I can finally see a table and chairs and the waiter asks us to sit down. ¡°Have you been here before?¡± He asks and we all shake our heads. ¡°Alright, then guessing from the confused looks most of you are giving me, you don¡¯t even know what our restaurant is about¡­ So let me explain. Ben¡¯s is a restaurant specializing in dinners in the dark. This means once I leave this room, the lights will go out and you will be in complete darkness. Next, someone will bring you your drinks and food which will be a surprise for you to discover. Therefore, you have now the chance to send me any allergies or things you don¡¯t like on your interfaces. Afterward, we recommend turning off your holographic overlay for the full-on experience. With that, I wish you a pleasant stay at Ben¡¯s. If you need anything, just call out my name, Jonathan, and I will be right with you.¡± I stare at Nick and Tim who both grin like madmen. When did I agree to do something crazy like this? Chapter 136: Match Prep Chapter 136: Match Prep Location: Magicon Empire; Magicon System; Terra; Imperia; Ben¡¯s The waiter, Jonathan, steps to the side and waits until we¡¯re done writing down our preferences. I¡¯m actually the first one to finish as I send him a blank slate. Well, mostly blank, as I checked the box next to the question asking if I was a Mage. Other than that, I¡¯m in for a full-on surprise! I hope I won¡¯t regret this afterward, but now that I¡¯m over the initial shock, I find the concept of a dinner in the dark very intriguing. While the others are typing, I look up more information about such dinners on the net. Huh, this dates back to Earth time as well? Crazy! There are actually several restaurants that offer such dark dinners here in Imperia, but Ben¡¯s is by far the most famous and also most exclusive. Looks like Tim utilized his connections again if he managed to secure a reservation that fast. According to the information I found, Ben¡¯s is booked out for weeks in advance. Anyway, the others finish their lists as well and we send them all back to Jonathan. He tells us to have fun, then leaves the room. As soon as the door closes behind him, the lights go out and we¡¯re left in complete darkness. I follow Jonathan¡¯s advice and deactivate my holographic interface. Now I really don¡¯t see anything anymore. Not even my hand right before my face. ¡°You all okay?¡± I recognize Nick¡¯s voice from across the table. We all voice an affirmative and slowly our conversations start back up while we wait for our food and drinks. We don¡¯t have to wait too long until I can hear the door opening. It¡¯s still completely dark and I now get the purpose of the airlock-like antechamber. Slow and deliberate steps come closer to our table until I hear something being placed before me. Slight sounds of tableware being placed on the table come from all around the table immediately after. Then, a pleasant-sounding female voice speaks up. ¡°Welcome to Ben¡¯s. Your first course is now placed before you. As you are all Mages, you can detect your plate and utensils before you by simply focusing on the magical emanations. Now, please enjoy.¡± A spell is cast, and my Space Sense informs me that something before me has vanished. Suddenly, an amazing smell arrives at my nose and I breathe in deeply. Wow! They must have teleported some food coverings away¡­ I close my currently useless eyes for a moment and focus on the magic around me. The woman was right, there are slight traces of magic right before me. I can even feel the shape¡­ A knife, a fork, a spoon¡­ Of course, there is a plate and a glass as well. ¡°Bon appetite!¡± I call out before grabbing my utensils. Even with the magic sense, it¡¯s quite hard to actually find my food. While I can feel the plate, I still don¡¯t know where the food is placed on the plate. Somehow, I still manage, and I cut down my first piece of something and place it in my mouth. Double wow! It tastes like fried potato, but also bacon. Like the bacon is stuffed into a potato which was then deep fried in oil. Still, it isn¡¯t fatty¡­ Just amazingly good. I let out a small moan of pleasure which is immediately followed by my friends¡¯ own moans. That leads to laughter and finally even more moans. It¡¯s just that good! The more I explore my plate, the more things I discover until finally, the plate is empty. I wash down the final piece with a big gulp of red wine that I discovered halfway through my meal. Next, course! This was only the beginning! We call Jonathan and tell him that we¡¯re ready for the next course. He claps his hands and our empty plates vanish. Then he tells us that the second course will be ready in a few minutes.
Location: Magicon Empire; Magicon System; Terra; Imperia; FBC We arrive back at our dorm with bursting stomachs. The food was so good and with our eyes out of the picture, it felt like the taste was just a nuance more. I can¡¯t describe it, but we all agreed to eat at Ben¡¯s again as soon as we can get another reservation. The boys left after we arrived back on campus and the four of us basically fall into our beds, not able to do anything else. The food coma got its claws into us! I bid my friends goodbye and am asleep almost immediately after. Classes start again the next morning and the other three leave for their respective courses. As I don¡¯t have to go to Beginner Space Magic anymore, I¡¯ve got the morning free and go for a walk across campus. After about an hour of walking, I end up at the Gravity Ball fields and watch some random people practice. They are nowhere as good as the college teams that I¡¯m part of, but they are still fun to watch. After lunch, it¡¯s time for another round of presentations in the Exploration Course. Unfortunately, today¡¯s reports are more standard without that many special things happening to the students. In the evening, we¡¯ve got Gravity Ball training, and I meet up with Alec, Drew, and Amanda for dinner beforehand. We¡¯re joined by Frieda, John, and Gary. Those three are the remaining people on our team. We¡¯re one of three teams in FBC¡¯s first year, and we¡¯re currently also the best-ranked at the top of the table. I don¡¯t want that to change! Sure, three times seven doesn¡¯t equal 36 people who made it on the teams, but the remaining 15 are currently substitute players. They are also mostly used on the other two teams as the seven of us are just that good at the moment.This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Anyway, Frieda and John are both offensive players while Gary plays next to Alec in a defensive role. Those four are supported by Amanda who switches between both roles whenever necessary. That leaves the two special roles for Drew and me. I¡¯m the jumper, obviously and Drew operates our catchers as the controller. Frieda, the tiny brown-haired woman next to me speaks up between two bites of food. ¡°Are you excited for tomorrow?¡± Alec snorts. ¡°Obviously! Who wouldn¡¯t be? I mean we¡¯re playing against RMA¡¯s first team. They¡¯ve got a freaking ducal scion on their team!¡± Yeah, our upcoming match is the long-awaited one against RMA, against Lisa and her team. If we lose, they pass us on the table. We can¡¯t have that. ¡°True, true,¡± Frieda replies, then looks at me. ¡°Hey Sara, you¡¯ve got connections to Lisa, right? You know anything about her team?¡± I shake my head. ¡°Nope, nothing more than what we saw on the recordings of their matches. Both Lisa and I decided not to discuss our teams as it would take all the fun of the matchup.¡± ¡°Makes sense¡­ There¡¯s no honor in knowing too much about your opponent beforehand,¡± Gary¡¯s deep voice rumbles in reply. The massive young man looks exactly as one would picture a defensive player: bulging biceps, legs as big as tree trunks, and tall as hell. He¡¯s got a weird sense of honor but otherwise is a big softie. I give him a thumbs-up and grin. We go silent for another while and continue to eat. About five minutes later, Drew interrupts the silence. ¡°I think we should practice John¡¯s plan a bit more tonight¡­ It might be worth it to try it against the RMA team.¡± We all stare at him as if he¡¯s gone crazy. Even John does because John¡¯s plan is absolutely ridiculous. It completely changes our gameplay and is even riskier than playing without a goalkeeper. ¡°Are you serious?¡± I blurt out. Drew nods. ¡°Yeah¡­ I mean they obviously watched our games and they know that we play without a goalkeeper¡­ I think they are just good enough to exploit that weakness.¡± ¡°So why don¡¯t we just play with Amanda as goalkeeper? We don¡¯t have to go as far as utilizing my crazy plan¡­ You know, I invented it when I was drunk as hell, there¡¯s no way that¡¯s going to work,¡± John chimes in. Yeah, that makes sense. No one in his right mind would think of something like this. When we first practiced it, it was just for fun to cool down after training. As the whole tactic of John¡¯s plan is as fun to play as it is ridiculous, we started something like a tradition after every training session. But now Drew considers it a valid plan? That¡¯s crazy. But it¡¯s Drew¡­ So we still should consider it. He¡¯s not been wrong with his tactical analytics so far. Amanda must have thought the same, as she speaks up right before I can. ¡°Can you explain more? You¡¯ve probably got everything written down already, right?¡± Drew nods. ¡°Yeah, of course. But I think we should head over to the fields first.¡± ¡°Agreed,¡± Amanda replies. ¡°Now I¡¯m really curious about what benefits you see in an all-on assault strategy.¡± Half an hour later, we¡¯re at the Gravity Ball fields where Coaches Zero and Dalton are already waiting impatiently. ¡°About time you guys arrived!¡± Coach Zero calls out when we rush toward the locker rooms to change. ¡°Sorry, coach,¡± I say when I get back out and wait for the others on the pitch. ¡°Drew tried to convince us to try out John¡¯s tactics for real this time.¡± ¡°Seriously? Are you crazy? That¡¯s your most important game.¡± Coach Zero replies and I nod. ¡°Yeah, you know Drew¡­ He wouldn¡¯t suggest it if he wasn¡¯t sure.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true¡­ But we¡¯ll still practice your normal tactics beforehand. We can fit in the other one toward the end of training,¡± Coach Dalton throws in from the side. Meanwhile, the others have arrived and we immediately start with running a few laps to warm up our muscles. After that, the coaches throw up a simulation of an enemy team. I notice a stark difference though. There are only five holograms. I look at the two coaches who wear big grins on their faces. Oh no! Amanda next to me blanches as well and gulps. ¡°We¡¯re so dead,¡± she whispers and I silently agree. Training with the coaches participating is always a living hell. Alec calls us together to discuss some final details. A minute later, we form up on the field and are ready to start. The coaches and their hologram team stand opposite us. Coach Zero calls out. ¡°If you manage to score five goals in the next 15 minutes, I let you try out John¡¯s tactics. Otherwise, we¡¯ll continue as planned. You know¡­ Never change a running system.¡± She ends with a broad grin and a whistle signals the game¡¯s start. One of the attacking holograms kicks the ball to the right, where a catcher is waiting. I don¡¯t teleport in between, as I know that Coach Dalton is just waiting for me to do exactly that. Instead, I bide my time and slowly walk across the field. Drew positions his catchers in the meantime while Gary runs toward the receiving enemy catcher. He holds his bat at the ready and swings it at the low-flying catcher right before the ball arrives. The bat hits the catcher dead center and has it crashing to the floor where it bounces a few times before flying back up. Those things are quite robust and we learned in an earlier match against the coaches that it is perfectly legal to swat them away. Anyway, Drew has one of his own catchers positioned right in the trajectory of the ball and John is already moving close to receive the ball so that we can start a counterattack. That¡¯s when I feel a flicker of Space magic. I smile slightly. Coach Dalton was forced to make the first move. He appears right before Drew¡¯s catcher and slightly touches his bat to the ball so that the catcher misses and the ball flies on. One of the holographic attackers is now about to receive the ball. Gary reacts quickly and tackles Coach Dalton to the ground. This gives him a five-second penalty where he isn¡¯t allowed to teleport. It¡¯s a very important rule in professional games, as it eliminates the enemy jumper for five whole seconds ¨C an eternity in Gravity Ball. The rule also wasn¡¯t in place during the tryouts as the coaches wanted to see us play without any kind of contact to avoid injuries. Now though, after we had to watch a lot of safety guides, it¡¯s fair game! But that¡¯s not important right now. With Coach Dalton out of the picture, it¡¯s finally my turn! I cast my own Teleportation spell and aim for a spot between the ball and the offensive hologram. Right before I vanish, I see Coach Zero running in the same direction with a feral expression on her face. Shit! This is going to suck¡­ I reappear and quickly kick the ball toward John. I try to teleport away, but Coach Zero arrives like a steamroller and crashes into me, shoulder first. ¡°Ooooofff!¡± I exclaim and roughly land on my backside. A timer of five seconds appears on my interface. Dammit, I was too slow. I get back up and look at what¡¯s happening. John has already passed the ball toward one of Drew¡¯s catchers. From there, the ball bounces over to Frieda who jumps up, does a flip over one of the defensive holograms, and kicks the ball at the highest point of her arch. It sails toward Amanda who runs parallel to the right edge of the field and somehow misses every single one of the enemy¡¯s catchers. Frieda always does this, it¡¯s crazy. Amanda gets the ball under control and runs a few more meters before passing it to another one of Drew¡¯s catchers. He immediately flips it around and gives the ball a little bit of spin. I still have two seconds remaining on my timer. I clench my muscles in anticipation. The ball arrives at John again who ran into position right in front of the goal. He feints, then swats the ball with his bat into the top right corner of the enemy¡¯s goal. Or he would have swatted it there if not for coach Dalton appearing at the last moment to kick it away. Oh boy, this is going to be a loooong game. My timer hits zero and I¡¯m back in action! Chapter 137: Match Chapter 137: Match Location: Magicon Empire; Magicon System; Terra; Imperia; FBC In the end, we manage to score five goals in fifteen minutes, even if we still lose the game. But that doesn¡¯t matter, it was our best showing against the coaches so far, and they are visibly proud of us in the end. What that means is that we are allowed to try John¡¯s crazy tactics in a second game against them, and for a few moments, it actually works quite well before the coaches adapt and wipe the floor with us. Now, today¡¯s training is finished, and we come together in the center of the field for a final talk. ¡°I¡¯m impressed,¡± coach Dalton starts by praising us. ¡°Not only did you make us work very hard, but you also made a stupid and reckless tactic work for you.¡± Coach Zero agrees. ¡°That¡¯s true¡­ While it¡¯s far away from a tactic to use for the full game, it might be valid in certain situations. So, if you think it¡¯ll give you an advantage tomorrow, you¡¯re hereby allowed to use it.¡± Alec accepts the praise with poise and smiles broadly. ¡°Thanks, Coach Dalton, Coach Zero. We won¡¯t disappoint you!¡± The next morning comes with another round of classes, and I meet up with Lisa, Bernd, and Victor for the History of The Empire class. Normally, they all play hooky, much to the annoyance of Professor Bishop, but today, all three of them are there, and most of the other RMA students are in attendance as well. I admit, this is the first history lesson where I¡¯m not there for Professor Bishop¡¯s lesson. No, this time, I¡¯m here to trash-talk my opponents. I boldly sit next to Lisa in the back instead of my usual seat near the front of the room. Professor Bishop is not there yet, so I look at Lisa with a big grin. ¡°Are you scared yet? Because I would be¡­ We¡¯re so ready for you tonight!¡± Good thing that the others all know that I am Lisa¡¯s retainer. Otherwise, a comment like this would have caused a big uproar. Now, it only causes chuckles and calls of ¡°hear, hear¡± and whatever else. Lisa looks back at me with a deadpan expression. ¡°You wish. You¡¯ve only played against trash teams so far¡­ We¡¯re gonna show you how a real team is playing the game!¡± Before I can say something in reply, Professor Bishop, who must have arrived in the meantime, interrupts me. ¡°You can discuss your petty little rivalries after the lesson. Now it¡¯s time for me to tell you about the Great Depression during Empress Galinda Benson¡¯s reign in the years 5680 to 5695 of The Empire. It all started with¡­¡± I¡¯m not really listening, as I¡¯m still exchanging playful insults with Lisa. We keep the noise down, but the result is the same. When the lesson ends, I know next to nothing about the Great Depression¡­ Luckily, I can easily fix this with a visit to the library. History things are very well documented. But not today! I have to prepare for the game. That means no Utility magic course, and I also miss out on Lisa¡¯s weekly gathering at her apartment. Well, I don¡¯t think it even takes place today as Lisa has to prepare too. That¡¯s how I find myself standing in my dorm¡¯s small kitchen and preparing a light meal for lunch. The other three are still in their classes and will come directly to the Gravity Ball stadium afterward. I¡¯ve got another meeting with my team and the coaches in about an hour. There, we¡¯ll discuss final details and slowly start with the warm-up. Once that is done, the game can start!
It¡¯s time! Probably the most important game of this year¡¯s college Gravity Ball season can start. The winner will make a giant step toward winning the first year¡¯s championship. Apparently, there haven¡¯t been two teams head-to-head for a long time. RMA dominated the first-year¡¯s championship for decades. And now here we are. The team from FBC is at the top of the table with one point more than RMA. It¡¯s big. So big that even the second to fourth-year teams watch from the stands. Hell, I think I even saw Headmaster Benson up there in the VIP section just now. I stand together with my team in our half of the field. Lisa''s team waits for us on the other side. I know that she¡¯s playing an offensive position, but besides Donnie from Lisa¡¯s gatherings, who¡¯s wearing goalkeeper gloves, I don¡¯t know a single one of her teammates. Two of them are rather big, so my guess is that they¡¯re the defenders. But the other three¡­ I can¡¯t place them. We¡¯ll see once we get into position, I guess. The coaches from both teams stand at the sidelines, and the stands are filled to the last place. The interest in the game was so big that both our schools decided to relocate the venue to the big stadium in the heart of Imperia. It¡¯s where the Terran Spartans play normally, and I¡¯m a bit intimidated by the atmosphere. A marching band starts playing the national anthem, and the stands quiet down. Just to sing along loudly as soon as the first verse starts. After that, the referee asks us to get into position and asks the team captains to meet her in the middle. Both Alec and Lisa step forward and talk with the referee. She flips a coin and awards Alec the win. He obviously chooses that we get to start with the first kickoff, which means that we can start with attacking. He gets back into position with a smile on his face and does a fist bump with all of us. ¡°Let¡¯s do this, team!¡± He calls out, and I put on my game face. Time to teach RMA who the real champions are this year. The referee blows the whistle, and Frieda kicks the ball toward one of Drew''s catchers. Lisa¡¯s jumper reacts very aggressively and immediately teleports in between and intercepts the ball with his bat. Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. It now flies toward Lisa, who is rushing along the sidelines. I suppress a laugh at the bewildered look on the jumper¡¯s face when Drew¡¯s catcher crashes into him and, therefore eliminates him for five seconds. It¡¯s very unconventional but perfectly legal to do so. Alec is already on his way to intercept Lisa while Amanda stays close to our goal. Gary is covering the other offensive player from Lisa¡¯s team. I see a frown on Lisa¡¯s face when she is forced to pass the ball to one of their waiting catchers. That¡¯s when I teleport to intercept. I guess she wanted to make a play with their jumper. I appear right between the ball, facing the catcher. Therefore, I immediately notice it moving toward me. Nice try, but that¡¯s our move! I make a split-second decision and simply hit the ball on the top so that it¡¯s moving straight down. ¡°What are you doing?¡± I hear Drew¡¯s voice in my head when he notices me diverting from the game plan. ¡°Sorry, saw the enemy controller copying your move and had to improvise.¡± I teleport straight down and arrive on the ground under the ball, preparing to swing my bat again. We¡¯re still deep in our half of the field, so there¡¯s no defensive player close to me. Drew¡¯s specialized Communication spell is convenient. It¡¯s extremely short-range, but I can stay connected to it through teleports. That¡¯s why I don¡¯t miss Alec¡¯s reply to my improvisation comment. ¡°Gotcha, we¡¯re executing John¡¯s plan now!¡± A series of ¡°understood¡± follows, and I react accordingly. I abort my bat swing and kick the ball back toward our own goal instead. A pair of Drew¡¯s catchers receives the ball and bounces it between each other. Meanwhile, my whole team, apart from Amanda, rushes forward like madmen. Amanda jogs toward the middle line, where she stops right between Lisa and the other attacker. Drew passes the ball to her, and she immediately hits it with her bat so that it flies on toward Alec. Lisa¡¯s whole team stops for a moment, trying to comprehend what the hell we¡¯re doing. Her jumper reacts the fastest and teleports right after his penalty countdown finishes. That¡¯s my cue, and I teleport as well. I appear a bit before him and kick the ball straight up where Drew has positioned another catcher. It bounces the ball forward at an angle, and the ball finally arrives before Alec. Lisa¡¯s team loses all cohesion, and one of her defenders tries to block off Alec. The other one covers John. That leaves Frieda and Gary wide open because Lisa realized way too late that she should help out on their defense as well. Alec shouts another short command through the Communication spell, and we react accordingly. He then passes the ball over to Gary, who ducks, letting the ball fly past him. The enemy jumper appears next to him, dumbfounded, and receives another penalty, courtesy of Gary¡¯s bat. I teleport again and use my bat to stop the ball from exiting the field. Then I pass it to one of Drew¡¯s catchers and join the others in rushing forward. A few passes and one more teleport later, the ball reaches Frieda right next to the goalpost. Donnie, the goalkeeper, stretches himself to cover a large portion of the goal. But Frieda didn¡¯t earn her position in our team for nothing. Such situations are exactly where she excels. She fakes a swing with her bat and lets go of it at the end of it. The bat clatters to the ground next to the goal. Unfortunately, Donnie isn¡¯t fooled and stays in position. Frieda doesn¡¯t care, though, and continues to do something like a back handspring. Then the ball arrives, and she kicks it with her foot midway through her handspring. It flies right past the baffled goalkeeper and into the goal. One ¨C nil for us! Lisa¡¯s team didn¡¯t find their rhythm throughout the whole attack. They were always a step too late, and our overwhelming number of attacking players was too much for them. John¡¯s crazy plan actually worked! Lisa shakes her head and scowls in my direction. I smile back at her, and we form up for another kick-off. This time, Lisa gets to start. ¡°Good job, guys. Now concentrate! We can¡¯t let them score now,¡± I speak into the Communication spell once we¡¯re done cheering for our goal. The referee whistles again, and Lisa passes the ball to the second attacker. They play more conventional with straight passes and non-fancy movements across the field. I notice one very important thing, though. They are fast! So fast that our defense is immediately pressured. Even Amanda has to support both Alec and Gary in a defensive role. Our clear weakness with the missing goalkeeper becomes apparent, and both Drew and I have to make some last-minute saves. The problem is that we have to react so fast that we can¡¯t make a good pass to our teammates, so every time we save the ball on the goal line, Lisa¡¯s jumper is there and initiates a new attack. If things continue like this, it¡¯s only a matter of time until one of us messes up and they score. ¡°We need to take out their jumper!¡± I call out through our Communication spell. ¡°How?¡± Amanda asks in reply. Drew comes up with a plan. ¡°Amanda, stay close to Alec¡­ Sara, I try to save the next ball about a meter before our goal line and make it drop straight down. We¡¯ve only kicked the ball far out so far, that might cause a second of confusion for their jumper. Once it drops, I need you to pass it on to Alec. The jumper will intercept, but Amanda can catch him if he¡¯s close. And uh, if I mess up, save it on the line, and we try again.¡± I can¡¯t come up with something better in the split second we took to talk, so I agree. Amanda sends her agreement too, and slowly gets closer to Alec, who is currently busy covering Lisa. It doesn¡¯t take long until the other attacker gets into position and takes another shot at our goal. Two of Drew¡¯s catchers move out to meet it and manage to make a weird double bounce. But it works! The ball loses its momentum and begins to fall down. I catch a look of surprise on the other jumper¡¯s face just before I teleport and continue to pass the ball toward Alec. The jumper shakes his head and proceeds to teleport as well. As always, he gets the ball before it arrives, even close to Alec¡¯s bat, but the damage is done! Amanda is in range and swings the bat at his back. He swears loudly when he enters his five-second penalty. Even better, Amanda gets control of the ball, and for the first time in what feels like minutes, we can start our own attack. And what an attack it is. The ball flicks between John, Frieda, Amanda, and two of Drew¡¯s catchers and finally arrives up in the air close to the left goalpost. I teleport and kick it in. Two ¨C nil! The goal comes at a cost. Donnie was already jumping toward the ball when I arrived. So instead of catching the ball, he catches me¡­ Which leads to a penalty, effective immediately after Lisa¡¯s kickoff. A penalty that hurts because Lisa scores a goal before my five-second time is over¡­ Two ¨C one. After that, we try John¡¯s tactic a second time¡­ It backfires spectacularly. One of Lisa¡¯s defensive players intercepts the ball and passes it straight forward. Their jumper is a fraction of a second faster than me and kicks it toward Lisa, who just has to swat it into our empty goal. Two both. Then it¡¯s halftime, and we enter our cabin. Coach Zero is furious and yells at us to get it together. Coach Dalton plays the good cop and says we¡¯re doing good so far but asks us to stop trying John¡¯s tactic. The surprise is out of the bag, and it won¡¯t work again, he says. The second half starts with a kick-off for Lisa. This time, we manage to defend quite easily because the other attacker makes a slight mistake. A quick counterattack leads to John scoring his first goal. Three ¨C two. After that, it goes back and forth until the score is five ¨C five, a few moments before the final whistle. Lisa¡¯s team started playing it very safe a few minutes ago. I¡¯ve got the feeling that they are happy with the draw. But we¡¯re not, and so we start one final push toward the goal. Alec and Gary stay back to defend against a possible counterattack ¨C we¡¯ve learned our lesson. The other five of us focus on the attack and pass the ball through our rows. Then it happens! Three seconds before the game is over, one of Drew¡¯s catchers manages to hit the other jumper in the back. He¡¯s out of the game! We react lightning-quick and go all in. After a short discussion, Alec joins the attack as well, and we overwhelm Lisa¡¯s defense. The ball reaches me, and I kick it in with the final whistle. We all look at the referee. She nods. The goal still counts! Six ¨C five. We¡¯ve won! The cheers are endless. Chapter 138: Post Match Chapter 138: Post Match Location: Magicon Empire; Magicon System; Terra; Imperia; Spartans Stadium Lisa is the first to come over and congratulate me. She hugs me right in the middle of the field, and the cheers somehow get even louder. After that, I shake hands with Lisa¡¯s other teammates and the referee. Alec, Frieda, Drew, John, Amanda, and Gary do the same. Then, we all slowly walk back through the player tunnel into the changing rooms. I can still hear a few claps and whistles, even through something like three closed doors. But slowly but surely, the noise dies down as the spectators leave the stands. Once we¡¯re changed and showered, the seven of us meet back up in the common room of our team¡¯s area, where our coaches are waiting for us. This leads to another round of high-fives before Coach Zero speaks up. ¡°That was amazing! Great job. We won¡¯t hold you off today¡­ Go celebrate. We can do the post-match discussion tomorrow.¡± Coach Dalton nods along sagely while taking a big gulp from a bottle that looks suspiciously like vodka. He finishes with an ¡°aaaahh!¡± and then speaks up. ¡°Do as she says, we won¡¯t do anything else. You should have seen the faces of the RMA coaches. Hah, that brought them back down from their ¡°we are better than you trip!¡± Now we¡¯re off, I¡¯ve got a bottle to kill.¡± The coaches leave, and I stare at the now-closed door, dumbfounded. Wow, drunk Coach Dalton certainly is something. ¡°Hey Sara, aren¡¯t you close to Lisa Song or something?¡± Frieda¡¯s comment shakes me out of it. I look at her and nod. ¡°Yeah, why?¡± ¡°Well, do you think her team would want to join us when we go out somewhere? Or will they be angry because they lost?¡± I think for a moment, then shake my head. ¡°Naahh, Lisa isn¡¯t like this. I think they¡¯d be down if we asked. Wanna go over with me and check?¡± ¡°Sure!¡± I look at the others, and they all either nod or give me a thumbs-up. Then I leave the room together with Frieda, and we cross the hallway to stop before another door. Frieda lifts her hand and knocks. A few seconds later, Donnie opens the door. His sad face disappears once he sees me, and he puts on a goofy grin. He turns around to shout into the room. ¡°Guys, pizza girl is here!¡± I snort and punch his shoulder. Frieda gives me a weird look. ¡°Donnie is an idiot,¡± I reply with a chuckle. She shakes her head but doesn¡¯t comment. Seconds later, Lisa joins us and asks what¡¯s up. ¡°We wanted to ask if you guys would be down to go out in the city with us.¡± Donnie and Lisa share a look, then Lisa replies. ¡°Oh, absolutely. We¡¯d love to. When can we leave?¡± Now it''s Frieda¡¯s and my turn to share a look. I shrug, and Frieda replies. ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­ Right now?¡± ¡°Sounds perfect, just give us five minutes to pack our things,¡± Lisa answers. Before the two of them can step back into the room, a voice coming from my right clears its throat. ¡°Lady Song, one moment, please.¡± We all stop and turn. Standing about five meters away from us is a middle-aged man wearing a suit. His hair is gelled back with about a ton of the stuff. He smiles slightly and continues to speak. ¡°I¡¯m really sorry to cross your plans like this, but your mother, the Duchess, would like to meet you before you go out tonight.¡± He then looks at me. ¡°She¡¯s also asking for your presence, Miss Green. If you¡¯d please follow me, I¡¯ll lead you to her Grace¡¯s lounge.¡± Lisa nods and says a few words to Donnie. I do the same with Frieda, telling her that they can text me the location they end up in, and I¡¯ll join them as soon as possible. Then, Lisa and I follow the butler dude toward an elevator. It¡¯s already waiting for us, and we step inside. The butler dude presses the top button, and we shoot upward. The music barely starts playing, and then we already arrive with a ding. The doors open to a hallway, and butler dude asks us to follow him. We pass a few doors, which are all to our left, and if my sense of orientation is correct, this is the side where the Gravity Ball field is located. So I guess these are V.I.P. areas or something. After about ten doors, there is a noticeable gap. The eleventh door is much further apart. A bigger room? Of course, butler dude stops right before the eleventh door and knocks. Seconds later, it swings open, and butler dude beckons us to enter. He stays outside and closes the door behind me. I barely notice because I¡¯m distracted by what I see before me! And I¡¯m not talking about the room¡­ Sure, it looks better than every designer outlet, and the paintings on the walls are probably worth a fortune. If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. But no, what catches my gaze are the two people on the sofa facing us. They¡¯re happily talking about who knows what while sipping on their sparkling wine. ¡°Mom?¡± Lisa calls out. ¡°Dad?!¡± I blurt out at the same time. ¡°What are you doing here?¡± ¡°Oh, hey, kids,¡± Dad puts his glass aside and smiles a goofy smile. ¡°Fancy seeing you here.¡± Finally, my mind catches up with what I just said, and I look around with a mild panic. Luckily, the room is empty. Close one. I¡¯m an idiot. Lisa¡¯s the first one to find her words again. She inclines her head toward Dad. ¡°Duke Valterion¡­ Nice to see you.¡± Dad, of course, interrupts her. ¡°Nothing of that, Lisa! You¡¯re a close friend of Sara¡¯s, so call me Aidan or Uncle Dan if you want.¡± Xin Song, next to him, snorts. ¡°As if she would call you uncle. Your sons never called me Aunt Xin.¡± ¡°True,¡± he chuckles. ¡°Anyway, please sit down. We have to celebrate your match, and we¡¯ve got some news for you.¡± We do as he asks while I think about what just happened. It becomes more and more obvious that the Big Five act like one giant family. Two champagne glasses appear before us, and we raise them for a short ¡°cheers.¡± Both Dad and Xin Song congratulate us for our outstanding performances today before Dad starts to make a few funny jabs again. This time, I¡¯m the victim¡­ ¡°You should really stop calling the Duke of the Valterion family Dad, Miss Green. Some people might start to suspect something.¡± Lisa almost spits out her drink and chokes on it. I give him a dry laugh in reply. ¡°Yeah, yeah¡­ I know, Dad.¡± That even gets a short laugh out of Duchess Song. I look at her and tilt my head. Then I shoot a mischievous smile toward Dad. ¡°So, Aunt Xin, what news do you have for us?¡± Dad¡¯s mouth drops open in shock. ¡°You didn¡¯t!¡± ¡°Sure did.¡± Duchess Song speaks up with a big grin. ¡°You better pay up, Dan. Anyway, yes, we¡¯ve got some exciting news for you. Lisa, you¡¯re with us?¡± Lisa shakes herself out of her laughter. ¡°Yeah, sorry, I¡¯m listening.¡± ¡°Good, have you heard about the Junior National Team?¡± While I vaguely remember to have read the name before, Lisa jumps up. ¡°No way! Are you saying what I¡¯m thinking? That¡¯s insane!¡± ¡°Yes way, the scouts were here in the neighboring box¡­ And well, you know us. We might have eavesdropped a bit¡­ Let¡¯s just say they were impressed. A lot. So I think you¡¯ve got a good chance of getting a call soon. Your controller friend too, Sara.¡± I nod slowly. ¡°I¡¯m not sure I understand¡­ I¡¯ve heard the name before, and national teams sounds big, but what¡¯s the deal?¡± Lisa looks at me with big eyes. ¡°Right, I always forget that you didn¡¯t grow up here¡­ Sorry, bad words! The Junior Team is the biggest thing ever. The best young players throughout the whole Magicon Empire! They play against their counterparts from all the other nations out there. But the crazy part is that the players are almost exclusively fourth-years and fresh graduates. And now they are considering adding us! Can you believe it?¡± I have to admit, that sounds amazing. Getting to play against the best young players of other nations out there will be really big. And it also means we are part of the best players within the whole Magicon Empire! ¡°Wow!¡± Is all I reply. Dad chuckles. ¡°Just don¡¯t let it get to your head¡­ The Earth Adventure happens before that anyway, so you¡¯ve got time to mentally prepare for it. It might also be worth considering getting rid of Sara Green then¡­ The Junior National Team is a great way to get your name out there, you know.¡± I nod at him. ¡°Yeah, I know¡­ The disguise is starting to bring more issues than benefits. I think after our time on Earth, it¡¯s time for the big announcement Grandpa John wants to make.¡± Lisa does a quick double-take but then looks like she remembers that I am indeed directly related to the Emperor. Dad gives me a thumbs-up. ¡°That sounds like a plan. I¡¯ll tell John and your mother so that they can start some preparations.¡± ¡°Thanks, Dad!¡± Xin Song looks at Dad and speaks up too. ¡°Just don¡¯t forget about little old me. We still have to fix the little mess our daughters brought upon us with the retainership.¡± She then looks back at us. ¡°But that doesn¡¯t concern you right now¡­ So go out and celebrate! Your friends should have arrived by now.¡± I check my interface, and there really is a message from Frieda. They found a nice place to hang out and are waiting for us to join them. Lisa¡¯s team is with them, which probably explains why it¡¯s an Italian restaurant - we¡¯re talking about Donnie after all. The message also includes the directions from the closest jump room, which means we¡¯re pretty much ready to go. I look at Lisa, and she nods, clearly thinking the same. We say our goodbyes and end up hugging our respective parent each, then I cast a Teleportation spell, and we vanish.
The evening out with Lisa¡¯s team was very nice. We had a very good time and stayed up way too long. Luckily, I now know Tim¡¯s Anti-Hangover spell and also a weak version of a Refreshment spell. That¡¯s why I¡¯m completely fine to visit my Leadership course on Wednesday morning. Today, the instructor tells us that we¡¯ll be doing something different. As we¡¯ve learned a lot about leadership in the past months, he thinks now it¡¯s time to do a bit of a practical exercise to apply our knowledge. Therefore, he divides the class into groups of ten people and gives each of them an assignment. Each group has to show an example of bad and good leadership concerning a situation. My group¡¯s job is to prepare a role-play where a CEO has to inform his employees that 15% of all jobs in the company have to be cut because of an economic downturn. We¡¯re pretty quick to find an example of bad leadership, and I get to play the CEO while most of the others take roles of different employees. Additionally, one also plays a member of the worker¡¯s union. We form up in one corner of the classroom, and I stand before the nine others in my group. Well, standing is the wrong word¡­ I stand on top of my telekinetic bench so that I¡¯m physically above all the others, and they have to look up to me. A camera drone floats close to my face, and I put on a smug expression. I stare them down for a good 30 seconds before I speak up with a bored voice. ¡°We failed to reach our targeted annual revenue. Therefore, we have to start cutting down on our expenses! That starts with the low performers among you.¡± I pause for dramatic effect, then lift my arm and point at two different people. ¡°You and you, you missed your sales target¡­ You¡¯re fired.¡± I continue to point out other people and list different reasons why they are fired. ¡°You¡¯ve been sick too many days ¨C fired! You¡¯re a fan of the Drevin Cowboys ¨C fired! You two look ugly ¨C fired!¡± The workers union guy cries out in outrage, but I just grin at him. ¡°You¡¯ve annoyed me for a long time now¡­ You¡¯re fired!¡± We end our recording, and I cringe inwardly. That was so bad! I really hope such things don¡¯t happen in real life! Now comes the hard part¡­ We have to do the same again with an example of good leadership. I find this exponentially harder as the situation doesn¡¯t change¡­ The leader still has to fire some employees. How can we make this a better experience for everyone involved? In the end, we don¡¯t come up with anything concrete when the lesson ends. Luckily, we can continue with the assignment during the weekend and next week¡¯s lesson. As I¡¯m not present in next week¡¯s lesson, my group decides to meet up on Saturday afternoon. I hope we can come up with something then! After that, I leave the classroom and meet up with Lydia. Time for another round of Improvised Combat! Chapter 139: Security (1) Chapter 139: Security (1) Location: Magicon Empire; Magicon System; Terra; Imperia; FBC Friday comes with something special: The first of the courses I¡¯m playing taxi for is entering its final phase. That means that next week, I¡¯ll be somewhere out there, teleporting a group of other students across the stars. I''m invited to join their lesson on Friday to properly prepare for that and learn what the course is about. That¡¯s where I¡¯m heading right now. As I still have Grandpa John¡¯s words of me being spoiled on my mind, I decide to walk there, I¡¯m early anyway. So, I stroll across campus and wave at the other people who recognize me from the Gravity Ball game on Tuesday. Ever since then, my whole team turned into something like celebrities at FBC. We¡¯re the first team to beat RMA for a long time and I guess that¡¯s worth celebrating for the other students. Anyway, I reach building 09 and take the elevator to level 27, which is about halfway up the tower. Arriving there, I walk down the hallway to my left and enter the door that¡¯s highlighted on my interface shortly after. I stop at the threshold and look around. There they are! I haven¡¯t had much contact with the group that hired me for this course, but at least I still remember their faces. The three boys and two girls sit in the front row but are all facing the entrance in the back. That¡¯s why they all immediately start to wave when they recognize me standing there. I smile and wave back, then I quickly walk over to them. ¡°Hi there, long time no see,¡± I greet them and sit down next to the brown-haired girl sitting at the outermost seat. I shamelessly cheat and have my interface displaying their names above their heads. The girl next to me is called Caroline. She grins at me. ¡°Are you excited too? I can barely wait for next week!¡± I nod. ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s a nice change of pace. I actually look forward to taking a role in the background for once. Those past weeks have been quite stressful, especially with my own Exploration course.¡± ¡°Oh, I get that,¡± Caroline replies. ¡°I mean college is stressful enough with the courses I have. I can¡¯t imagine taking up extra work and carrying people around. So thank you so much for helping us out!¡± I hold up my hands in a placating gesture. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m actually not running that many courses this year, so I¡¯m good.¡± ¡°Oh, good. Thanks anyway, you¡¯re a lifesaver.¡± She turns to look at one of the boys. ¡°Hey Stan, do you have the shirt with you?¡± Shirt? The blue-haired young man with the name Stanley above his head gives a thumbs-up. ¡°Sure have, one moment.¡± He bents down and opens his bag. That¡¯s when I notice all five of them wearing the same shirt. It shows a muscled figure with crossed arms and a very stern expression on their face. Above and below it are the words ¡°S.C.S.P.U.K. Security ¨C We keep you safe and sound!¡± I look at them, dumbfounded. ¡°You guys made uniforms?¡± Caroline nods eagerly. ¡°Yeah, we sure did. It¡¯s our fictional company named after the first letters of our names.¡± She points at the second S of the capitalized letters at the beginning of the name. ¡°Yours is included as well, look!¡± I can¡¯t help it and chuckle while I accept the shirt from Stan. Somehow this is too cute. With a shrug, I put it over my other clothes. It takes a while longer until the instructor arrives so I take the time to get acquainted with the group a bit more. Besides Stan and Caroline, there is Paul, Ulia, and Kevin. They are all very grateful for my help and I keep telling them that I¡¯m happy to do so. Finally, a man walks in and closes the doors behind him. Caroline leans over and whispers in my ear. ¡°That¡¯s Instructor Schmidt¡­ He looks so hot,¡± she sighs. Schmidt, huh? He doesn¡¯t look that part at all. He¡¯s tall with black hair and broad as hell. His thighs are literal tree trunks and his dark shirt looks like it¡¯s about to burst. He slowly walks toward the front and I can see the muscles rippling beneath his clothes. I whisper back at Caroline with a raised eyebrow. ¡°Schmidt, Schmidt?¡± She nods. ¡°Yeah, but not from the main line¡­ At least he said so when he introduced himself. Not that I care¡­ He could be named Idiot and I would happily jump on him.¡± She sighs again. Looks like she¡¯s hopelessly fallen for him. I suppress a laugh and turn around so that I¡¯m facing the front where the instructor stopped behind a desk. The others turn around too, and slowly the conversations throughout the room die down. Instructor Schmidt smiles. ¡°Good morning, everyone. It¡¯s a special day, as we¡¯ve got some guests here with us today. Welcome young Space Mages to the Security course. I¡¯ve heard my name whispered a few times already, but I still think it¡¯s best if I introduce myself real quick.¡± Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. I could swear he looked at Caroline when he said that part and is that amusement in his eyes? ¡°My name is Marius Schmidt, and yes it¡¯s the Schmidt name.¡± Yeah, he definitely heard us as he¡¯s now looking at me. I glance at Caroline and see her blushing deeply. Looks like she noticed too. Oh well. ¡°But don¡¯t bother with addressing me with any fancy titles or something. I¡¯m about as far away from the main line as Terra is from The Empire¡¯s borders.¡± Okay, that¡¯s pretty far, as we¡¯re right in the center here. I¡¯m still going to ask Bernd about him when I see him again. ¡°But enough about me. You¡¯re here for the Security course and even if you¡¯re only playing taxi, you should still have a basic understanding of what this actually means. That¡¯s what we¡¯re going to discuss today. First, I will give the newcomers among you a quick introduction to the course¡¯s contents, then we¡¯ll talk about the actual assessment that will happen next week out there in The Empire¡¯s star systems.¡± He waves his hand and a projection appears beside him. It shows something like an almost empty whiteboard that¡¯s divided in the middle. The only content is the Peacekeeper logo on top of the right half. ¡°There are two parts of security that together form a protective cocoon throughout The Empire¡¯s space. The more famous part is the Peacekeepers, our military. They protect us from external threats like acts of war or other acts of aggression against our nation. The important part here is the word external. While the Peacekeepers obviously handle internal matters if they are close, their main focus is external threats.¡± The board fills itself while he is talking until the right side below the Peacekeeper logo is filled. Then he points at the still-empty part of the board. ¡°Now it should be obvious that focusing on external threats unfortunately can¡¯t be enough¡­ As regrettable as it sounds, there are still internal threats to consider as well. The main issue here is pirates and freighters. While there are Peacekeeper ships stationed in every star system, not all of them can have a Senior or above Space Mage aboard. This restricts their quick-response capabilities quite a lot. ¡°That¡¯s where people like you come in. If you so choose, you can fill this second part of the security cocoon in The Empire. I¡¯m talking about private security. People who escort freighters along their trade routes, people who hunt down pirates, or whatever else makes The Empire a safer place!¡± While he speaks, the left half of the board fills itself with examples as well. I find it quite interesting because somehow I always thought the Security course was all about border control and things like that. But now I realize that I was being a bit dumb. Border control is obviously in the Peacekeeper¡¯s hands. I literally experienced it myself after all¡­ Securing trade routes though? Yeah, I can see that being handled by non-military personnel. I guess that business is worth a LOT of money. And if you¡¯d secure every single trade route with a Peacekeeper presence, you¡¯d need billions of them¡­ That¡¯s not sustainable, especially during times of war. So yeah, I didn¡¯t expect the Security course to go in that direction, but after the instructor¡¯s short explanation, it makes a lot of sense. Now I¡¯m very curious what our actual assessment will be like. Luckily, instructor Schmidt doesn¡¯t let me wait and continues to speak. ¡°Now that the newcomers among you have a quick overview of what the Security course is about, I¡¯ll continue with talking about the actual assessment that will take place next week. Each group will be assigned to a college-owned starship. You will then receive a set of coordinates at which you will be meeting up with a freighter who has asked for protection. You will provide this protection!¡± The hologram of the two columns of security next to him vanishes and he steps a bit closer to where we¡¯re all sitting. ¡°Most of you have learned what this entails during the past months, but I¡¯ll still give a quick summary for our helping hands. Trade route security is more than simply flying escort. It also includes giving the freighter crew a helping hand whenever possible. This could be helping with customs or smoothing things over with border control. You¡¯re basically keeping the freighter secure while supporting them to have the most positive travel experience.¡± He waves his hand and another hologram appears next to him. This time it looks like a checklist. ¡°Now, I obviously won¡¯t throw you into cold water and send you out on an experience that could endanger you for real. Therefore, your whole trip with the freighter has been thoroughly planned by me and other members of the college staff. Also, to simplify grading, every group will experience the same situations. These are noted on the checklist next to me. You should also receive your own copy right about now.¡± The checklist next to him fills in, and I get a notification on my interface at the same time. Let¡¯s see¡­ Interesting¡­ That¡¯s quite different from the Explanation course. But especially the customs officials line is bothering me¡­ How is it a challenge when we already know that they will be corrupt? Instructor Schmidt continues to speak after a moment of silence. ¡°Now you¡¯re probably wondering about a few things¡­ Like how is this assessment a challenge for us? Well, let me explain. Mostly, it¡¯s about reacting. You don¡¯t know when something will happen. And when it happens, it¡¯ll be quick, so you have to stay ready. Also, for example, the corrupt customs officials¡­ It sounds easy right now, but your trip will take you through multiple inspections, so you won¡¯t know which one includes the corrupt officials. ¡°And now, one final thing before I¡¯m open for questions. As this is a training exercise, there won¡¯t be any live weapons! This also means no offensive spells. The A&D Mages among you have learned a Tracer spell, that can be used as a replacement during the pirate attack. The pirates will be using the same spell.¡± Ahh, so the pirates will be college staff as well. That¡¯s good to know. I wonder if we can capture them too. Anyway, instructor Schmidt finishes his explanation and then there are obviously questions. Most of them concern some clarifications or similar things. Surprisingly, my group doesn¡¯t have any questions. Instead, they look like they want to depart immediately. I look at Caroline. ¡°Don¡¯t you have anything to ask as well?¡± She shakes her head. ¡°Nope, we prepared for months¡­ Now we¡¯re as ready as we can be. We¡¯ve got the checklist, that¡¯s enough. If it¡¯s okay with you, we can leave and start planning for real now that we know what to expect.¡± I glance at the instructor in the front who¡¯s currently busy explaining why we won¡¯t be using live weapons. ¡°What about him? Won¡¯t he take offense when we leave right now?¡± ¡°No, once he asks for questions, the lesson is officially over and people can leave.¡± I shrug in response. ¡°Alright, I¡¯m only your taxi anyway. Let¡¯s leave!¡± Chapter 140: Security (2) Chapter 140: Security (2) Location: Magicon Empire; Valterion Duchy; Stylus System; BCS Darklight The wormhole ends, and we arrive in a new star system with a purple flash. It¡¯s the sixth time that this has happened and it means we¡¯ve finally arrived at our destination. Our trip started Sunday evening. Now it¡¯s Monday evening and we¡¯re aboard the Darklight, our home for the next week. It¡¯s a smaller ship, about half the size of the Stargazer and apparently, the class of the ship is simply called escort ship. That¡¯s also what we¡¯re about to do. The freighter we¡¯re about to provide security for is docked at a nearby space station, and Kevin who¡¯s piloting the Darklight sets a course. That also means that I can finally relax. My job is done for now. I should only be needed once we leave the Stylus System and start our journey. Therefore, I say goodnight to Kevin and Stan and go to my cabin to do what everyone else is already doing. Once the door closes behind me, I undress and fall into my bed. I pull up the blanket and almost immediately fall asleep. I awake the next morning to find us already underway. When I access the external cameras with my interface, I see us cruising along with the ginormous freighter. I also notice a second escort ship. That¡¯s probably the real security team for the freighter. Anyway, a quick breakfast and shower later has me walking back onto the bridge where I find the whole crew up and awake. Only Kevin and Stan look a bit tired, but I think they¡¯ve got their portion of sleep as well. ¡°Morning,¡± I call out and sit down on one of the empty seats. ¡°Hi, Sara,¡± Caroline replies while the others wave. ¡°Anything happened while I was asleep?¡± Caroline shakes her head. ¡°No, nothing. But we have our first wormhole coming up soon, which means we have to coordinate with the other escort.¡± ¡°Huh? I thought they were here because we¡¯re just students.¡± ¡°They are,¡± Paul chimes in. ¡°But most of the time escorts work in pairs so that one ship can go through the wormhole and secure the arrival point while the other ship stays with the freighter.¡± Oh, that makes sense. ¡°Thanks, Paul¡­ But aren¡¯t we still a liability with our training ammunition?¡± He nods. ¡°We are, that¡¯s why the other escort has a Master Space Mage with them so that they can always jump to the freighter within moments.¡± Ahh, that also makes sense¡­ Especially the Master Space Mage on the other ship. Some wormholes reach further than 100 light years after all. I nod in understanding. ¡°Then I better get ready for the jump. Are we going to jump ahead or are we the rearguard?¡± Stan taps his head. ¡°That¡¯s what I¡¯m discussing right now.¡± So that was the spell I noticed earlier. I give him a thumbs up and ask Clara to show me the wormhole we¡¯re approaching. My interface reacts immediately and shows me a wormhole floating in space. Close to it is another space station. It¡¯s a smaller one, barely 100 meters in diameter. It¡¯s probably only there to coordinate trips through the wormhole. A tap on my interface brings up more details. It¡¯s a surprisingly long wormhole with an estimated travel time of just under two hours. It also covers quite a distance and doesn¡¯t even lead to another star system. Instead, it leads to a waypoint between systems before another wormhole connects to the Lomali System where the freighter we¡¯re escorting is supposed to deliver half its load. While I was going over the wormhole details, Stan must have finished his call with the other escort. He clears his throat before speaking up. ¡°Alright, as it¡¯s our first jump with the freighter, they want us to jump ahead. The waystation is heavily fortified, so there shouldn¡¯t be any danger. We¡¯re still supposed to do our standard survey and then report back.¡± He looks at me. ¡°Are you ready to jump again, Sara? You were quite exhausted last night.¡± I give him a thumbs-up. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m fine. How long until we¡¯re close enough?¡± Ulia looks up from her navigation station. ¡°Computer says about 20 minutes¡­ So we can probably make it in fifteen if we hit the gas a little.¡± I not at her in thanks, and then I continue studying the upcoming wormhole. Fifteen minutes later, we¡¯re in range and the Darklight slows down. As soon as the others give me a go-ahead sign, I focus on the Wormhole Navigation spell and pull us in. For the next two hours, the ship is mine.
Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. Location: Magicon Empire; Valterion Duchy; Waystation; BCS Darklight I finish our trip through the wormhole without any issues. The main screen in front of the bridge shifts and starts showing the outside of the ship. Stan was right. That¡¯s a literal fortress of a space station. ¡°We¡¯re being hailed!¡± Caroline calls out before accepting the call. She must have linked it to her interface, as I don¡¯t hear the other half of the conversation. Caroline informs the person on the other end who we are and what we¡¯re doing here. Then she continues to coordinate the freighter¡¯s arrival. Meanwhile, Kevin, Paul, and Ulia handle the Darklight¡¯s sensors and after confirming that there is no threat nearby, they give Stan a thumbs-up. He in turn casts another Communication spell and contacts the other escort ship that stayed with the freighter. I imagine him telling them that they are good to enter the wormhole. I fade into the background. My work is done for a while¡­ I¡¯m starting to feel some kind of useless. Like a third wheel on a wagon. I know that my role is crucial and they couldn¡¯t do their job without me, but that doesn¡¯t make it less boring. I mean I handle the wormholes, then I do just nothing for hours¡­ I just¡­ I expected those taxi missions to be more exciting. A few hours later, the freighter arrives, and shortly after, the second escort ship is here too. The freighter does a really short stop at the space station before we head out toward the next wormhole. This time we¡¯re the rearguard which means even more waiting. I¡¯m starting to regret accepting so many taxi missions. This is only the first. Anyway, the other escort ship vanishes through the wormhole which means the freighter is now the Darklight¡¯s responsibility. For the first thirty minutes, nothing happens and I start a card game with Caroline, Stan, and Paul while the other two keep watch. Then things change when the communication console notifies us of an incoming call. Ulia is the closest and accepts it. She has it on speaker, so I immediately notice that it¡¯s the freighter calling us. They report some strange noises within their freight area and ask us to take a look before we take the trip through the wormhole. This sounds suspiciously like the stowaway challenge instructor Schmidt warned us about. The others think the same, and suddenly there¡¯s action aboard the Darklight. We all suit up in armored spacewalker suits and I get ready to teleport us over to the freighter. The crew already sent us arrival coordinates, so it should be very easy to do so. Stan meanwhile contacts the other escort and informs them of the situation. Then we¡¯re ready to go. Stan and Caroline stay back to take care of the Darklight and to provide external security for the freighter. That means that I teleport with Kevin, Paul, and Ulia over to the freighter. We arrive with a purple flash right in the middle of what looks like the mess hall of the freighter. One member of the crew greets us and shows us the way to the cargo section. Then we¡¯re on our own and start looking for the stowaway. Ulia casts a Shield spell around all of us, then we slowly walk forward. I stay in the back and focus on my Space Sense. I don¡¯t know if detecting people around me is even a thing with that ability, but it doesn¡¯t hurt to try. Not that I have anything else to do. Turns out it is a thing. That ability is ridiculously overpowered! I detect a faint movement some 100 meters to our right. Sure, it also could be a robot, but what are the odds? ¡°Uhh, guys?¡± Kevin turns around. ¡°Yeah, what is it?¡± ¡°Am I allowed to help?¡± The four of them exchange a look before they all shrug. Kevin is the one to reply again. ¡°I don¡¯t see why not¡­ Why are you asking?¡± I point to our right. ¡°Uhh, because I think our target is right there¡­ About a hundred meters away.¡± They stare at me, dumbfounded. ¡°For real?¡± Ulia mutters and I nod. She shrugs again and begins walking toward where I was pointing. Her shield spell follows her along and we all quickly move after her. I hear her muttering. ¡°Sure, let¡¯s try a random guess. Not that I have any better idea.¡± We get closer and closer to where I sensed something. Slowly but surely, the picture gets clearer in my mind¡¯s eye. When we¡¯re just 50 meters away, I can confirm that it is indeed a person. They are cowering somewhere, probably hiding behind something. I relay the information to the others who give me strange looks. ¡°Overpowered Space Mages,¡± Paul whispers under his breath. I hold back a chuckle. We¡¯re almost there. Kevin must have noticed something because he lifts his hands and calls out. ¡°Freeze! Come out with your hands where we can see them! Slowly!¡± I feel a spell being readied. Then, a man walks out behind a nearby crate. He doesn¡¯t show any fear and holds a small disc in his hand. ¡°May I?¡± He points at the disc. Kevin keeps his magic ready but nods. ¡°Yes, but slowly.¡± The man taps the disc and a hologram of instructor Schmidt appears. ¡°Congratulations, you just caught your stowaway! Keep the disc and give it to me when you¡¯re back. And now please let the stowaway,¡± the hologram makes air quotes, ¡°get back to work.¡± The hologram vanishes and the man flicks it over toward Kevin. He in turn lets his magic disappear and catches the disc. ¡°That¡¯s it?¡± He asks in confusion. The other man chuckles. ¡°Sure, that¡¯s how most situations like this end. I mean what could I have done? You had your spell ready to incapacitate me or whatever else you were about to let loose. The outcome is the same. Once I¡¯m found, there¡¯s no running away. But tell me one thing¡­ How did you find me so fast? I thought my hiding place was pretty good.¡± Everyone looks at me while Paul goes so far as to point at my head. ¡°Dunno how, but she immediately sensed you.¡± The man raises an eyebrow while looking me up and down. ¡°Uh huh¡­¡± He doesn¡¯t comment further. Weird. Ten minutes later, we reappear aboard the Darklight with a purple flash. Stan and Caroline welcome us back and they have news. ¡°We just received a call from the other escort,¡± Caroline greets us. ¡°They arrived in the Lomali System and confirmed that the area around the wormhole is safe which means we can proceed as soon as we¡¯re ready. Stan already talked with the freighter crew and they told us that they are ready to go as soon as you guys finish up with the stowaway. Are you good to go, Sara?¡± I nod at her. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m fine. It was just a short jump¡­ I can manage a wormhole.¡± ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll tell the freighter crew,¡± Stan replies and casts a quick spell to do exactly that. Thirty minutes later, I¡¯m well into the wormhole and hold the Darklight steadily on course. Ever since I became a pseudo-Archmage, I barely need any assistance from my AI¡­ The Wormhole Navigation spell flows just so smoothly, and in combination with my Space Sense, I immediately detect any issue and can compensate before Clara has to jump in. Another thirty minutes pass, then I¡¯m ready to bring us back into real space. The wormhole is about to end and I give the spell a final push. We emerge right behind the freighter. Everything went smoothly! Stan and Kevin are the only ones left on the bridge. The others went all to sleep a bit earlier. I get up to join them. While I exit the room, I feel Stan cast another Communication spell. Probably to coordinate with the other escort. Then I hear Kevin gasp and turn around a final time. The main view screen now shows what¡¯s been covered by the freighter before: The Lomali System. I can¡¯t hold back my own gasp. So that¡¯s where my family is building their starships! Chapter 141: Security (3) Chapter 141: Security (3) Location: Magicon Empire; Valterion Duchy; Lomali System; BCS Darklight One word: Gigantic! Now I know why my parents prefer to keep all the production out of our home system. There simply wouldn¡¯t be any space for it. The giant shipyards float in empty space throughout the whole system. The view screen shows ships in various states of completeness, ranging through all sizes. ¡°Quite the sight, huh?¡± Stan chuckles. He must have finished his call already. ¡°Yeah¡­¡± That¡¯s all I say. I literally don¡¯t have the words for it. It¡¯s like the whole star system is one giant factory. And everything belongs to my family¡­ ¡°Don¡¯t worry, you¡¯ll get used to it faster than you might think. We might even have time for a short sightseeing tour at the shipyard, where the freighter makes its delivery. It would certainly be worth it.¡± I focus on Stan and raise an eyebrow. ¡°You seem strangely familiar with this place.¡± ¡°Oh, I am. It¡¯s my home after all. My parents own a company that sells navigation equipment, so it makes sense to be based where it is needed.¡± I nod in acknowledgment and sit back down on an empty seat. My tiredness is forgotten for now. What¡¯s outside is way too interesting. The freighter ignites its drives and slowly begins moving forward. The Darklight and the other escort ship fly along left and right of it. I lean back in my seat and intently watch the screen. During the next hour, we slowly pass various shipyards. One of them was even building a ship the size of Adrian¡¯s Maxima! Stan still shows his calm indifference. I guess I would be the same if I grew up here. Something my damn kidnappers took from me! Kevin, on the other hand, left the bridge five minutes ago. Now he returns with all the others following him. I turn around when I hear the door opening. They look annoyed. Caroline complains loudly. ¡°For real, Kevin¡­ What could possibly be so exciting to rob me of my well-deserved sleep¡­¡± She trails off and her mouth drops open when she sees the scene around us, displayed on the view screen. ¡°It this¡­ Live?¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± I nod at her. ¡°Wow,¡± she mutters and immediately grabs a seat for herself. Then we continue cruising along. Finally, one of the shipyards gets highlighted: Our destination! Stan lifts his hand to his ear, signaling another incoming Communication spell. A minute later, he informs us that we are to fly ahead and coordinate things with the customs officers aboard the shipyard. My mind immediately goes toward instructor Schmidt¡¯s declaration of a corrupt customs officer. I wonder if this one¡¯s the one. Turns out he isn¡¯t. We dock at the shipyard well before the freighter and the others quickly talk to two of the customs officers. They discuss a few things, and before I know it, the Darklight is ferrying the two men toward the freighter where they disembark our ship and enter the much bigger one. Thirty minutes later, the freighter is allowed to dock and deliver its goods. Unfortunately, we¡¯re not allowed any sightseeing tours as this specific shipyard is producing warships. That¡¯s why I finally decide to get some sleep. Before I lie down in my bed, I mentally set myself a reminder to return to the Lomali System as soon as possible for a real tour. I really want to learn more about my family¡¯s business. It probably has to wait until after the Earth Adventure, I guess.
Location: Magicon Empire; Valterion Duchy; Kessin System; BCS Darklight Things finish up quickly in the Lomali System, and our freighter leaves as quickly as it entered the industrial capital of the Valterion Duchy. We¡¯re doing the rearguard again and will exit the wormhole any moment now. Three more star systems, then we¡¯re already done. Only two of them are part of The Empire. The one we¡¯re about to enter, the Kessin System, and then there is the Hopper System, which is a border system, so we probably have to deal with border control then. Conveniently enough, dealing with border control is also one of our assignments. There aren¡¯t many things left on our list¡­ The biggest one hasn¡¯t happened yet, and opportunities get fewer, the further we travel along our route. I¡¯m talking about the simulated pirate attack of course. That¡¯s also why we¡¯re all up and ready for anything just minutes before we exit the wormhole. I do a short countdown when it¡¯s time to exit. Once I reach zero, I cancel the Wormhole spell and we reappear in real space. The space bubble dissolves and we take in our surroundings. One thing is immediately obvious. ¡°Where¡¯s the escort?¡± Ulia points out what we¡¯re all seeing¡­ Or rather not seeing. ¡°Dunno, but that can only mean something is wrong,¡± Stan replies with a surprisingly calm voice. ¡°Shields up!¡± Caroline nods and casts a spell. In the meantime, the freighter exits the wormhole as well and appears next to us. Stan takes it all in, then turns to Ulia. ¡°Can you put a Shield spell around the freighter?¡± Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. She shakes her head. ¡°No, sorry, it¡¯s too big¡­ I would have to be over there and use their Magitech emitters to do so.¡± He acknowledges her answer with a single nod. ¡°Alright, no problem. Then we just have to do it the hard way and be between any possible attacks and the freighter. Sara, that¡¯s your job.¡± I give him a thumbs-up. ¡°You can count on me.¡± ¡°Perfect! Now, what¡¯s the situation? Any results from our sensors?¡± ¡°No, nothing,¡± Kevin replies from his console. ¡°But I just got a message from the freighter. They ask what¡¯s going on.¡± Stan turns to Paul. ¡°Paul, can you send a reply? Tell them that the other escort went AWOL and that they should actively look for threats.¡± Paul acknowledges the order and gets to work. Our ship slowly circles the freighter in the meantime. For now, it continues to fly straight ahead because we have to vacate the space close to the wormhole¡¯s exit. For five agonizing minutes, nothing happens, then Kevin shouts. ¡°I¡¯ve got something! There¡¯s a ship closing in from our left. They¡¯ve got no IFF running and don¡¯t respond to my pings. I suggest treating them as hostile.¡± Stan agrees. ¡°Thanks, Kev, I¡¯m putting us between them and the freighter for now. Try to hail them.¡± The ship changes course and moves to cover the freighter¡¯s left flank. The main screen splits and now shows a zoomed in view with a rather small starship right in the middle. It does pack a frightening amount of guns for its size though. ¡°They¡¯re responding!¡± Kevin calls out a minute later, then the main screen splits again and now shows a young man beside the view of the other ship. He speaks in a cheerful voice. ¡°Hey there, just a heads-up for you¡­ We¡¯re the pirates you¡¯re supposed to fight off. I¡¯m sending over a confirmation code as I¡¯m speaking. Anyway, it¡¯s tradition that the loser pays the drinks back on campus. See you then!¡± The video cuts off, leaving us staring at the screen. The pirates are other students from FBC? Is there a pirating course or something? A new shout from Kevin interrupts my thoughts. ¡°We¡¯ve got incoming!¡± The lights on the bridge turn red, and the screen switches to a tactical display. It shows outgoing railgun fire from the pirate ship. The big ¡°TRAINING AMMUNITION¡± in red bold letters is impossible to miss, and I let out a silent sigh of relief. Showtime! The first volley doesn¡¯t even aim for our small ship. Instead, the projectiles head straight for the freighter¡¯s engines in the back. Stan curses. We¡¯re too far away to catch them with our shields. He looks at me and I immediately understand his assignment. I nod once and send the need for coordinates along my precast AI Call spell. Clara immediately sends them and also primes a Teleportation spell. I take over from her and finalize the casting. Then we vanish from where we¡¯ve just been. A split second later, we¡¯re right between the engines and the incoming railgun fire. Caroline recasts her Shield spell around the Darklight, while Ulia casts a big shield plane a few kilometers before our ship. Seconds later, it catches the training ammunition with barely a flicker. There is only one problem though¡­ While we were distracted, the pirate vessel fired another volley. This time, they aimed for a section closer to the freighter¡¯s bow. Stan swears again and starts turning to look at me. Before he can do so, I¡¯ve already teleported in place. He nods in thanks. The process repeats itself two more times, before Stan huffs in annoyance. Then he starts commanding our next moves. ¡°Things can¡¯t continue like this! We need to return fire and we can¡¯t protect the full broadside of the freighter¡­ Not when we¡¯re one escort down. Paul, can you tell the freighter to turn? Ask them to present their bow¡­ It¡¯s one of the most armored sections. Caroline, don¡¯t bother with our own shielding after the next jump. Ulia¡¯s spell proved to be enough and we still have our traditional shields. Instead, prepare to send the Tracer spell back at the pirates.¡± Everyone voices their agreement and gets to work. We don¡¯t have to take long, as the next volley is already incoming. I quickly exchange a few words with Paul, asking him if he has already sent his message. When he nods, I cast the Teleportation spell for the fifth time in a row. It¡¯s a good thing, I have magic to spare¡­ Others would have already been exhausted. I also think that Stan should have been faster with ordering a proper response. From my perspective, we wasted four volleys without doing anything. That indecision could end badly in a real situation. Still, I don¡¯t voice my thoughts out loud. I¡¯m just the taxi after all. At least, the plan comes together. The freighter turns, now only showing a narrow profile. That means we don¡¯t have to teleport back and forth anymore ¨C at least not until the pirates change their own position to get a better shot. Other than that, Ulia catches the incoming volley with her shield and Caroline sends out a few Tracer spells. Said spells shoot out and leave streaks of yellow light behind. A few seconds later, they impact the pirates¡¯ shields and light them up with bright yellow flashes. Other than that, nothing happens. Stan orders us to fly closer to the pirates and asks Kevin to send our own training ammunition back at them. We exchange a few volleys this way until we¡¯re in laser range. Then the lasers get added as well. So far our shields hold strong but the same can also be said for our opponents. While Caroline¡¯s Tracer spells hit their shields most of the time, they show no signs of weakening. It¡¯s obvious that the shields won¡¯t weaken as we¡¯re not using real ordnance, but we¡¯ve got a nice little ¡°simulated shield strength¡± counter on our main screen. While we¡¯re ahead in numbers, both shields are well in the green. So I guess we just outlast them? Of course, that¡¯s when there¡¯s a sudden change. I feel a great surge of magic, then a Tracer spell, almost ten times the size of the ones Caroline sent out, appears. It impacts Ulia¡¯s shield before us and disappears. If that would have been all, everything would be fine¡­ But a klaxon sounds and our shield indicator shows a red zero. Additionally, the main screen now shows a simulation of the spell continuing toward the Darklight. I react immediately and teleport us to the side, then teleport again, just to be sure. The others stare wide-eyed at the screen. No one seems to be realizing that we¡¯re not done yet. ¡°Guys!¡± I call out and point at the screen. Their shield now shows up considerably weaker. ¡°Finish them!¡± Both Ulia and Caroline send out their own Tracer spells and finally the result we wanted arrives. The pirates¡¯ shields are down and another Tracer hits their engines. Luckily, they didn¡¯t resume firing at us because currently, we¡¯re rather lightly shielded. That whole situation was a bit sloppy. You can¡¯t freeze like this! Anyway, the fight is over and the pirate ship calls us again. Stan accepts and sends the man¡¯s face to the main screen. ¡°Damn, that was hell of a move in the end. I thought we had you, but well¡­ Congratulations. Call me when you¡¯re back. Drinks are on me and my buddies. Good luck on your final stretch!¡± Stan exchanges a few more words with him, but it¡¯s nothing important. Then we return to the freighter and continue our trip as if nothing has happened. One thing still bothers me though¡­ Where is the other escort? We reach the outgoing wormhole and there¡¯s still no sign of the other ship. Stan calls for a full stop a few hundred kilometers before the wormhole. He starts a video conference with the freighter crew to discuss things. It¡¯s a tricky situation we¡¯re in with the missing escort. But I¡¯ve got the perfect solution: Send the fighter in, then directly teleport to the other end of the wormhole to secure it. I wait for them to find the answer themselves though. If I tell them, this gotta be impacting their grades. I think they¡¯ve already lost enough points with their slow reactions. After about five minutes of back and forth between Stan and the freighter¡¯s captain, Caroline seems to get it. She looks at me and her face brightens. Then she nudges Stan and whispers in his ear. He turns around and a grin finds its way on his face. He turns back around and lifts his hand to silence the other captain¡¯s rant. ¡°Captain Hughes, I¡¯ve got the solution. I¡¯ve just been informed that my Space Mage can cross the distance with a direct jump. So if you enter the wormhole right now, we¡¯ll be waiting for you on the other side.¡± That appeases the other captain and he agrees to the plan. Fifteen minutes later, the freighter enters the wormhole and vanishes. Then it¡¯s my turn. I ask Clara for a set of coordinates a bit away from the wormhole exit. I don¡¯t want to jump straight into another ship that¡¯s about to enter the wormhole from the other side after all. It takes a few seconds, then she has locked them in. I do a quick check with Stan and when he tells me he¡¯s ready, I cast the Starship Jump spell and we leave the Kessin System behind. Chapter 142: Security (4) Chapter 142: Security (4) Location: Magicon Empire; Valterion Duchy; Hopper System; BCS Darklight Things don¡¯t go as expected when we arrive in the Hopper System. First of all, I¡¯m very glad that Clara and I chose an exit destination a bit off from the actual wormhole entrance because that could have ended badly. When we appear about a thousand kilometers from the wormhole, proximity alerts immediately start blaring throughout the bridge, and the lights flash red. Stan reacts very quickly and calls out orders. ¡°Caro, shields! Paul, tell me what the hell we¡¯re seeing here. Kevin, get us a bit further away, and Ulia, be ready to step in and help Caroline.¡± He¡¯s silent for a second, then he seems to remember me. ¡°Sara, how long until you can teleport us again?¡± Hmm, I could do so right now, but that¡¯s due to my merged cores as Mom told me. Long-distance jumps even exhaust Master Space Mages to a certain degree. Only Archmages can do two or three such jumps in quick succession before even they exhausted their magic. While the others are still reeling and start following their orders, I lift my hand to catch Stan¡¯s attention. He nods at me to go ahead. ¡°I should be ready for a quick hop within line of sight in about thirty seconds¡­ Anything else within the Hopper System should be reachable after another minute, depending on how quickly Clara can provide the coordinates. Further distances might take up to ten minutes or something.¡± His eyes widen at my response. Did I call the times too short? But that¡¯s perfectly within the range of Master Space Mages! I mean, I have a table right before my eyes, thanks to Clara. Before I can do anything, Stan starts to chuckle and Caroline¡¯s Shield spell finishes encompassing the Darklight at the same time. ¡°That¡¯s such a difference compared to Seniors¡­ You Masters are really ridiculous. Dang, you should ask for a raise once we¡¯re back at FBC.¡± Oh, so he just didn¡¯t know. Lucky me¡­ Meanwhile, our ship steadily increases the distance from the wormhole and our sensors focus on what¡¯s happening before the exit. The main screen before us comes alive and Paul clears his throat. He starts in a deadpan voice as soon as he has our attention. ¡°It seems we have found our missing escort¡­¡± And he¡¯s right. The screen indeed shows our missing escort ship right before the wormhole, placing strange boxes all over the place. ¡°What are they doing?¡± Ulia asks in confusion. ¡°And why are they even here?¡± Paul is the one to reply. ¡°Our sensors flagged the boxes as explosives¡­ They¡¯re setting a trap.¡± ¡°They what?¡± Stan exclaims in shock and looks at Paul with wide eyes. ¡°Are you sure?¡± He nods. ¡°100 percent. It seems like they¡¯re trying to take down the freighter once it comes through¡­ Or us if we went first.¡± ¡°Holy shit!¡± Caroline swears. ¡°What do we do now? Wait, that has to be the surprise assignment, right?¡± Everyone looks at her. She has to be right. Everything else wouldn¡¯t make sense. If the other escort really switched sides, that would be fucked up like nothing else. Stan speaks up again. ¡°Right¡­ So what do we do now? We need a plan¡­ And fast! Kevin, have they noticed our arrival?¡± Kevin taps his console a few times, then shakes his head. ¡°I don¡¯t see any signs of it. So probably not, I guess? I don¡¯t know why though.¡± Stan takes in stride. ¡°Thanks, Kevin. It¡¯s probably because this all is a big test. Real escorts probably jump to a place further away from the wormhole and slowly get closer to check things. Dammit, that¡¯s going to cost us points again¡­ Anyway, we need a plan. I¡¯m open for suggestions.¡± That starts another round of discussion. I keep in the background, deciding not to interfere. I¡¯m not really part of their crew after all, and I don¡¯t even get graded for the mission. While they discuss, I hear them throw in various ideas on how to approach the situation. Most of them immediately get axed again and I inwardly sigh in relief. I mean flying very close to hail them and asking what they are doing would be completely idiotic. Same goes for shooting them down from afar without even trying to communicate. Even if it doesn¡¯t look that way, it could still be a big misunderstanding. In the end, they come up with a strategy that I don¡¯t disagree with. Sure, it could be better, but it sounds solid. Once they finish briefing me on it, as I play a big role in it, Stan looks at me. ¡°Can you do all that? And more importantly, do you agree with the plan? I know it¡¯s a bit risky, but we have to act fast¡­ The freighter is only one hour out, and we can¡¯t stop the transit.¡± I give him a double thumbs-up. ¡°It¡¯s fine, I can do that. Whenever you¡¯re ready.¡± He nods and returns to his seat. Everyone else gets into position as well. The first step of the plan requires me to teleport us out of weapons range, but still close enough to hail them without too much light speed lag. While we already started moving away from the wormhole as soon as we noticed that something is up, my way is faster. Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. ¡°Ready?¡± I ask, and when I get confirmation, I cast the Starship Jump spell and we disappear. As soon as we¡¯re back in real space, now much further away from the wormhole and the other escort ship, Kevin taps his console a few times to initiate a call. The main screen splits: One side still shows space all around us, while a smaller part to the right now shows the outgoing call. It doesn¡¯t take long until a face appears. It¡¯s an older man with tanned skin, wearing an eyepatch of all things. He grins broadly and I immediately notice his golden tooth. ¡°Arrrrr,¡± he says into the camera and puts on a tricorn hat. I almost lose it right there. Is this guy serious? That¡¯s the most clich¨¦ pirate outfit I have ever seen! Caroline starts giggling, while everyone else manages to keep their composure. The man¡¯s smile cracks and he swears. ¡°Dammit, who taught you? Couldn¡¯t you show a little bit of a reaction? I¡¯ve tried so hard to play a convincing pirate¡­ Anyway, as you¡¯ve probably guessed, we¡¯re the surprise assignment¡­ So catch us if you can. Good luck, you¡¯ll need it!¡± The call abruptly cuts off before we were able to send a single reply. ¡°The hell?¡± Paul mutters while Stan just shakes his head. ¡°You heard him¡­ It¡¯s confirmed, they¡¯ve gone rogue, so let¡¯s continue with the plan. We have one hour. Sara, whenever you¡¯re ready, get us into position,¡± Stan calls out his orders after a short delay. Clara gets me the coordinates and I ready the spell. ¡°Jumping in five,¡± I reply and mentally count down. When I reach zero, I trigger the spell and we disappear with a purple flash. We reappear right behind the engines of the other escort and Ulia immediately casts a Shield spell, while Caroline throws everything she has into her Tracer spell. It takes barely a second before the Tracer spell is on its way. I don¡¯t have time to watch though, as I¡¯m already casting the next Starship Jump spell. Right before the Tracer impacts the other ship, we¡¯re already gone again, which means their retaliatory fire gets lost in no man¡¯s land. When we reappear, Paul immediately brings up our sensor feed and starts cheering shortly after. Target destroyed! The plan worked. An incoming call interrupts our celebration and Kevin accepts. The same man appears on our screen. This time, he¡¯s lost his eyepatch and the tricorn hat dangles in front of his chest, only held by a thin cord around his neck. ¡°Well, fuck me sideways,¡± he starts speaking and shakes his head. ¡°That¡¯s the fastest and cleanest takedown I have ever witnessed by students. Holy shit, you guys have balls and a hell of a Space Mage. Congratulations!¡± He gives us a double thumbs-up. ¡°As you can see on your sensor map, the explosion of our ship took out a lot of the bombs around us,¡± he makes air-quotes to indicate that nothing is real. ¡°So we¡¯re going to load them all back in while you¡¯re taking care of the remaining ones. And remember, treat them as if they¡¯re real and be careful with the ones closest to the wormhole¡­ They might damage the structure if they explode where they are, so don¡¯t just shoot them down.¡± The call cuts off before we can reply for a second time. Stan chuckles. ¡°You¡¯ve heard the man, we¡¯re on cleanup duty now. Anyone got any ideas?¡± I stay in the background again while they discuss strategies. That is until Caroline looks at me and grins broadly. ¡°Say, how much juice do you have left?¡± I look at her in confusion and shrug. ¡°More than half, I guess¡­ So more than enough to get us and the freighter over to border control once they¡¯re here.¡± She pumps a fist in the air and interrupts the others. ¡°Guys, I have the solution.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± Ulia asks and Caroline points at me. ¡°We just have to get close again, then Sara can teleport the bombs close to the wormhole away. Then we just have to hit the others with the Tracer spell and send another one to where Sara sent the others and we¡¯re good.¡± Stan tilts his head. ¡°That could work. Sara, what do you think?¡± I groan at the extra work but nod. ¡°Yeah, that could work.¡± That finalizes things and we set off to do cleanup. Luckily, there aren¡¯t that many bombs close to the wormhole and I don¡¯t have to teleport too many of them. After that, both Ulia and Caroline take turns in casting Tracer spells and hit one bomb after the other. Then we¡¯re done and just have to wait for the freighter. The other ship finishes loading up the bomb boxes, then they call us again to inform us that they are now back on normal protection duty and we¡¯re to continue as if nothing has happened. It feels a bit strange as we basically shoot them down less than an hour ago, but hey, they are the real protectors of the freighter. Half an hour later it¡¯s time and the wormhole flashes in a deep purple color. Then the big freighter starts to appear and slowly emerges through the wormhole ring. It almost takes a minute until the enormous length of the starship is fully back in real space. The usual messages are exchanged between all three ships, then the journey continues toward the other side of the Hopper System. About 15 hours and a good night¡¯s sleep later, we arrive at the border station. One more wormhole journey and we¡¯re out of The Empire and enter the Starseeker Kingdom. That¡¯s also when our Security assignment ends. One final jump, then back to Terra where normal lessons continue. But first, the crew of the Darklight has one more assignment: They have to deal with border control and make the crossing between the two allied nations as smooth as possible for the freighter. That¡¯s why Stan, Caroline, Kevin, I, and one of the freighter people are currently sitting in a small shuttle and flying toward the big border station guarding the wormhole. I¡¯m just going along because I really want to see how real border control processes function. I mean my only experience so far was very bad because Lieutenant Larsson was such an ass. Turns out border control between the Starseeker Kingdom and The Empire is very light, especially for a well-known freighter. Stan and the others basically only have to show their credentials and the bill of lading from the freighter and then the official waves us through. The final step is just an ID check, then we¡¯re through. Well, then we¡¯re flying back to the Darklight accompanied by two border control guards who are going to check all the other IDs as well. Once they¡¯re done on our ship, they continue to the freighter, and finish with the other escort ship. After that, we¡¯re free to enter the wormhole which we do without much delay.
Location: Starseeker Kingdom; Bandolier System; BCS Darklight Two hours later, we reemerge from the wormhole. We¡¯re done! The assignment is over and the freighter safely arrived in the Starseeker Kingdom. From now on, it continues its journey with only the other escort ship but with their Master Space Mage aboard, they should be more than enough. The crew of the Darklight starts cheering and Ulia even produces a bottle of whiskey which we promptly open and drink. While we do so, the other escort ship contacts us again and congratulates us as well. They also say goodbye and recommend that we take a detour to Farlon Station here in the system. Apparently, it¡¯s a great place for visitors from The Empire. Right before they leave, they also send us an encrypted file that contains their report about our performance for Instructor Schmidt, then they leave and we watch the freighter get smaller on our view screen. Chapter 143: Starseeker Chapter 143: Starseeker Location: Starseeker Kingdom; Bandolier System; Farlon Station The Starseeker Kingdom. Our closest neighbors and allies. A nation even older than The Empire itself. Now that I¡¯m here, I notice that I know next to nothing about them. I don¡¯t even know the name of their King. Sure, I can look it up within seconds but that¡¯s not the point. I¡¯m a Valterion. A Valterion of the main line for freak¡¯s sake! I¡¯m supposed to know stuff like that. I feel really dumb now¡­ Should have taken a course that teaches about our galaxy instead of enjoying my Monday mornings off since I dropped Beginner Space Magic. That¡¯s pitiful. I shake my head and tap my interface to rectify my issue of not knowing the King¡¯s name. A picture quickly appears before me and I look at an elderly woman with dark skin, greying hair, silvery eyes and a golden crown on her head. Huh? Curiosity has me reading the text below it. Queen Felicity Opalia is the current regent of the Starseeker Kingdom. She¡¯s been Queen for more than 800 years now after her father, the previous King, was assassinated when she was barely 20 years old. As she became queen at such a young age, she now holds the record of longest serving regent in the Starseeker Kingdom and all their allied nations. I look at her picture in awe. 800 years is a very long time! I wonder why she didn¡¯t abdicate and let one of her descendants take the scepter. Also, I really wish I could meet her right now. She seems like an inspiring woman. Maybe Grandpa John can pull a few strings once I¡¯m back. Anyway, we¡¯re about to dock at Farlon Station, just as the other escort crew recommended. Stan is currently navigating the Darklight toward one of the docking arms and we just wait for him to finish. We¡¯ve already changed into casual clothes and got rid of our funny but also embarrassing S.C.S.P.U.K. Security shirts. Finally, Stan is done and the docking tube connects to our airlock. After the lights turn green, indicating equalized pressure, the airlock opens to the touch of a button and we step out onto the space station. I¡¯m the first one and eagerly walk down the hallway. Now that we¡¯re done with the assignment for the Security course, I don¡¯t have to stay in the background anymore. I really want to find out what Farlon Station has to offer! The first thing I notice is the big sign at the end of the hallway. It reads Starseeker citizens to the left and sends everyone else toward the right. With a shrug, we all turn right and follow another hallway. It¡¯s shorter and ends with a booth that welcomes us to the Starseeker Kingdom. A smiling clerk greets us and asks if this is our first visit. When we say yes, she smiles even broader and gives us a short introduction to the kingdom, or rather Queendom as she says while chuckling. ¡°You see, most think that we have a King at the head of our nation, but for more than 800 years now, Queen Felicity leads us to prosperity. She¡¯s the best!¡± I chuckle lightly at her antics and at the fact that I just finished looking up their Queen and now the clerk informs us of her. When I look at the others, I see that Caroline and Paul look quite surprised while the other three just nod along, knowingly. She proceeds to tell us a bit more about the Kingdom, its size, founding, yadda, yadda, yadda¡­ I only half listen because it¡¯s well, boring. When I notice though, I inwardly slap myself. I should know such things! I continue to listen just when she tells us about what we can experience on Farlon Station. Apparently, it¡¯s a place where many first-time visitors make a stop to learn more about the Kingdom. Therefore, Farlon Station is like a giant visitor¡¯s center, introducing the people to the Starseeker Kingdom. The woman finishes with recommending to visit Joe¡¯s bar to try out Star Juice, the Kingdom¡¯s national drink. We thank her and continue further into the station. It doesn¡¯t take long, barely fifty meters, then the hallway opens up to a giant open space. We¡¯ve reached the heart of the station and therefore the actual visitor¡¯s center. Ulia immediately points to our left. ¡°There! I see the Joe¡¯s bar sign. Wanna go for a drink? I¡¯m really thirsty.¡± ¡°Sure,¡± I agree and turn to follow her. Caroline and the others are right behind us. It takes about five minutes of walking, as the bar is further away than we expected, but from the looks of it, it was worth it. I mean if it was bad, it wouldn¡¯t be as crowded as it is right now. There¡¯s even a short line at the entrance and a bouncer lets people enter slowly. As only six people are waiting, we join the line and start waiting. Luckily, it only takes about ten minutes until our group gets the go-ahead from the bouncer and we enter the bar. Ulia is the first one in and stops at the threshold so quickly that I stumble into her. I offer her a quick apology, then take in Joe¡¯s bar from the inside. Yeah, I can understand why she stopped¡­ It¡¯s quite the sight! The most prominent feature is the wall right behind the counter. It exclusively consists of barrels, every one of them has a tap and a plate, naming the contents. It has to be more than 100 different barrels. And that¡¯s not all! The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. The bartenders are either all Mages or use Magitech to telekinetically float around so many glasses and mugs. They stop below the various taps, then the glass or mug gets filled up. After that, it floats back down and the bartender hands it to a server or directly to the customer before them. Other than that, the bar¡¯s interior reminds me of those ancient English pubs I know from my movie sessions with Thomas. The lighting is soft and comes from small lamps hanging from the wooden roof, the seats are padded and also made out of wood. To the sides, I notice small passageways, possibly leading to other rooms of the bar. If I remember correctly, this is where you can play darts or watch sports or just have a good time. We stay in the tap room though and sit down at a recently vacated table. There¡¯s no menu, but we can all read the plates on the bottles. I guess that¡¯s also some kind of menu¡­ Anyway, I¡¯ve already made my decision on what to drink before entering the bar anyway, so that¡¯s only semi important. I look at the others. ¡°Do you know what you want to order?¡± When they all nod, I wave down a server and a young man with a bald head quickly joins our table. Strange choice of hairstyle for his age, but hey I¡¯m not judging. He asks for our orders, and we tell him one after another. Unsurprisingly, we end up with six Star Juices, which causes the server to chuckle. ¡°Your first time to the Kingdom, huh?¡± ¡°That obvious?¡± I ask with a raised eyebrow. He grins. ¡°Yeah, ordering Star Juice exclusively is a big sign. Our regulars often prefer something more locally brewed like the Bando Lionbrew¡­ Not that Star Juice isn¡¯t good. It¡¯s amazing actually, just a bit too mainstream for most of us locals. Anyway, I¡¯m babbling, be right back with your drinks.¡± He only needs a few minutes until he¡¯s back with six glasses filled with a red liquid that reflects the light as if it¡¯s made out of stars. Star Juice indeed. We thank him and he leaves to serve another table. I grab my glass and raise it. ¡°Cheers, to a successful assignment!¡± The others join me and Stan calls out. ¡°To Sara! We wouldn¡¯t have made it so smoothly without you, thank you!¡± Then we drink. Wow! No wonder that¡¯s their national drink. It tastes superb. A fruity combination that just makes you happy and craving for more. I continue to take another big gulp and lean back in my seat. Amazing! I need a barrel, no, a whole shipload of that stuff. While we continue drinking, I have Clara browse the web for exactly that, she presents me her findings shortly after. Dang, that¡¯s going to be expensive, especially that shipping across the border. With that taste it¡¯s no wonder that shipping companies try to earn a premium on their deliveries. I mean supply and demand¡­ As long as the people are willing to pay the price, why lower it? If only I knew a¡­ Yeah, I¡¯m dumb. I spin up a Communication spell and aim for Jack. It quickly connects and his cheery voice greets me. ¡°Hi Sara! What can I do for you? Everything alright?¡± ¡°Yeah, all¡¯s good. I was wondering if Mara Deliveries also goes to the Starseeker Kingdom from time to time.¡± ¡°Not really, no¡­ I mean we haven¡¯t been yet, so I don¡¯t know? Why are you asking?¡± ¡°I¡¯m currently there, and I just tried their national drink and it¡¯s sooo good that I want some delivered to me. But all the traders demand a big premium on the cross border transfer because they¡¯re greedy¡­ So I was wondering if your travels would lead you to the Kingdom sometime in the future.¡± ¡°Oh, I¡¯m intrigued now. Is it really that good?¡± ¡°Yeah, absolutely! I¡¯ve never had something better.¡± ¡°Consider it done then, Sara. That¡¯s the least we can do for you!¡± ¡°Really? You¡¯re a gem, Jack! And greet the others for me, will ya? See you soon.¡± ¡°Yeah, see you! I¡¯ve got your drinks for the Earth adventure at the latest.¡± The call disconnects and I finish the last drops of my Star Juice before ordering another. The circle continues for almost an hour before the six of us manage to drag ourselves out of Joe¡¯s bar. We still have a space station to explore. Back outside, we stroll along and take in the sights. It¡¯s weird, everything looks so similar but different at the same time. Like trashcans. Ours mostly blend into the surroundings, while those in the Kingdom are used for advertisements and are literally right in the middle of things. Their purpose is the same though¡­ All those little details fascinate me and I hungrily take them all in. The fashion here is also slightly different. Pants and shirts are cut a little bit differently. It¡¯s just a small bit, but still noticeable. That¡¯s probably how every merchant immediately notices that we¡¯re foreigners and happily advertises their tourist friendly products to us. Things continue like that while we cross the station. I buy a few souvenirs for my roommates along the way. In the end, we find ourselves in one of the restaurants for dinner and try out the local cuisine. Again, it¡¯s very similar. Everything is just a little spicier. When the waitress noticed that we¡¯re from The Empire, she immediately brought a glass of milk for everyone in case it¡¯s too spicy for us. Caroline was the only one who needed it because she ordered something extra spicy. Turns out extra spicy in the Starseeker Kingdom means burns-your-tongue-out-spicy. After all that, we decide to let our day in the Kingdom end and slowly return to the Darklight. Stan sets course back to the wormhole and we relax in one of the rooms in the meantime. Kevin produces a deck of cards he bought on the station and we start playing. That¡¯s a great pastime until we have to go through border control again. Then it¡¯s my turn to navigate through the wormhole.
Location: Magicon Empire; Magicon System; Terra; Imperia; FBC We¡¯ve been very far out, so it takes almost three days to get back to the Magicon System. Sure, I could have gone faster but that would have meant constant jumping at almost my maximum distance. Way too exhausting, especially now that we¡¯re under no time constraints. So, I rather took a relaxed approach and used the wormholes along the way with a few jumps to shorten the flights from wormhole to wormhole. No one was bothered by it and we only lost Monday¡¯s lessons because of it. For me that¡¯s only the Exploration course, but I excused myself in advance. Sam was very understanding and immediately approved my absence as it¡¯s only listening to presentations anyway at the moment. When we arrive at one of FBC¡¯s space station, Stan takes care of returning the ship and I happily teleport the six of us back down to the planet. It¡¯s late Monday afternoon when I say goodbye to them, so I still have enough time to get ready for Gravity Ball training tonight. Before that though, Stan invites me to attend to the group¡¯s debriefing tomorrow during the lunch break. I agree, as I really want to see how Instructor Schmidt sees their performance. Chapter 144: Debrief Chapter 144: Debrief Location: Magicon Empire; Magicon System; Terra; Imperia; FBC Tuesday morning, I¡¯m back to the History of The Empire course. Professor Bishop gives an amazing lecture as always, but it slowly becomes obvious that she¡¯s very disappointed by our class, as more and more people are missing every week. We¡¯re down to 15 students now, which is a shame. Professor Bishop deserves better! After the course, I decline the usual invitation to Lisa¡¯s get together, as I promised Stan and the others to join them during their debriefing. Therefore, I just grab a quick lunch to-go at a food truck on campus and eat while walking toward building 11 where the debrief will take place. It¡¯s a ten minute walk, so I¡¯m already done eating when I catch sight of Caroline waiting before the entrance. ¡°Hi, Caroline,¡± I call out and she turns around. She waves back. ¡°Sara! Hi, you¡¯re right on time, come on, let¡¯s get inside. The others are already there.¡± We enter and she calls an elevator, then we travel all the way to the top and exit into another hallway. Here, lots of doors are next to each other on both sides of the hallway. I read a few plates next to the doors and they all start with Professor or Instructor. It¡¯s their offices! Caroline leads me down the hallway and after a turn to the right at an intersection, we arrive at a plate that reads Instructor Schmidt. She knocks, then opens the door and we enter. Instructor Schmidt sits behind a big desk and the others sit across from him. There are still two empty seats, which we take and sit down. The door closes behind us and Instructor Schmidt looks up and smiles at us. ¡°Well, well, well, quite the trip you had, huh?¡± No one is sure what to reply to this, so we stay silent and continue to look at him. He chuckles and continues to speak. ¡°So how do you think you did?¡± I lean back in my chair to watch the proceedings while the other five look at each other. From the faint traces of magic, they are having a silent conversation. Finally, Stan clears his throat and speaks up. ¡°I think we did quite good¡­ Not perfectly, but well enough. There were a few situations where we could have done better, but we eliminated both threats to our freighter without endangering it too much.¡± So they did know that they could have done better during the encounters. Suddenly, Instructor Schmidt looks at me. ¡°Can you confirm this, Miss Green? You saw everything first hand after all. And don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ve already finalized the grade for the assignment, so you can speak freely.¡± I take a deep breath and look at my former crewmates. ¡°Yeah, they did a solid job defending the freighter. Just two things for the future, guys. You can never ever freeze like you all did when the pirate ship sent out their big Tracer spell and crashed our Shields. If things would have been real, you could have been killed. Also, don¡¯t rely on your Space Mage too much. Others get exhausted way earlier than a Master like me. Especially the start of our pirate encounter¡­ We practically wasted four whole jump sequences until you guys came up with a response. A weaker Senior Mage would have been done for at this point.¡± Instructor Schmidt nods at me with respect in his eyes while the others all blanched a bit. Paul even gulps. ¡°That was a great summary, Miss Green. I only have a few minor things to add later on. But besides all that, you did well, especially during the surprise assignment. Your ambush attack was superbly executed and was the fastest takedown in FBC history. Now without further ado, let me congratulate you on successfully passing this course. If you want, I can give you further explanation on my reasoning for your final grade.¡± He stops and looks at me. ¡°But I don¡¯t think that¡¯s relevant for you, Miss Green, so if you want, you are free to leave.¡± Yeah, he¡¯s right. I don¡¯t really want to listen to how he came up with their grade, especially when I¡¯m not graded myself. Getting up, I nod at him, then I turn to the others. ¡°Alright guys, good job! I hope I was a good taxi,¡± I say with a short laugh. Caroline jumps up and hugs me. ¡°Of course you did! You were the best taxi ever. And don¡¯t forget that we still have to collect that drink the pirates are owing us, so you¡¯re not getting rid of us just now.¡± I chuckle and return the hug. She¡¯s right, I almost forgot about the drinks. We release each other and I wave at the rest. Then I leave through the door and leave my first taxi assignment behind me. Nothing special happens during Secondary Utility in the evening and my Leadership course the next morning. After that, it¡¯s time for Improvised Combat. It¡¯s actually one of my favorite courses, as it¡¯s so varied. I mean the course takes place at a different setting each week. And those settings feel so real, like they are just plucked out of a real city. Oh, and the Reinforcement spell is so cool and useful at the same time! It allows me to basically grab whatever I want and make it tough like tristanium in an instant. Lydia likes the course a lot too ¨C for obvious reasons¡­ *cough* Olivia *cough.* Anyway, the two of us enter today¡¯s classroom and take a look around. Looks like it¡¯s a park for today. That¡¯s going to be interesting because there¡¯s not much to hide behind and there¡¯s a lot of open space. It¡¯s practically the worst case scenario if you can¡¯t shield yourself against an A&D Mage. I wonder what¡¯s the trick to this. The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Olivia arrives about ten minutes later and she has Rick with her. Rick¡¯s an A&D Mage and joins our class from time to time to play the attacker. I gulp, Rick¡¯s a little bit more rough with his spells compared to Kevin, our class¡¯s A&D Mage. My gaze wanders between the park and a broadly grinning Rick. Yeah, today¡¯s gonna suck! We gather around Olivia in the middle of the small park and she speaks up. ¡°Good afternoon, guys, I hope you¡¯re well rested as we¡¯re doing something special today.¡± She points at Rick and continues. ¡°You all know Rick, so say hi, he¡¯s going to be our big bad A&D Mage today.¡± A collective groan goes through our group and Olivia chuckles while patting Rick¡¯s shoulder. ¡°See, they like you.¡± His grin gets even wider and he looks at Olivia. ¡°This is going to be fun.¡± Both start cackling and return their predatory looks at us. ¡°So who wants to start?¡± Olivia asks and we all take a collective step backward. Well, we all except Kevin who stays where he is. He looks to his side and blanches. ¡°No!¡± He exclaims and hastily steps backward too. It¡¯s too late though, as Olivia rushes forward and pulls him back out into the open. ¡°Thanks for volunteering, Kevin. You¡¯re actually the perfect man to start. Because once you¡¯re done, you can play the second A&D Mage and we can speed things up.¡± Kevin¡¯s eyes widen and his shocked look gives way for a slight grin. ¡°So I suffer first and then I can make the others suffer?¡± Olivia nods. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t call it that way, but essentially, yes.¡± Kevin pumps a fist. ¡°Yeah! So what do I have to do?¡± Olivia grins. ¡°Well, remember our very first lesson and what I told you?¡± When he doesn¡¯t answer immediately, she looks at the whole group. ¡°Anyone else?¡± I lift my arm and she nods at me. ¡°You run the fuck away if you face an A&D Mage?¡± That earns me a thumbs-up from both Olivia and Rick. ¡°Exactly! But we never really practiced that, right? Well, today¡¯s the day because this park here offers absolutely nothing to improvise with. No weapons, no place to hide, so your best bet is to run. So Kevin, whenever you¡¯re ready¡­¡± ¡°Oh shit!¡± He cries out when his gaze falls onto Rick who¡¯s already balancing a fireball and icicle above his hands. Then he starts running in an erratic pattern. He actually does quite a good job, as Rick misses his first two shots. But before long, the inevitable happens and one of Rick''s icicles hits Kevin in the back. The shield around him flashes red and his body locks up so he falls over like a felled tree. Yep, that¡¯s the additional function those rings have¡­ They can lock up ¡°hurt¡± body parts. A few seconds later, we hear Kevin groaning. Then he slowly gets back up. ¡°I¡¯m dead, can I now reincarnate as an attacker?¡± He asks with a pained smile. Olivia nods. ¡°Yeah, go for it. Now the remainder of you, please divide yourselves equally between Rick and Kevin and don¡¯t worry, you all get to run twice, so that you all get to enjoy Rick¡¯s magic!¡± She gives us a rather sadistic smile at the end. Oh boy, that¡¯s a side of her, we never experienced. I decide to get the worst behind me first and line up next to Rick. A few others obviously had the same idea, and so we manage to do an equal split on first try. Lydia is the first one on Kevin¡¯s side and rushes ahead at Olivia¡¯s sign. Surprisingly, she makes it without getting hit. Is Kevin just a worse Mage or is Lydia the better runner? My money is on Lydia, as I felt at least one spell being cast by her. I have to ask her what she did later! But first, Rick¡¯s next victim gets to run. It¡¯s Hector, Kevin¡¯s best friend. He gets the worst result so far, as the first spell is an immediate hit and he tumbles head over heels to the ground. Groaning, he gets back up and joins the line behind Kevin and Rick¡¯s next victim gets ready. Meanwhile, I wave down Olivia and ask her to join me. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± She asks after coming over. ¡°Nothing¡­ I just have an idea, but I¡¯m not sure if it works as you¡¯d have to modify my shield ring.¡± Her eyebrows raise to her hairline and she asks with curiosity underlying her voice. ¡°Oh? What do you have in mind?¡± ¡°Well, you said the Reinforcement spell could be used for everything, right?¡± When she nods, I continue. ¡°So this got me thinking¡­ What if I reinforce my clothes right before Rick¡¯s spells hit? I should be able to time it perfectly with the awareness my Space Sense gives me. Just a quick Reinforcement when the attack impacts, then dismiss the spell again so that my stiff clothes don¡¯t hinder me.¡± Olivia tilts her head and scratches her nose in thought. ¡°You¡¯re in a unique position, you know? You could ace the run through the park by just teleporting, but here you come up with such a ridiculous idea. And the craziest part is that this might actually work¡­ So if you want, we can try it¡­ I should be able to configure your shield to react only at the last moment. Just one more question. Are you wearing clothes that you don¡¯t mind getting destroyed? Just in case you mess up.¡± I look down at myself and see just a bland light purple shirt and a pair of black pants. Yeah, nothing to worry about¡­ Those things can be easily replaced. I turn my head back to Olivia. ¡°I¡¯m good, can you please adjust the shield?¡± ¡°Of course, I¡¯m quite curious how things play out, you know,¡± she says while tapping her interface. ¡°There, all done. Have fun, I¡¯ll make sure to record Rick¡¯s face when his spells are completely ineffective.¡± I flash her a quick smile, then return to my place in the queue. Just one more student, then it¡¯s my turn. Barely a minute later, I stand before Rick who has his two attacks already floating above his hands. I give him a short nod, then turn around and rush forward. It only takes a second until my Space Sense basically screams at me to do something. I don¡¯t have time to turn around, but I¡¯m pretty sure it¡¯s the fireball. Any moment now¡­ I have the Reinforcement spell already precast, I just need to trigger it. Just one more moment. Now! I trigger the spell and feel my shirt harden, suddenly my upper torso is locked up, and I stumble slightly. But it was enough! The fireball hits and does a whole lot of nothing. I inwardly cheer and dismiss the spell. Then I dodge two steps to the left and continue to run. I vaguely hear some surprised gasps from behind me but I block them out as I¡¯m already precasting the Reinforcement spell again. Seconds later, my Space Sense screams at me again and this time I try to dodge. I almost make it, but still have to trigger a last second Reinforcement of my pants as the icicle was about to graze my left thigh. The rhythm continues for two more spells. I manage to dodge the first one by ducking and catch the second one with a timely Reinforcement of my shirt. But of course, all good things come to an end¡­ Right before I cross the finish line, my Space Sense screams bloody murder at me. Rick adapted his technique and sent two spells at once¡­ Dang it, he also changed them into something more wide ranged, so dodging is out. Sly bastard! An arch of flame closes in on my back, while a spread of icicles homes in on my butt. Dammit, that¡¯s two pieces of clothing at the same time and I¡¯ve only got one Reinforcement precast. I should have enough time to switch to a quick teleportation, but that feels like cheating. I know I¡¯m silly, but I''d rather fall down proudly. So which spell gets to hit me? After a quick deliberation, I settle on the icicle. Better block the flames before I¡¯m left topless! So I wait for the last moment and Reinforce my shirt to block the flames. I jump up at the same time because better let my thighs being hit than my butt, right? In hindsight, that was a bad idea¡­ The icicle impacts with more force than I thought and spins me around. I almost do a complete rotation before gravity latches onto me and drags me down. Right on my face¡­ I¡¯ve never been so grateful for the shield ring that saved me from eating grass. Still, oww! Chapter 145: Change of Plans Chapter 145: Change of Plans Location: Magicon Empire; Magicon System; Terra; Imperia; FBC Thursday passes just as quickly with another lesson on Artifacts and Space Magic in the afternoon. As the first year is nearing its conclusion, Instructor Renner starts teaching us about even more advanced spells for Space Magic. I¡¯m talking about freezing space around us, displacing things, and interestingly, portals, just like how Conor Valterion bypassed the shields of utopian starships all those years ago. Unfortunately, those spells are very complex. Instructor Renner estimates we won¡¯t be ready to use them until we¡¯re well into our second year of Advanced Space Magic ¨C If we take the course again, which I¡¯m absolutely planning to do. But this also means that I won¡¯t have them ready for the Earth adventure, as my second year starts after that. But who knows, maybe I learn then fast enough¡­ Anyway, now it¡¯s Friday and I¡¯m on my way to meet with Dave, Fabio, Toby, Lena, and Kylie. My remaining taxi duties are now one after the other. I barely have time to visit my classes anymore. I should have thought about that when I accepted that many¡­ But at least it¡¯s not causing any problems so far. I managed to catch up on everything. When I¡¯m about to enter the building where the Archeology lecture takes place, I¡¯m shaken out of my thoughts by an incoming message. A tap in the air opens it up. Huh, it¡¯s from Dave, asking me to meet in his dorm room. What¡¯s that about? I decide to give him a call and spin up a Communication spell. He¡¯s quick to accept. ¡°Hi Sara, how are you? Did you get my message?¡± ¡°Yeah, hi Dave. I¡¯m fine, thank you. Your message is actually why I¡¯m calling right now. You see, I¡¯m about to enter building 15 for the lecture and now you ask me to meet at your dorm. What¡¯s wrong?¡± I basically hear him wince. ¡°Sorry about that. We forgot to inform you earlier, so I hope you¡¯re not angry that you went there for nothing¡­ There¡¯s been a change of plans concerning our Archeology assignment. Can you come over, please? It¡¯s better if we explain in person.¡± ¡°Hey, don¡¯t worry, Dave. A bit of walking has never hurt anyone. I¡¯ll be right over. Should I bring something to eat?¡± ¡°Oh yes, that be great! One moment, I¡¯m asking the others¡­¡± He¡¯s silent for a few seconds, then comes back to me. ¡°Alright, you can bring something for everyone if you don¡¯t mind.¡± ¡°Sure, no problem. How does Thai sound?¡± ¡°That¡¯s perfect, thank you.¡± ¡°Sweet, then I¡¯ll be there in about thirty minutes, depending on how long it takes. See you!¡± He says goodbye as well, then I disconnect the spell. A change of plans, huh? I wonder what¡¯s that about. From the sound of it, the assignment was canceled. But why? I guess I¡¯ll find out soon. Half an hour later, I knock on Dave¡¯s door with a bag of food floating right next to me. Toby is the one to open up and let me in. After a quick round of greetings, we sit down at the table in the common room of the dorm and dig in. It¡¯s quite spicy, especially when I accidentally bite down on a whole chili pepper. My eyes are watering and my whole mouth burns like the flames of hell. Gasping, I ask for a glass of milk. Lena is a lifesaver and brings me one. I immediately gulp it down and sigh in relief. ¡°Thanks, Lena!¡± The others barely hold down their laughs until Fabio cracks and starts shaking in silent laughter. That causes the others to join in and I lean back, cross my arms, and glare at them. That¡¯s not funny! Dave finds his composure and gives me an apologetic smile. ¡°Sorry about that, but your face¡­ It looked like you were about to spit fire all over the table.¡± ¡°Damn, straight I was! Those things should be illegal, they are way too hot. Try one if you dare.¡± He shakes his head. ¡°No, I think I have to pass.¡± Kylie on the other hand tilts her head and eyes the sole chili pepper remaining in her box of food. She shrugs and pops it into her mouth. We all stare at her in horror and her twin sister rushes off to grab a glass of milk. We continue to look at her and wait for a reaction. Nothing happens. She swallows and smiles. ¡°Not bad could be stronger though.¡± ¡°Monster,¡± I whisper while shaking my head. Her nonchalant reaction causes the others to eye their own chili peppers. Toby is the first one to pop it into his mouth as well. He is quickly followed by Fabio and Dave. Only Lena doesn¡¯t take hers, so Kylie snatches it for herself. This time I get the expected reactions as the boys'' heads all turn crimson and they gasp for air. They basically fight for the sole glass of milk until Lena quickly gets another two. Now I get why they found my reaction so amusing and I can¡¯t hold back a few giggles. A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. Finally, the heat dies down and the three boys stare at Kylie with wide eyes. ¡°Sara¡¯s right,¡± Dave says. ¡°You are a monster!¡± Kylie puts on a haughty expression and somehow manages to look down on Dave, Toby, and Fabio. ¡°You guys are just weak.¡± Then she starts cackling and everyone joins in. The whole situation was just too absurd. After that, we put away the trash and move over to the big sofa on the other side of the room. Once we¡¯re sat, I look at Dave and ask the question that¡¯s been in my head since his first message today. ¡°So why did you call me here instead of going to the preparatory lesson for the assignment?¡± He takes a deep breath. ¡°Well, as I¡¯ve said, there¡¯s been a change of plans¡­ The thing is, we won¡¯t be doing an assignment at all.¡± ¡°What?!¡± I blurt out and stare at him. That can¡¯t be right. I mean They were literally the first ones to hire me as a taxi and we even became friends afterward. Why aren¡¯t we doing the assignment? ¡°Yeah,¡± he sighs before continuing. ¡°We basically had the same reaction at first but when our professor explained his reasoning, it started to make sense. So please hear me out. Actually, the assignment isn¡¯t really canceled¡­ It¡¯s delayed instead. The reason for that is simple.¡± He stops and points at me. Me? Why would I be the reason for a delayed assignment? Everything worked out so far and delaying something for my sake wouldn¡¯t make sense because Sara Green isn¡¯t important. So why¡­? OHH! Dave grins. ¡°I see that it clicked. Yeah, our assignment is delayed so that we can do archeology on Earth. Professor Oldana thinks it would be a waste of time if we¡¯re going out to do archaeology at a staged site if we have the opportunity to do the real thing just a few months later.¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­ Unexpected, but also not wrong,¡± I reply. ¡°So now we have another reason to bring our A-game when we¡¯re on Earth. So how will this work? I don¡¯t know how the actual competition will be structured. Are you going to drop off and do your own thing once we¡¯re there or will you stay with the main group?¡± Dave shrugs. ¡°That depends. We don¡¯t know much either. I¡¯d prefer to stay with the group. Who knows what hidden dangers the planet hides? And it¡¯s not that there aren¡¯t a lot of sites where we can dig out stuff. The whole planet has been left alone for thousands of years after all. But like I said, if you¡¯re doing other things, we might have to head out on our own.¡± I nod, the answer was expected. There¡¯s still so much unknown about the Earth competition after all. But that doesn¡¯t stop me from planning for all eventualities. ¡°Alright, so we¡¯ll wait and see how things play out¡­ That¡¯s fine with me. Actually, do you guys need any specialized equipment? Also, you can have one of the lab rooms on my ship¡­ Most of them are empty anyway.¡± The other¡¯s jaws drop open. ¡°You have what for us?¡± Toby blurts out. ¡°Just how big is your ship?¡± ¡°Uhh, haven¡¯t I already shown it to you?¡± Dave shakes his head. ¡°Nope, we only know that it¡¯s called Stargazer.¡± Huh, I really haven¡¯t¡­ In all those months, we¡¯ve never been to my ship. ¡°Well, no time like the present, right? Come on, I¡¯ll take us up there.¡± ¡°Wait, you mean right now?¡± Kylie asks. ¡°Sure, I mean we¡¯re all together right now and none of us has any lessons¡­ So why not?¡± She shrugs. ¡°Well, if you say it that way. Fuck it, yeah, why not. Let¡¯s go see that ship of yours!¡± The others nod too, and I spin up a Teleportation spell. A second later, we arrive in the living room aboard the Stargazer and I give them a tour. As with all the others, they are completely amazed, especially once Toby recognizes the starship as a Valterion-built ship. That causes another round of discussion and I tell them the same lie that my parents found it at a scrapyard and got it for cheap. I end my tour with the lab rooms and once we reach an empty one, I turn to address them again. ¡°So that¡¯s where you guys can set up your equipment. It¡¯s all yours if you want. Down the hallway is direct access to the hangar bay and well, it¡¯s empty now, but you have your imagination.¡± Dave spins in a slow circle with an open mouth. ¡°That¡¯s too much, Sara. We can¡¯t accept that.¡± I look at him in confusion. ¡°Why not? Hell, how do you expect to get to Earth?¡± That stops him dead in his tracks. ¡°Well, I guess we get a ship from the college?¡± I shake my head and fix him with a slight glare. ¡°No, you don¡¯t! Or even if you would, I¡¯m not allowing it. Alone the logistics would be catastrophic not to mention that Maja would need to protect even more ships. You¡¯re going to stay here on the Stargazer. End of discussion.¡± He gulps and looks at his other friends for support. Lena shakes her head though. ¡°You know she¡¯s right, Dave. Just accept her offer. We¡¯ve known her long enough to know that she won¡¯t fool around with us. And I mean look at the ship. Why would we take a boring academy ship if we can have this? Also, Sara¡¯s no Noble if that¡¯s your fear. You have to get over the Junbuns¡­ They are done for! And who¡¯s responsible for that? Right, Sara is! So get it together man!¡± Everyone takes in a deep breath, myself included. I¡¯ve never seen Lena rip someone a new one like this. She can be rather frightening! I also have to suppress a wince at the mention of me not being a Noble. Oh, and I should probably mention Lisa. Finally, Dave nods and looks at me a bit sheepishly. ¡°Uhh, I guess we accept your offer then¡­¡± ¡°Good,¡± I reply. ¡°Let¡¯s get somewhere more comfortable because I have to tell you a few more things. They nod and we walk back to the living room where we sit down on the sofas and armchairs. Then I start explaining. ¡°So first of all let¡¯s talk about who¡¯s going to Earth with us. Obviously, it¡¯s going to be my team which you already know. Next are you guys which will probably fill up most of the cabins we have here on the Stargazer. At least if no one shares their room. ¡°Additionally, there¡¯s our Peacekeeper escort which comes with their own starship. It¡¯s captained by Maja, one of my best friends. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll like her. Then we have one more ship but it probably won¡¯t be there all the time. It belongs to a trade company and will take care of our supplies during the expedition. So if you guys need anything, I can give you their contact information. The company actually belongs to other friends of mine, so it¡¯s no problem if you bother them with requests. Also, don¡¯t worry about money. If it¡¯s relevant for the Earth Adventure like equipment you¡¯ll need or something, then The Empire will take care of the costs as far as I know.¡± Even if not, then I will do so¡­ I stop for a second and take a deep breath. Now comes the harder part. ¡°And finally, there¡¯s one recent addition to our big group. I hope this doesn¡¯t bother you guys too much, but Lisa Song will also be part of our team and take over the coordination in the background.¡± I look at them and wait for their reactions. They are not what I expected as Dave¡¯s jaw literally drops to the floor and he blushes deeply. Before he finds his voice though, Fabio lets out a loud bellow. ¡°Lisa fucking Song?!¡± He leans over to punch Dave¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Yo Dave, your celebrity crush is part of our team!¡± Dave blushes even deeper and finally manages a groan. ¡°Don¡¯t remind me¡­¡± Chapter 146: Diplomacy Chapter 146: Diplomacy Location: Magicon Empire; Magicon Administration; Starfield System; Arcanus; Washten The next two weeks pass faster than ever, and I find myself aboard another starship or better already down on a new planet. Our shuttle just landed in the city of Washten on planet Arcanus and I¡¯m currently accompanying a group of four people from the Diplomacy course. The trip was rather fast as we didn¡¯t leave the central part of The Empire behind. We¡¯re still within one of the Magicon-governed star systems. It was basically just a jump out of the central Magicon System and then a short trip through a wormhole and then we were already here. So there was no time to get to know the people with me. I barely know their names and additionally, they all keep to themselves all the time. It¡¯s so different from my trip with Stan, Caroline, and the others just a few weeks ago. A shame that the trip with Dave was canceled. Anyway, at least the setting my group is tasked to handle sounds rather interesting: My four teammates are supposed to visit a foreign magic-obsessed sect that recently settled here in the city and try to get them to comply with The Empire¡¯s laws and regulations. Apparently, they come from somewhere very different and try to convert the people around them to their way of thinking ¨C something that is an absolute no-go within The Empire. So here we are, tasked to stop them from fucking around, bluntly said. I don¡¯t really know what¡¯s so different about them because my group is, well my group, and as I mentioned before, they don¡¯t really interact with me. But I guess I¡¯ll find out what we¡¯re dealing with soon. We walk down one of the main streets past shops, restaurants, and more than a few bars that are still closed because it¡¯s still early in the day. My team seems to be fully focused as they rush past everything. After about twenty minutes of walking the busy part of the town ends and the properties start to become bigger and bigger. Suddenly, there are large fences with spacious lawns and big mansions behind them. Our group stops at the gate of one of those properties and a tall and thin guy with short blonde hair named Carlo presses the bell. It almost takes five minutes until someone answers but the diplomats in training wait patiently the whole time. ¡°Yes,¡± comes a voice from the intercom and stays silent afterward. Carlo leans closer and speaks up. ¡°Good morning, sir, my name is Carlo Lopez. My team and I are with the diplomatic corps of The Empire. We should have an appointment with the leadership of your uhm¡­ society at ten. If you¡¯d be so kind and check, please?¡± ¡°Yes, one moment,¡± comes the reply. Another agonizing two minutes later, the voice comes back. ¡°Yes Mr. Lopez, I have you on my list, please come in. Someone will greet you at the door and lead you to our conference room. Welcome to the Sorcerers Society.¡± Sorcerers Society, huh? A fitting name for a sect, I¡¯d say. The gate opens slowly and the five of us start walking toward the manor. Things get strange once we enter the mansion. A woman in a maid outfit opens the door for us and then leads us through a maze of hallways until we arrive at a conference room with a lot of tables placed in a U-shape. She asks us to sit down at the bottom of the U and wait for a bit. Carlo thanks her and we sit down. Then we wait. The first five minutes are okay. It¡¯s barely worth mentioning. But when the timer I started on my interface nears the 30-minute mark, I start to get really annoyed. Are they being serious? Who lets their guests wait for 30 minutes? That¡¯s ridiculous. As if they want to show who¡¯s boss¡­ Then, finally, the door opens and a trio of men in black robes and fancy hats enters. I glance at my interface and barely stop myself from shaking my head. It¡¯s been exactly 30 minutes¡­ Anyway, the men look at us and one of them even turns up his nose. They continue walking across the room and sit down at the top end of one of the sides of the U. And all that without saying a single word. This is so strange. I¡¯m glad that I don¡¯t have to do anything here. I don¡¯t know if all this bothers my team¡­ They have perfect poker faces. Who knows, maybe this is normal and they learned how to deal with something similar? The silence stretches until the single girl in my group gets up and faces the three men. ¡°Thank you for meeting with us, my team and I are glad that we could find an appointment so quickly. As you know, we¡¯re from The Empire¡¯s diplomatic corps and here to discuss your role within our society.¡± She pauses for a moment and tilts her head slightly while looking at the three men. There¡¯s still no reaction, it¡¯s weird. I spot a very slight smile on the leftmost man¡¯s face, but that¡¯s all. My teammate continues. ¡°It has come to our attention that your group actively tries to convert people in the vicinity of your organization to a belief and lifestyle that does not correspond with the values of The Empire. We are here to resolve that. If you need a reminder of what I¡¯m talking about, please take a look.¡± She points to the left of her and starts casting a spell. A projection of a list with different bullet points appears in the air between our two groups. Now there is a reaction! As soon as the projection appeared, all three men change their behavior completely. Gone is the disinterest and the turned-up nose. It¡¯s replaced by eager expressions and the one in the middle suddenly starts to speak. Was her spell the trigger? But why would they base their whole behavior on a spell? Ugh, I should really have informed myself about the Sorcerers Society Sect beforehand. ¡°Welcome to the Sorcerers Society Miss Mage, it¡¯s our pleasure to have you here. We¡¯ll obviously try our best to resolve every existing issue with your help. Let me just gather our files real quick. Would you like something to drink in the meantime?¡± She nods in reply. ¡°Sure, thank you.¡± She quickly glances at me and the rest of the team. ¡°We¡¯d like some water, please.¡± The man acknowledges her and taps something on his interface a few times. Then we fall back into silence until the door opens and another woman in a maid outfit steps inside. She¡¯s carrying a large box and walks over toward the men. Right before them, she stumbles and almost drops the box. The man on the right scowls and growls. ¡°Stupid wench!¡± He waves his hand and the woman vanishes with a purple flash. What the hell?! The three men continue as if nothing has happened and they start a discussion with the girl in my group. The three boys and I are still being ignored. A few minutes later, another woman in a maid outfit arrives with a single glass of water and hands it to our teammate. She then quickly exits while the discussion continues. From what I managed to catch, they already resolved two minor issues. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. But the biggest thing still hasn¡¯t been touched. It seems as if they only treat Mages as real people. I can¡¯t come up with another explanation. I mean the only one of us that isn¡¯t ignored and is treated with respect has outed herself as a Mage. I¡¯m horrified that such people exist. Even if this is probably only actors or something. But FBC wouldn¡¯t come up with something like this if there wasn¡¯t a real-life example out there. As we¡¯re still treated as if we don¡¯t exist, I walk over to the three boys to chat with them. ¡°What the hell is happening here?¡± I ask them in a whisper. Carlo is the one to whisper back. ¡°They believe that there are two classes of people. Mages and everyone else. And as they are all Mages, they obviously believe that normal people are worthless.¡± ¡°Yeah, I gathered that¡­ But you¡¯re all Mages too, so why are you staying in the background? Also, why hasn¡¯t the issue been addressed yet?¡± He chuckles softly. ¡°You have to be patient. All in due time. Carina is currently feeling out the waters, so to speak. We need to understand how they think and how to best approach the main issue. Sure, the situation here is so over the top that the normal procedure would be just kicking them out of The Empire, but well, we wouldn¡¯t learn anything if we did it that way, so we try to get them to change their thinking¡­ Slowly.¡± Oh, well, it¡¯s their show. I think I¡¯d have lost my temper a long time ago. ¡°Alright, I guess you guys know best¡­ I¡¯ll be over there, call me if you need anything.¡± I walk back to my chair a few meters away from them and lean back. Then I select a random game on my interface and start gaming while they continue their discussion. Somehow, I have the feeling that this will take a long time. I was right, six hours later, Carina says goodbye to the three men and makes an appointment to continue their talks tomorrow. From the fragments I managed to catch, they are still far from tackling the main issue of the men¡¯s worldview. Carina walks straight to the boys of my team and they begin to whisper quite agitated. Then, suddenly, I have a message popup on my interface. It¡¯s from Carina, asking me to teleport us all out and back to the ship as soon as she asks me out loud. She also tells me to not bother with walking over to them if I can do that. That has my eyebrows almost vanishing into my hairline. What¡¯s going on? Some kind of power play? My curiosity spikes and I give her a slight nod. I¡¯m ready. She fully turns in my direction. ¡°Please get us out of here.¡± As you wish! On a whim, I decide to be extra sloppy and let a lot of magic power slip through the spell. The whole room starts humming with invisible magic, then I trigger the spell and the five of us vanish in a bigger-than-average purple flash. The last thing my Space Sense shows me before we¡¯re back on our ship is the looks of awe and horror on the three men¡¯s faces. Carina claps her hands. ¡°That was perfect, thank you, Sara! Oh, I¡¯m so looking forward to tomorrow.¡± ¡°Why¡¯s that?¡± I ask in slight confusion. ¡°Well, they think they are so much better than us and then there¡¯s you, a person I tried to frame as completely normal the whole day, casually doing such a magical power play. This is gonna shake their worldview, and this is where we can start addressing the real issue!¡± She seems very excited now, and I can kinda guess her reasoning but I don¡¯t really think that this will work out as planned. Still, I nod, I¡¯ve learned my part during the last excursion. I¡¯m just here to observe and teleport things around. Turns out I was wrong. When we return to the sect¡¯s mansion the next day, things are very different. For once, I¡¯m not ignored at all anymore. Everyone basically worships the ground I¡¯m walking on as if I¡¯m some kind of messiah. It¡¯s really freaking me out a bit! The other thing is that they¡¯re also walking on eggshells around the three boys in my group as if they fear that they¡¯re also hidden Mages ¨C which they obviously are. Anyway, discussions go much smoother today and the whole team is involved. The sect men even try to include me on various occasions, but I respectfully decline every time. Carina takes the lead again, but this time the boys play their part as well. Half an hour into the discussion, Carlo casually presents his own magic when he has a stack of paper floating over. The sect men stop in their tracks and stare. While I¡¯m still wondering why they are even using paper, there is another shift because one of the three men seems to cast a spell. If I¡¯m not mistaken, it¡¯s a Utility spell. My hunch is confirmed a second later when they start gesturing at each other as if they were talking. So it¡¯s a Communication spell. My team waits patiently until the men are finished, then one of them addresses us. ¡°So just to clarify things, you all are Mages?¡± In response, the two boys who haven¡¯t shown any magical abilities yet, both cast a quick spell and Carina confirms with a nod. ¡°Yes, we are.¡± The man hesitates for a second, then continues. ¡°Okay, that¡¯s certainly a surprise¡­ So how common are Mages around here?¡± Carlo steps forward and smiles. I think that¡¯s the question my team was waiting for. ¡°Very common. In fact, everyone can be a Mage if they want to. We have awakening cores that turn normal people into Mages.¡± All three men stop in their tracks and stare at Carlo with their mouths open. This time the man left of the previous speaker finds his voice first. ¡°Does that mean that everyone who isn¡¯t a Mage made a deliberate choice not to pursue a magical path? Let¡¯s say people like our maids here?¡± Carlo nods. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯d say so. Why don¡¯t you ask them yourself?¡± The third man nods and leaves the room. A minute later he returns with two of the maids following him. The first man addresses them. ¡°Is it true that you chose not to be a Mage and if you wanted to, you could become one?¡± The left maid, a blonder woman looks at the man as if he grew a second head. ¡°Yeah, of course! But why would I? It¡¯s probably hard as hell to learn all those stupid spells and you¡¯ve got all the Magitech things here anyway.¡± The raven-haired maid next to her just shrugs. ¡°What she said.¡± ¡°Well, shit!¡± Says the main speaker of the sect men before turning to his companions. There is another Communication spell being cast and a silent discussion starts among the men. They shake and nod their heads a lot but my attention is elsewhere. I study the maids in confusion. Why would they work for such people? As nothing is happening at the moment, I decide to just ask and address the blonde maid. ¡°Why are you even working for them if they are treating you like trash?¡± She stares at me, not saying anything for a moment. It¡¯s like she¡¯s thinking for an answer. That reminds me that this all is probably just a big setup as well, just like the pirates during my last taxi duty. I probably asked something that wasn¡¯t in the script. I smile slightly at the thought. Finally, the maid is ready to answer and shrugs. ¡°I¡¯m not sure¡­ The pay¡¯s not bad and the cook here is amazing. Also, sooner rather than later a group like you was due to knock their heads straight. I just had to be patient.¡± I give her a thumbs-up in reply, my curiosity is satisfied at the moment. Just in time because the sect men seem to have concluded. They address my team. ¡°You¡¯ve brought quite a lot to our attention and we start to see the errors in our ways¡­ We¡¯d be happy to discuss how to turn this into a good outcome for everyone!¡± What follows are the longest five hours of my entire life! Endless discussions about who knows what and it doesn¡¯t seem to stop. My brain turns off almost immediately and I jump into the saving embrace of my games on my interface. But even they start to become boring after a few hours and I decide to go for a walk through the mansion. In the end, I sit down with the two maids in the dining room and we start talking. In the beginning, they¡¯re still in their maid role, but when I tell them that I¡¯m not part of the diplomat students, they drop it and tell me that they are actually actresses, earning a bit of money on the side while studying. After that, things get easier and we talk about pretty much everything. Gravity Ball, life on Terra compared to life here, hobbies, and so on. We also exchange contacts, just in case our travels bring us close in the future. They¡¯re pleasant enough to talk to again. They have one more surprise for me though, because when I ask them about the real reason why they don¡¯t want to be Mages, they just laugh and quickly cast some spells that change their clothes into more normal things. I close my jaw with a click and stare at them. That was certainly unexpected. Then, finally, my team is done and they come into the dining room too, followed by the three sect men. As soon as they shake on their final agreement, the men drop their act and grin broadly. ¡°Congratulations, well done! We had a blast doing this assessment with you. Do you want to stay for dinner? Our cook really is amazing!¡± He winks at the blonde maid actress and she blushes a little. My team accepts the reveal with only some slightly raised eyebrows and gladly accepts the invitation for dinner. The food really is good and we stay until late in the evening. Turns out they are all from the same acting school and do stuff like our assessment as a side hustle. In the end, we all say goodbye and wish each other good luck for our respective studies. Then I teleport us back up to our ship and we head back to Terra. 1000! (Not A Real Chapter) 1000! (Not A Real Chapter) I sit on the Stargazer¡¯s bridge and watch the surrounding stars passing by. We¡¯re on our way toward one of the wormholes leading out of the star system we¡¯re currently in and as we¡¯re a bit short on time, I¡¯ve got our engines fully enhanced. That¡¯s why I¡¯m caught completely unaware when the starship suddenly comes to a full stop. It happens in an instant and the gravity generators can¡¯t compensate that fast. That¡¯s why I¡¯m suddenly flying through the bridge toward the window in the front. Why is my stupid mind now shouting ¡°ludicrous speed?¡± I catch myself with a quick teleport back into my seat and call out. ¡°What happened, Clara?!¡± Her reply sounds very uncertain. ¡°I don¡¯t know. I didn¡¯t do anything and the engines are still running on full power. We¡¯ve just stopped. It doesn¡¯t make sense.¡± What the heck? I look at the console before me and notice she¡¯s right. Our engines are still fully powered and should propel us forward as they¡¯ve been doing just a minute ago. What¡¯s happening? ¡°Any gravitational anomalies around us?¡± ¡°No, nothing. I started a full diagnostic on our systems¡­ I guess we have to wait in the meantime.¡± ¡°Good idea, I¡¯ll try to teleport us while you do so. And please ask the others to come to the bridge.¡± Clara acknowledges my words. Meanwhile, I cast the Starship Jump spell and aim for a location closer to the wormhole. I let my power enter the spell and trigger it¡­ Only for it to completely fall apart. Panic enters my veins. That has never happened before! ¡°My magic is not magicing!¡± I cry out just when the door opens at the back of the bridge and my friends enter. Their voices sound just as confused as mine and I spin around when I hear a specific voice. Then I gasp in shock. That makes even less sense. There, cramped into the hallway leading into the bridge are a lot more people than I expected. Everyone is suddenly here. Maja, whose voice I recognized, stands next to Shay, Thomas, and Simon. They should be with the Peacekeepers, why are they here? And why do they look just as confused? Next to them are my parents and grandparents, accompanied by both of my brothers. Alina stands very close to Grandpa John and her jaw is on the floor upon seeing the Emperor in person for the first time in her life. Tim, Lucy, Lydia, and Nick stand around her. Those are the five I was expecting to come here, but what is it with all the others? This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. And that¡¯s still not everyone I¡¯m seeing¡­ No, there¡¯s also Jack, his wife Alex, Greg, and Ronja. And finally, there¡¯s also Lisa Song and my cousin Victoria. ¡°Uhh, hi, why don¡¯t you all come in?¡± They do so, while I¡¯m wondering how I managed to say that sentence so casually. ¡°Sara, what¡¯s going on? Why have you brought us here?¡± Mom asks as soon as everyone entered the bridge. What? ¡°I¡­ I didn¡¯t? I just asked Clara to send my crew up here to discuss what¡¯s happening here¡­¡± ¡°Please explain,¡± Grandpa John says with a frown on his face. I quickly tell them what has happened in the past minutes, which causes even more confusion. I hear more than enough mumblings of ¡°that doesn¡¯t make sense¡± from my friends and family. I still don¡¯t know how they can all be here¡­ ¡°Where did the stars go?¡± Lucy suddenly asks and points at the window behind me. I turn around and gasp. Everything is now black. There¡¯s no light anymore. Even the soft purple glow of the wormhole ring in the distance is gone. Before I can say anything, the entice space around us flashes white not once, but twice. Then, everything is dark again. Even the bridge lights dim and I can barely see anymore. Everyone gathers around me and we stare out through the window into the darkness. I don¡¯t know why, but I have the feeling that something is about to happen. Looks like my feeling was right, as barely thirty seconds later, there is another white flash that lights up the space around us. I¡¯m not even sure if we¡¯re still in space as the stars are gone, but that¡¯s not important right now, because there are now four glowing spots in the darkness before us. They steadily get larger and larger¡­ It takes a bit until I can make out some details. ¡°Are those¡­ Numbers?¡± Mom asks into the silence. I think she¡¯s right¡­ A minute later, her suspicion is confirmed and the numbers are clearly visible. What does that mean? 1000 The number shines before us and music starts playing. We all look at each other, confused about what¡¯s happening. No one knows what to do, and as we can¡¯t teleport away, we decide to wait it out and see what happens. So far I don¡¯t feel any danger at least. I¡¯m still completely weirded out, but at least I¡¯m safe, I guess¡­ The music reaches a crescendo, then the space flashes again a few times. With every flash, a new word appears first above, then below the big glowing 1000. THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR 1000 FOLLOWERS! I TRULY APPRECIATE EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU READING MY STORY I just stare at the words floating before me. This is crazy, it looks like some entity just painted the sky with glowing words. And what I¡¯m reading doesn¡¯t make sense at all. After all, what story do those words refer to? Then, suddenly as if a large portion of fog was cleared from my mind, everything makes sense. This is MY story! My story has just reached 1000 followers. That¡¯s huge! I never expected 1000 people to follow my story through space and magic! Just wow! I can¡¯t hold it back anymore and shout out my gratitude. Everyone else joins in. ¡°THANK YOU!¡± Chapter 147: Courier Prep Chapter 147: Courier Prep Location: Magicon Empire; Magicon System; Terra; Imperia; FBC I wake up with a start. Damn, what a weird dream¡­ I vaguely remember dreaming about my life being part of a story¡­ That sounds so weird. Also, the number 1000 was a very prominent part of that dream. Something about my story reaching 1000 followers. I laugh slightly, if my life was a story, it would deserve more than 1000 people reading it! Good thing it isn¡¯t, I guess¡­ Anyway, time flies by faster and faster the closer we get to the end of my first college year. As soon as I¡¯m back from playing taxi for the Diplomacy course, I have to study for my final exam in the Leadership course. But even this is over so fast and another week has passed. My other courses continue as usual and I manage to learn a lot more things, especially when Professor Bishop slowly arrives at the more recent history of our nation. But all this fades into the background when my team manages to secure another Gravity Ball victory against Holtburn College. This means we¡¯re now uncatchable at the top of the table. We¡¯re the champions! Celebrations continue throughout the whole night and I¡¯m way too intoxicated to attend any lessons the following day. Luckily, it¡¯s a Wednesday so I only miss Improvised Combat as Leadership was finished with the final exam. Besides that, we have another reason to celebrate because Lydia managed to earn enough money to pay for an advancement of her Utility core to Senior level! I invite her and all my other friends to one of the few remaining restaurants I still have a coupon for. But it¡¯s a very fancy one as their chef is famous for his cooking shows on television. I specifically kept the coupon for an occasion like this and all I can say is that it was totally worth it. Now before I enter the final stretch of the year and therefore have to study for the remaining final exams, I have one more thing to do: Play taxi for the Courier Course! Therefore, I find myself walking toward building 18 on Friday morning to meet up with Benny, Mira, and Peter who asked me to help them exploit the system almost a year ago. Apparently, they want to talk to me about a few things that have changed in their plans over the year before we enter the lesson together. I¡¯m curious what this is about, especially when I think back to Grandpa John¡¯s words when I told him about all this¡­ How it probably won¡¯t work and the solution to the problem. A solution I¡¯ve already used before, apparently. So instead of taking the elevator straight up to the classroom, I stay on the ground floor in the lobby. I don¡¯t have to wait for long, as the trio enters less than five minutes after me. Mira is immediately recognizable, as she is one of the few people wearing glasses for aesthetic''s sake. Though I have to say it suits her. She¡¯s got shoulder-length brown hair with bangs that perfectly accentuate her glasses. Next to her are two polar opposites. Benny is a few centimeters shorter than her with a stocky build and short blonde hair. Peter on the other hand is a beanpole¡­ I think he stands at two meters tall and his black hair falls past his shoulders. They wave when they see me and walk over. After exchanging greetings, we take the elevator and ascend a few levels. Then they lead me to an empty room and we all sit down around a conference table in the middle. I decide to open up and smile slightly at them. ¡°So I guess that our plan won¡¯t work out as we wanted it to¡­¡± Benny frowns a little. ¡°Yeah, how¡¯d you know?¡± ¡°Well, you contacted me to discuss a few changes beforehand, so it isn¡¯t too far-fetched, no?¡± Peter chuckles and slightly shoves Benny¡¯s shoulder. ¡°She¡¯s got you there, bro.¡± ¡°True enough,¡± Benny grumbles. ¡°Anyway, yeah, we have to change a few things¡­ Our professor won¡¯t let us escape all the paperwork. We¡¯re also not entirely sure yet how we¡¯ll do it exactly, so that¡¯s why we¡¯re meeting right now.¡± I lean forward and put my hands on the table. ¡°Okay, hit me with it. What are your ideas?¡± Mira casts a spell which I quickly recognize as the Projection spell when a magical projection appears above the table. It shows a map of The Empire with the Magicon System marked in red right in the middle. The four Duchies and the Magicon Administration are outlined in a different color each. Another thing of note is the green dot somewhere in the Axtendus Duchy. Mira looks back at me and starts speaking. ¡°Alright, here¡¯s what we know so far¡­¡± She waves her hand and another projection joins the map. It looks like bags of grains stacked on a pallet. ¡°Students from the Magical Agriculture course created a new type of wheat that apparently grows on planets with a less-than-optimal atmosphere. Those bags here,¡± she points at the projection, ¡°therefore need to be put through some real-world testing. ¡°That¡¯s where we come in. Our assignment is to take care of the fastest possible delivery of those grains to the Zukan System, or to planet Omali to be exact. As you can see, it isn¡¯t the shortest trip and to make things more complicated, the system isn¡¯t on any trade routes that go through the Magicon System as well. If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. ¡°Now as you know, the original plan was to circumvent every issue and just rent a ship which you could jump to our destination as fast as possible. Unfortunately, our professor didn¡¯t agree with our plan and shut it down hard. He even said that if we executed the plan as it stands he would have to fail us for cheating. So here we are now¡­ We still want to use you somehow, but we¡¯re not exactly sure how, so your input is always welcome. Anyway, Peter can walk you through what we¡¯ve come up with so far.¡± He looks at Mira in mock outrage. ¡°Why me?¡± She just shakes her head in reply and Peter chuckles slightly. ¡°Alright, fine. So first of all we thought about having you teleport the goods over to the Webster System where a direct trade route leads to the Zukan System. The problem is that this probably won¡¯t count as well because we¡¯re circumventing almost every hurdle.¡± I nod along, he¡¯s probably right. The Webster System is close enough for me to make a direct jump, but that is only because of my ridiculous range. Peter continues. ¡°After that, we looked into passenger liners as most of the cheaper ones don¡¯t have a Space Mage with them and only use enhanced wormholes. Benny had the idea to ask them if they could take our goods with them in exchange for providing them with a Space Mage for that one trip. This also didn¡¯t bore fruit, as they mostly aren¡¯t allowed to take on unaffiliated Mages, and the ones who are, didn¡¯t have enough space for our pallet.¡± I wonder if I should feel offended as they always speak about using me as if I¡¯m some kind of power tool¡­ ¡°And lastly we had one more idea, but it takes a lot of prep work to make it work. Just different prep work compared to booking freighter slots.¡± I raise an eyebrow. ¡°Uh, huh, so what¡¯s the plan? I have to say, your other two ideas don¡¯t sound convincing at all.¡± Benny picks up the conversation with a big grin on his face. ¡°We just make our own express service company!¡± Suddenly everything clicks together and finally it all makes sense. That¡¯s what Grandpa John meant when he said I¡¯ve done so before! He¡¯s been talking about MARA Deliveries. Oh boy, why haven¡¯t I thought of that before? The moment of enlightenment must have shown on my face as Benny stops speaking and shoots me a curious look. ¡°You good?¡± He asks and I nod in reply. ¡°Yeah, keep talking, I just realized something¡­ But it¡¯s not important.¡± He continues with a shrug. ¡°Alright, so as I was saying, we¡¯ll just create our own company. There¡¯s just this teeny tiny problem¡­ We¡¯ll need a starship for it to work because we can¡¯t use the ones from FBC for a new company even if it¡¯s just a fake one.¡± ¡°Fake one?¡± I reply a bit confused. He just talked about creating a company after all. Why is it a fake one so suddenly? ¡°Fake one is a bit of a wrong word,¡± Mira chimes in. ¡°What Benny means is that we¡¯ll probably do all the paperwork you¡¯d need to register a company without actually handing it in at the registration office. Instead, we give it to the professor¡­ Creating and registering a real company just for this one delivery would be a waste of time and money after all. We¡¯re planning on doing something like a proof of concept¡­ A high-end delivery company that even flies out for single shipments like that pallet of grains.¡± Oh, yes, that makes sense. ¡°Okay¡­ And the professor is fine with that?¡± Benny nods. ¡°Yeah, he was actually the one to tell us to give the paperwork to him instead of registering the company for real. He will grade that as if it were the paperwork we would produce when negotiating transportation contracts with real freighters as it¡¯s a different solution to the same problem or something. That¡¯s also where we learned that we need to find a cheap starship to rent. It can¡¯t be more expensive than what we would pay the freighters to transport our pallet. And that¡¯s our problem¡­ Do you have an idea how to get a cheap starship? You¡¯re close to Lisa Song, right? I saw you in the background of a picture of her in a tabloid. Maybe she can help us?¡± The apparent problem causes me to involuntarily let out a short laugh. When they start to scowl a little, I smother it. ¡°Sorry, it¡¯s just that you¡¯ve come to the right person with your little problem. Didn¡¯t I tell you that I own a starship?¡± Suddenly the scowls are all gone and replaced with hopeful expressions. ¡°I vaguely remember something¡­ But is it big enough to fit a little bit of cargo? Everyone we¡¯ve asked so far only had a small yacht at best and there¡¯s no chance to fit our goods,¡± Peter replies. This time I laugh for real. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯ll fit.¡± ¡°If you say so¡­¡± Mira replies, sounding unsure. ¡°Do you want to take a look? It¡¯s only one jump away.¡± They look at each other, then Peter shakes his head. ¡°No, we trust you. Are you ready to get started then?¡± I give a slight nod. ¡°Sure, what do you need me to do?¡± A notification on my interface shows that I received a message. ¡°I just sent you the link to our shared documents¡­ Basically, you just have to take a look at them and fill in your details as the company must run under your name. We have to hire you to make it count after all. It should be self-explaining¡­ If not, just ask. We¡¯ll take care of the other paperwork in the meantime,¡± Mira replies. ¡°Got it, thanks,¡± I answer and tap on the link in the message. A rather large document opens up and a small icon at the top indicates that three other people are currently working on the document as well. Alrighty, let¡¯s get this done. I lean back in my chair and start reading. Reading quickly changes into skimming, as the first 20 pages are filled with boring legal jargon. Then it starts to get more interesting and I have to fill in a few blanks. Unfortunately, this is followed by another 15 boring pages until I can finally fill out a few things again. This time it¡¯s about the company¡¯s starship and I pull up the details of the Stargazer right next to it. I read a bit further, but before long I arrive at the end of the document and move it to the side of my vision. I look at the three others who seem to be deep in a discussion. I clear my throat to get their attention and Benny looks up a short moment later. ¡°Yeah?¡± ¡°I¡¯m done, is there anything else you need me to do? If not, I¡¯d like to leave.¡± ¡°One second,¡± he holds up his finger and then starts tapping in the air. A few minutes later he focuses back at me. ¡°Looks good so far¡­ We probably won¡¯t need you anymore this morning. It¡¯d be good if you could join us again in the afternoon as we¡¯d like to show the finished document to the professor. Better to have you with us if there are any issues.¡± I nod. ¡°Sounds good, see you later then. Just give me a call if there is anything.¡± ¡°Will do, see you later!¡± I wave the other two goodbye and leave the room and then the building. As soon as I¡¯m outside, my stomach says hello with a rumble. Guess I¡¯m going to eat something then. Chapter 148: Courier Chapter 148: Courier Location; Magicon Empire; Magicon System; Terra; Imperia; FBC A bit more than an hour later, I find myself walking back toward building 18, having just finished a call with Mira. She told me that they are done and would like to hand in their paperwork to the professor. She asked me again to join them, so here I am. I enter the building and take the elevator back up toward the room where we stayed earlier. I catch the others while they leave said room and wave at them. ¡°Hey Sara, perfect timing,¡± Benny calls out and the others return my wave. Next, we get back to the elevator and ascend a few more levels. Mira then leads the way and we pass countless doors along a long hallway. Then she stops and I glance at the badge next to the door. It reads Professor Cornelius Cornelius. I tilt my head and look at Mira. ¡°Is his first name also his last name?¡± She nods. ¡°Yeah, it was confusing at the start, but as long as you say Professor Cornelius, everything¡¯s fine.¡± ¡°Huh, alright¡­¡± Talk about cruel parents¡­ Who does this to their child? At least he¡¯s not named Dick Dick or something similar, I guess. Mira knocks at the door and a slightly scratchy male voice asks us to come in. I¡¯m the last one and close the door behind me, then I take a look at Professor Cornelius. He looks young. Barely older than us students, but I know full well how deceiving this can be. He¡¯s got dirty blonde hair and everything about him just screams surfer dude. It starts with the messy shoulder-length hairstyle with a bit of a beard and ends with his Hawaiian shirt. Are clothes like this even allowed for a professor? Anyway, he grins at Mira and the others before his gaze settles on me. ¡°Ahh, if this isn¡¯t my little troublemaker group. And you must be their taxi, I suppose?¡± I nod at him. ¡°Actually, I¡¯m the CEO of Speedy Sara Limited,¡± I visibly cringe while saying that and glare at Benny immediately after. He just whistles softly and looks everywhere but at me. I¡¯m so getting back at him for choosing such a stupid name! The professor lets out a soft chuckle before he composes himself. ¡°I see,¡± he looks back at Mira. ¡°So you decided to continue pursuing your plan then?¡± ¡°We did,¡± Mira replies and taps at her interface. ¡°Here¡¯s our paperwork¡­ We¡¯ve brought Sara with us in case there are any immediate issues you might have.¡± His eyes glaze over a bit and he taps the air before him. Then he starts reading. We just stand around awkwardly while he does so. At least he¡¯s a fast reader as he focuses back at us some ten minutes later. ¡°Did you book your wormhole slots in advance?¡± Peter shakes his head. ¡°No, not yet. We plan to do it short-term while we¡¯re on the way. With Sara, we might even be able to skip a few wormholes.¡± The professor nods. ¡°Alright, but keep in mind that this can cause delays if some wormholes are busy. You¡¯ve only got four days until the grains must arrive, starting as soon as I give you the go-ahead.¡± All three of them nod in response. ¡°Yeah, we know. Is there anything else or are we good to start?¡± Mira asks. Professor Cornelius lifts one finger and looks back at the files on his interface. ¡°I don¡¯t see a contract where you¡¯re booking this Speedy Sara Ltd.¡± Benny rolls out his tablet. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ve got it right here¡­ We waited with the signatures until you approved our other documents. But if they are good, we can finalize it right here.¡± Professor Cornelius nods once. ¡°I only skimmed it, but so far everything seems to be in order. So I¡¯m approving your approach and your time starts now!¡± Benny immediately gets to work and signs the contract. He then hands it to Peter and Mira and lastly to me. ¡°Sara, if you¡¯d please sign.¡± I skim it as well before signing. Everything reads as we discussed, so I place my signature at the bottom right and hand the tablet back to Benny. He gives it a once over, then sends it toward Professor Cornelius who acknowledges the receipt. After that, we leave the office. Once the door is closed behind us, Mira calls out to hurry. We only have four days after all. ¡°Where is the pallet?¡± I ask her and she in turn looks at Peter. ¡°It should be ready for pickup at FBC Station. But before that, we have to go to administration to get a docking permit.¡± FBC Station, huh? ¡°That won¡¯t be necessary. I¡¯m already docked there.¡± Peter stares at me in response. ¡°Uhh, then we just book a shuttle and go?¡± I wink at him. ¡°That also won¡¯t be necessary. Do you need anything or can we go right now?¡± Benny claps Peters back. ¡°Don¡¯t forget, she¡¯s a Space Mage, bro!¡± Stolen story; please report. ¡°Ahh, right¡­ Then let¡¯s pick up our luggage. Say, let¡¯s meet before building 12 in half an hour?¡± Peter replies with a slight coloring of his face. Everyone else agrees and so I go back to my own room too. Not to pack, but to say goodbye to the others. I¡¯ve got a full wardrobe aboard the Stargazer after all. Unfortunately, I only encounter Lucy and Alina in our room as Lydia is out somewhere with Olivia. So I hug them goodbye and ask them to tell Lydia that I¡¯m out for the next five or six days. Then I put on one of my shipsuits below my clothes so that I don¡¯t have to do so later and slowly walk over toward building 12. Benny and Peter are already standing outside, so we just have to wait for Mira. Ten minutes later, she exits the building, pulling a gigantic suitcase behind her. Upon seeing her, Benny starts laughing. ¡°Hey Mira, we¡¯re not on tour for a whole year¡­ Just a week or maybe even less.¡± She just glares at him in reply and looks at me. ¡°We¡¯re ready.¡± I nod and beckon them to come closer. No reason to unnecessarily flex with my power¡­ I cast a Teleportation spell and Clara gives me the coordinates for one of the still-empty workrooms aboard my ship. The two of us recently turned this specific room into our unofficial jump room. I probably have to make that official before we head for Earth¡­ Not that anyone places some things inside. Anyway, my magic envelopes our small group, and with a mental trigger, we vanish. Then we arrive in the empty room and quickly exit it. I give them a short tour through the ship and assign a few cabins to them temporarily. The tour is accompanied by the usual oohing and ahhing of course. Once they¡¯ve overcome their shock, we exit the starship and enter the space station to search for our pallet of grains. After loading the pallet into one of the cargo rooms on deck 00, we take the elevator to the bridge and I initiate the undocking from the station. After that, we¡¯re finally off on my final taxi assignment.
Location: Magicon Empire; Magicon Administration; VS Stargazer The wormhole out of the Magicon System is a short one as always and brings us to a hub of other wormholes, leading almost in every possible direction. Mira accesses the local net and downloads the waiting list for the wormhole we have to take. She brings it up on one of the holo projectors of the bridge and Peter groans upon seeing it. ¡°Dammit, we should have listened to Professor Cornelius!¡± Let¡¯s just say it¡¯s a very long list. With a shrug, I ask Clara to get us out of the traffic. Once we¡¯re clear, Starship Jump saves the day and I teleport us a good distance closer to our destination. Then we just cruise along while I take a short break to recover. I could have done another jump, but we do have enough time to not exhaust myself overly. Instead, we sit down in the living room and play some games. The three of them introduce me to their love for multiplayer racing games, and so we have the main holo-projector showing a four-way split screen right before us. Unfortunately, their experience shows and I always come in dead last. Still, it¡¯s fun, so we continue playing for a few hours. When we¡¯re done, I grab a quick bite in the kitchen and then return to the bridge to do another jump. This one brings us to the Chileno System which also marks the outer edge of the Magicon Administration. As soon as we arrive at the outer edge of the star system, I set course for the wormhole that leads over into the Axtendus Duchy. Clara keeps watch and I retire to my cabin to get a good night¡¯s sleep. In the end, the direct jumping not only saved us the long wait at the wormhole hub right outside of the Magicon System, but it also cut off another wormhole travel from our journey. The next morning greets me with a nice breakfast made by Peter and Benny. The two boys tell me they¡¯ve got up early to get us on the waiting list for the wormhole. That way we hopefully don¡¯t have to wait too long before we can enter it. From what the Stargazer¡¯s sensors show me there isn¡¯t much of a line before the wormhole anyway, but better safe than sorry, I guess. Mira joins us about thirty minutes later and gets her own breakfast served by the boys. ¡°How far are we out from the wormhole?¡± She asks between bites. ¡°About twenty minutes of flying and then another thirty minutes of waiting until we have our travel slot,¡± Benny replies. ¡°But maybe we can jump early, as traffic seems to be quite low today. One second, let me check.¡± He taps his interface and a notification on mine shows me that he connected to the starship¡¯s communication array and established a call with someone. When the call connects, he mumbles a few sentences under his breath and nods along steadily. A minute later, the call ends and he looks back at us. ¡°Okay, they expect one more incoming ship in about 25 minutes, but after that, we¡¯re free to enter the wormhole.¡± I nod at him. ¡°Perfect, I can slow us down a little bit, then we can enter directly without stopping and waiting.¡± Twenty-five minutes later, we¡¯re all back on the bridge and the purple wormhole circle looms before us. A gigantic freighter just exited and slowly flies away. I prepare the Wormhole Navigation spell while the Stargazer flies closer and closer. As soon as we¡¯re close enough, I trigger the spell and a perfectly shaped Space Bubble envelopes us. Then we enter the wormhole and I keep us steadily on course.
Location: Magicon Empire; Axtendus Duchy; Zukan System; VS Stargazer After exiting the wormhole that led us into the Axtendus Duchy, it was all smooth sailing. In the following two days, we crossed two more star systems until we made our final jump into the Zukan System. Currently, we¡¯re approaching a space station above planet Omali, which is our destination. Mira has already called ahead and secured us a docking spot, so Clara and I both slowly bring the Stargazer in. As soon as we¡¯re docked, everything happens very quickly. A small team of scientists is already waiting at our airlock and I invite them in. They excitedly look at the pallet full of grains and can¡¯t unload it fast enough. Benny practically has to hold one of them back to get him to sign one of the documents so that we have a confirmation of the delivery. After that, we decide to take it slow and go for a short trip to the space station. There¡¯s quite a nice restaurant where we eat lunch before we go back to the Stargazer. Mira, Benny, and Peter are very happy that everything worked out as they intended. Now there¡¯s only the question left if all this counted as an exploit and they get a reward.
Location: Magicon Empire; Magicon System; Terra; Imperia; FBC I speed up our journey back to FBC considerably and rely heavily on the Starship Jump spell to travel in a straight line. I almost jump the full distance I¡¯m capable of whenever I¡¯m rested, and so we make it back in about a day and a half. As soon as we¡¯re back in the Magicon System, Clara does her pseudo-AI stuff again and brings the Stargazer back to its parking spot while I take the four of us directly to the planet. We make an appointment with Professor Cornelius early the next morning and the three of them show him that we delivered our goods in time. He congratulates them on a job well done with a slight smile on his face. When we leave the building they all stop dead in their tracks and their eyes widen considerably. Benny lets out a loud cheer and they hug each other. Somehow, I¡¯m included in the hug too. When I ask them what happened, Mira replies with a big smile on her face. ¡°Our exploit worked! We just got our reward and it¡¯s perfect. We can now start an internship at one of the most exclusive courier services within The Empire. That¡¯s so cool!¡± ¡°Wow, congratulations!¡± ¡°Thanks, Sara, you¡¯ve been the best help we could have asked for. If you ever need anything, just ask and we¡¯ll be there!¡± Where¡¯s my reward? Chapter 149: End of Year Chapter 149: End of Year Location: Magicon Empire; Magicon System; Terra; Imperia; FBC The end of the first year is within reach. When I return from the Courier assignment, the most stressful time of the year begins, and I have to study almost day and night. My social interactions suffer because of it, and I¡¯m primarily in my room and barely see my three roommates as they¡¯re also studying. One exam follows the other until they are finally done. Now I¡¯m just missing the practical evaluations in all my magic courses. They are scheduled for this week, starting with Utility magic on Tuesday and followed by Space magic on Thursday. After that, I¡¯m done! I¡¯m not really fearful of those last two evaluations, as I have already mastered all the spells I have to show the professors. Especially Utility magic should be trivial, considering my true magical strength. So I find myself with a lot of free time on Monday morning and stroll across campus. I¡¯m not heading anywhere particular, so it comes as a surprise when Lisa suddenly crosses my path. We greet each other with a quick hug and then continue our stroll together. After a while, Lisa looks at me and asks. ¡°Where are we going?¡± I look back at her in confusion. ¡°I thought I was following you? I mean, I was just walking around.¡± She starts laughing. ¡°Oh my, so we¡¯re two idiots following the other.¡± ¡°It seems that way,¡± I reply and join her laughter. In the end, we stop at a food stall and grab something to eat, then we end up at the Gravity Ball fields and watch a few people playing. The college season is already over, and we finally received our trophy after the last game at the end of last week, although our championship was clear a few weeks earlier. I didn¡¯t even get to play in the last game because the coaches wanted to give the substitutes a chance too. Anyway, after watching for a while, I say goodbye to Lisa and head back home. I chat a bit with Lucy and then go back to sleep. This basically repeats itself over the following days, except for my two practical evaluations, which I both ace. At least I think I aced them¡­ I¡¯ll see as soon as we get our report cards next Wednesday. It¡¯s Friday now, so I still have to wait for a couple of days. I can¡¯t even do something with my friends over the weekend, as they all have their final exam of the year on Monday or Tuesday. It¡¯s a bit annoying. I mean, what should I do? Without anything else to do, I decide to give my brother a call. I lock the door to my room and cast the Video Call spell. Chris picks up quickly, and his face fills my vision. His hair looks a bit fuzzy, and he¡¯s sweating a bit. ¡°Hi, Sara,¡± he pants a greeting. ¡°Uhh, hi Chris¡­ What are you doing?¡± He takes a deep breath and clears a bit of sweat off his forehead. ¡°I, uh, just returned from a run¡­ What¡¯s up with your call?¡± A run, sure¡­ ¡°Well, I¡¯m bored and wanted to ask if we could eat lunch and talk or something¡­ But I can call later if you¡¯re indisposed.¡± He shakes his head. ¡°No, that¡¯s fine. I¡¯ve got the time. Just give me half an hour to take a shower.¡± ¡°Okay, see you later then. Your jump room?¡± ¡°Sure, just make yourself comfortable if I¡¯m not ready when you arrive. See you then!¡± We end the call, and I decide to take a shower too. Then, about 35 minutes later, I teleport to Chris¡¯s jump room. After exiting, I head for his living room and find him already sitting on the couch. He waves at me. ¡°Hi Sara, it¡¯s been a while.¡± ¡°True enough, you¡¯ve been way too busy!¡± I sit down opposite him and we talk a bit more. While doing so, we also send out an order for some food, which we eat as soon as it arrives. Then I finally ask the question that¡¯s been on my mind for a little while. ¡°So, are you going to Earth too?¡± He frowns a little. ¡°No, unfortunately not¡­ I¡¯m too tied up here in the Magicon System. But Aria is going. She¡¯s been offered a supervisory role.¡± ¡°A bummer¡­ But nice for Aria. She¡¯ll definitely enjoy it, there¡¯s so much to see. She still doesn¡¯t know about me, right?¡± He glares at me. ¡°Sure, rub it in¡­ But yeah, I¡¯ve kept it quiet so far. She definitely noticed you though when you started going around with Lisa.¡± ¡°Oh, does she have any suspicions?¡± I ask with genuine interest. ¡°No, none that I¡¯m aware of,¡± Chris shakes his head in response. I lean back on my couch and think for a bit. My cover is becoming thinner by the day, and I don¡¯t plan on working too hard on keeping it alive at the moment. Hell, if we want to gain an advantage on Earth, I have to let the cat out of the bag anyway, at least for my team, which has become quite large, come to think of it. ¡°Do you think we should tell her?¡± I ask my brother. He shrugs. ¡°Honestly, it¡¯s your decision. But I would be lying that it doesn¡¯t bother me to keep you a secret from Aria.¡± Yep, that seals it. I don¡¯t want to get in the way of my brother¡¯s relationship, and who knows, maybe another insider on the supervisory team will bring me an advantage. Sure, I don¡¯t particularly care about the fame I can gain with winning the competition, and I¡¯m sharing with Lisa anyway, but it would be embarrassing if I don¡¯t win and then get announced as the discoverer of Earth later. So, I do want to win after all! I clear my throat and look back at Chris. ¡°So, I¡¯d say we tell her. Her parents know anyway.¡± He looks shocked but slowly nods. ¡°Okay, if you¡¯re sure, I¡¯ll call her over. And thank you!¡± I give him a thumbs-up. ¡°Be right back.¡± Then I teleport up to the Stargazer, to the disguise chamber in particular. I have to say, Clara is getting very good at guessing my intentions. I barely have to ask her for coordinates anymore. ¡°Thanks, Clara, you¡¯re the best,¡± I tell her when I enter the chamber. ¡°You¡¯re welcome,¡± comes the reply in my ear. Then I start the process that turns me back into my real self. I step back out and look at a nearby mirror. Soon! No more hiding then. I teleport back to Chris¡¯s jump room, and to make things more interesting, I cast a normal Disguise spell over my appearance to make me look like Sara Green again. Chris is still in the living room and looks up when I enter. ¡°Where have you been?¡± Suddenly, he frowns and looks a bit closer. Then he seems to realize and sucks in a sharp breath. ¡°Oh, that¡¯s diabolical! Fine, I play along. Aria should be here in a few minutes.¡± If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. I sit down opposite him again and we wait. Chris tells me that she¡¯s got a Space core as her second class of magic, so it really shouldn¡¯t be long. He¡¯s right, of course, and I sense a flash of Space magic a few meters beside me. Probably the jump room. Anyway, the door to the living room opens a minute later, and a tall blonde woman with the trademark piercing Axtendus eyes walks in. She doesn¡¯t seem to notice me, as she only has eyes for Chris. ¡°Hi honey, you called? Missed me, huh? You know it¡¯s still a few weeks until I¡¯m gone, but sure, we can make the most of it.¡± She seductively winks at him. My brother¡¯s face turns beet red, and he clears his throat. ¡°Aria, darling, we have a guest.¡± Now she blushes too and looks at me. ¡°Ohh¡­ Sorry about that.¡± She walks over and offers me her hand. ¡°I don¡¯t believe we¡¯ve met yet. I¡¯m Aria, Aria Axtendus. It¡¯s a pleasure to meet you.¡± I take her hand and we shake. I¡¯m about to reply when a flicker of recognition goes through her eyes. ¡°Wait, you¡¯re that Space Mage girl who made so many waves! Sara¡­ Green, right?¡± I barely manage a nod before she releases my hand and glances back at Chris. ¡°What¡¯s she doing here?¡± Chris scratches his head. ¡°Well, uh, I helped her with that Junbun mess, and we stayed in contact afterward. I, uhm, told her that you¡¯d be going to Earth as well and she wanted to meet you.¡± I open my mouth to finally say hi to her, but she¡¯s faster again. How does Chris manage? If this continues, I will never have the opportunity to talk. ¡°Then how did you lose her to the Song heir if you¡¯d been in contact earlier? I mean a Space Mage of her caliber?¡± Finally, I manage to get a sentence thrown in. ¡°I¡¯m right here, you know?¡± Aria quickly looks back at me. ¡°Sorry, Miss Green, one moment.¡± She looks back at Chris. ¡°Seriously, how did she slip through your fingers? I bet the Songs are laughing their asses off.¡± Chris glances at me and, upon seeing my weird and a bit annoyed expression, starts laughing. ¡°If you¡¯d let her speak rather than ripping me a new one, you¡¯d understand. How about you take a closer look, huh?¡± Aria frowns and turns back around. I school my expression and look at her innocently. She focuses harder and tilts her head. ¡°Why am I sensing a spell around your whole body?¡± I grin broadly. ¡°I¡¯m glad you asked!¡± I cancel the spell, and my Sara Green disguise drops. Aria looks at me for a long moment. Her face goes through various expressions. Finally, she looks back at Chris. ¡°Is this some kind of sick joke? Did you hire an actress to make fun of me? Why would you?¡± That¡¯s not the reaction I expected. Chris clearly didn¡¯t either, as he squirms under her glare. ¡°No, look closely, don¡¯t you see? Think twenty years ago?¡± Aria¡¯s head slowly turns back to me, and she takes a hesitant step forward. Her gaze bores into me, and she¡¯s silent for a long while. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me¡­ This¡­ Is this?¡± Chris gets up and hugs her. ¡°Yes, it is. Your little Sara has come home!¡± The floodgates open, and tears stream down her cheeks. Then she rushes forward and hugs me fiercely. ¡°I¡¯m so sorry, Sara! I can¡¯t imagine what you¡¯ve been through¡­ But how?¡± Now it¡¯s my turn to be confused. At least until Chris chimes in from the side. ¡°Aria worked on Nua when you were little. She took care of you whenever she had the time, and our parents were busy.¡° Oh, now I feel bad for pranking her. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I didn¡¯t know¡­¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it,¡± she whispers back. ¡°I¡¯m just glad that you¡¯re back. But tell me, where is all this Sara Green stuff coming from?¡± I sigh. ¡°It¡¯s a long story¡­¡± We sit back down, and I begin my tale. Aria is a very nice person to be around. I hang out with her and my brother over the whole weekend and learn quite a lot about them both. Turns out they have been dating since she was working on Nua¡­ They actually started a few months before I was taken, and therefore kept their relationship secret because my parents were completely devastated. After that, they never found the courage to tell their respective parents. That has me breaking down in fits of laughter, and they both look at me in confusion. ¡°You are worse than Adrian and Kira! Do you really think Mom and Dad are that dumb, Chris? They¡¯ve known all along, and it¡¯s highly amusing to them how you try to keep it secret.¡± Aria¡¯s eyes widen. ¡°So that¡¯s why my own parents always seem to be so amused. They know too! Damn¡­¡± Other than that, we order some nice food and watch different movies over the days. Aria is obviously very interested in all things Earth after she learns that I was the one to rediscover the planet. I tease her with a few things, but mostly tell her to wait and see. The one thing I do tell her is that the Axtendus company there is probably completely destroyed, as far as I was able to see back then. This leaves her a bit sulky, and Chris has to brighten her mood. That said, now it¡¯s finally Wednesday, and the first year is coming to a close. I wake up to a notification on my interface asking me and every other first-year student to come to the basement of building 03, where we had our Introductory lessons almost a year ago. So after showering, I meet my three roommates in the living room of our dorm. ¡°Did you get the same message as I did?¡± I ask them upon entering the room. Lucy gives me a nod while continuing to eat. The other two voice their affirmations as well. ¡°Cool, then are you ready to go? I want some nice seats and not all the way in the back.¡± ¡°Sure, just let me finish this, then I¡¯m good to go,¡± Lucy replies. Ten minutes later, we¡¯re on our way over to building 03. We take the stairs down again because the elevators are completely crowded. Looks like we weren¡¯t the only ones to come early. Anyway, we find some nice seats about halfway up the stands and wait for the room to fill up. We shamelessly reserve the seats left and right of us and send Tim, Nick, Dave, and the other archaeologists a message. They arrive shortly after, and Kylie asks if we know what all this is about. I can only shrug in response, and everyone else is none the wiser, too. The doors close behind the last student to enter about twenty minutes later. I notice that while the stands are still packed, they are not as packed as they were at the start of the year. Guess a few people dropped out¡­ I look back down at the stage and catch the flicker of Space magic right before Headmaster Benson arrives with a purple flash. ¡°Welcome, students, and congratulations on completing your first year here at FBC!¡± His voice drones through the room and makes every conversation die down. ¡°You¡¯re probably asking yourselves why we invited you to come here again instead of just sending you your reports as we always do. Well¡­ The answer is simple. This year is special! And while one event certainly overshadows everything else, let¡¯s not forget the other magnificent things that happened this year.¡± He pauses for dramatic effect before continuing. ¡°Now, without further ado, please welcome this year¡¯s Gravity Ball champions to the stage!¡± He starts calling out names, and I notice familiar faces making their way down toward Headmaster Benson. Lydia nudges my shoulder. ¡°What are you waiting for, Sara? That¡¯s your accomplishment! The headmaster has already called your name.¡± That shakes me out of my stupor, and I quickly walk down as well. I didn¡¯t expect to be honored again for our triumph, so that¡¯s why my mind blanked a little just now. I end up right in the middle between Alec and Drew. Frieda, Amanda, John, and Gary are next to them. Another purple flash, and our two coaches appear on the stage next to the headmaster. He shakes their hands and then continues to shake ours, saying congratulations every time. Then he addresses the crowd again. ¡°I present to you our champions! Not only did they manage to win the league for the first time in 27 years, no, they also managed to win against our rivals from RMA before the biggest crowd a college match has seen in more than a hundred years!¡± The cheers are deafening and last for almost five minutes. After that, we get another set of medals and pose together with the headmaster and the coaches for a few pictures. Then we return to our seats, and the headmaster continues to honor other students. Even Nick gets called down with a few others because their research group apparently made some minor breakthroughs in hyperspace research. That reminds me that I really have to talk with him about my own experiences! Other than that, nothing is too interesting until the headmaster brings up the final topic. ¡°Now there is only one thing missing, and you all can guess what this is about, so if the students on the list behind me would please come down to me on the stage.¡± He waves a hand, and a projection comes alive. It doesn¡¯t take long until I find my own name and the names of the people left and right of me. If it wasn¡¯t obvious before, now it is. In total, there are almost a hundred names on the list. Compared to the number of people in here, it¡¯s a pitifully small number, but it¡¯s still bigger than I expected. I guess the whole Earth Adventure is bigger than I imagined if that¡¯s the average number every college is sending. We line up on the stage, and Headmaster Benson¡¯s words drone through the room again. ¡°Earth, the cradle of humanity, has been rediscovered. Our birthplace is back in sight. The Emperor, in his endless wisdom, turned it into an opportunity for our youth to grow. Our best and brightest students of the year have been selected to represent our college on the greatest expedition that The Empire has ever seen. Please give them the send-off they deserve!¡± If I thought the cheers earlier were deafening, this is a whole other level! I almost feel my eardrums pop with all the noise. When everything dies down, the headmaster turns to us. ¡°Make us proud,¡± he whispers before addressing the whole room again. ¡°And with that, today¡¯s assembly is concluded. You¡¯ll find your report cards in your inbox, and I wish you a nice holiday!¡± He vanishes. I¡¯ve made it! My first year at FBC is done, and I feel like I¡¯m barely getting started. Also, is it weird that I can¡¯t wait for the holidays to end already?